BEETROOT AND ROSE TRUFFLE
Sticky Fingers, Green Thumb by Hayley McKee (Hardie Grant Publishing) Serves
This recipe makes one tier with two layers. To
pump up the tiers and recreate the cake tower
pictured, as a guide you’ll need to quadruple the
ingredients; as well as a 20 cm (8 in) cake tin,
you’ll need one 23 cm (9 in) and one 25 cm
(10 in) cake tin.
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Lightly grease and
line two 20 cm (8 in) round cake tins with baking
paper.
Toss the whole beetroot in the oil. Wrap each one
separately in aluminium foil. Roast 1 hour or until
soft, then remove from the oven and cool. Once
cool, peel off the skin and finely grate. Set aside.
To make the truffles, cook the beetroot as per
the method above, then add to a blender or food
processor and blitz to a fine purée. Transfer to a
saucepan set over a low heat for 2–3 minutes (this
will dry up any excess moisture and help bring
out the flavour, so don’t skip this step).
Remove from the heat and set aside.
Place the chocolate pieces in a heatproof dish.
Bring the cream to the boil in a heavy-based
saucepan, reduce the heat to a simmer, add half
the dried rose petals and cook gently for
15 minutes, or until the flavour of the rose petals
has fully infused into the cream. Strain the cream
over the chocolate pieces and stir slowly until
melted and glossy, then add 110 g (¾ cup) of
the beetroot purée and the rosewater and mix
well. Refrigerate for 1 hour until firm. Once set,
take teaspoons of the mixture and shape them
into bite-sized balls, then roll them in the cocoa
powder and the remaining dried rose petals to
coat. Transfer to the refrigerator and leave to chill
until needed.
Cream the butter and sugars together in a bowl
using a hand-held mixer, or a stand mixer fitted
with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, vanilla and rosewater and mix
in half the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder
and salt. Stir in the sour cream, then mix in the
remainder of the dry ingredients before gently
folding in 300 g (1½ cups) of the grated roast
beetroot until well combined (save the rest for the
icing).
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tins and
bake for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted
into the centres comes out clean. Remove from
the oven and leave to cool slightly in the tins for
5 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire
rack and leave to cool completely.
To make the icing, beat all the ingredients
together in a bowl using a hand-held mixer or a
stand mixer until well combined.
Place one of the cooled cakes on a serving plate
or stand and spread with half the icing. Place the
second cake on top and spread with the remaining
icing. To decorate, top with the truffles and
scatter over a few more dried rose petals or team
the truffles up with fresh garden roses.
10 baby beetroot (beets) (about 1.5 kg)
60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
340 g unsalted butter
370 g (2 cups) soft brown sugar
340 g (1½ cups) caster (superfine)
sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
A few drops of rosewater, to taste
600 g (4 cups) plain (all-purpose)
flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
160 g (1 cups) Dutch (unsweetened)
cocoa powder
4 teaspoons salt
625 g (2½ cups) sour cream
BEETROOT AND ROSE TRUFFLES
3 beetroot (about 150 g)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
400 g good-quality dark chocolate
(approx. 60 percent cocoa solids), broken
into chunks
400 ml thick (double/heavy)
cream
40 g (1 cup) edible dried rose petals,
plus extra to decorate
A few drops of rosewater
100 g Dutch (unsweetened) cocoa
powder
BEETROOT ICING
3 tablespoons finely grated roast beetroot
(see method)
225 g unsalted butter, softened
225 g cream cheese, softened
500–625 g (4–5 cups) icing (confectioners’)
sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
50 ml milk
This recipe will become your
secret weapon chocolate
cake. Earthy baby beetroots
are roasted until juicy to lend a
dense, fudge-like texture to an
already deep, dark chocolate
base. The real highlight,
though, is the addictive
beetroot and rose truffles
dusted in cocoa, which happen
to be a cinch to make. Just try
not to scoff them before you
decorate your cake.
eight
to ten
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