We had a marathon baking session at the hotel yesterday and I had the pleasure of working with two of my favorite boys Ayrton and Luke who are final year students at the prestigious hotel school on the island. My assignment was to introduce some of the US Ambassador’s all time favorites to the local market and these cupcakes were served in the beautiful Art Deco lounge for afternoon tea.

I first tasted this cake when I visited HE the US Ambassador’s home last November and she shared her favorite recipe collection with me. This cake is so unusual, tastes divine and is striking in appearance. The beetroot does something incredible to the chocolate, it brings out depth of flavor and you nearly feel you are eating something healthy but it doest not have the earthy tastes of health-food. I quite cannot describe but it certainly is WOW.

I am including a step by step photo recipe and you will need to scroll all the way down.

You will need :

200g butter
250g pre cooked beetroot
200g dark chocolate preferably 70 %cocoa
4 tablespoons hot espresso
135 g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
5 eggs, separated
190g caster sugar

Preheat oven to 160C. prepare your cupcake moulds liners.
Blend the beetroot in a food processor to a rough purée.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl then pour in the coffee.
Stir in the butter in small pieces and leave to soften. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa together in a bowl and set aside.
Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks in a bowl until they are frothy. Stir the eggs into the chocolate and butter mixture, then fold in the beetroot.

Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks and fold in the sugar.

Fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture then fold in the flour and cocoa.

Pour the batter into the cup cake moulds and bake for 15 minutes at 160C or under a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin then serve with cream or this special beetroot cream.

Beetroot Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 packet cream cheese
1/2 half cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups icing sugar
6 tablespoons beetroot juice drained from the beetroot used for the cake

Beat all the ingredients together in a mixer and the boys piped ours but you can also spoon the frosting on and tidy it with a palette knife.
We sprinkled fine pistachio dust on ours and you can do this by blending it and passing it through a sieve, separating the dust from the bigger bits and keeping the bigger ones for use with other recipes.

The ingredients for the cake

The puréed Beetroot

Adding the beaten egg yolks to the me,Ted chocolate mixture

Adding the puréed Beetroot to the chocolate mixture. Remeber to allow it to cool before adding the egg whites

Fold in with a large metal spoon

The consistency should be something like this

Stir in the sifted flour

Fold in the flour gently with a metal spoon until the mixtures is consistent. Be gentle and do not overbeat.

Pour the batter into muffin cases and bake

Blend the ingredients for the cream cheese frosting

Top the cup cakes, we piped them but you can spoon it on and smooth it with a palette knife .