Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 250ml olive oil
- 430g dark muscovado sugar
- 3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon of grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 500g beetroot (3-4 large raw beetroots)
- 350g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 100g Walnuts (halved/quartered)
- 1 lemon
The drill
- Light the oven at 350°F, 180°C or Gas Mark 4
- Peel 3-4 large raw beetroot and grate them. Take a handful of grated bits at a time and squeeze them in your fist so that some of the juice drips out. Use 500g (after you’ve squeezed it) of the grated beetroot.
- Line a cake tin with greaseproof paper. (I use an 8” square tin, the cake rises to 2.5-3” high)
- Mix together until smooth all of the:
- eggs
- olive oil
- sugar
- If there are lumps of brown sugar, squash against the side of the bowl and mix in
- Add in, and mix in the:
- cinnamon
- ginger
- nutmeg
- salt
- Add in the grated carrot or beetroot and mix until even
- Add all the white stuff:
- flour
- bicarbonate of soda
- baking powder
- Then mix the white stuff into the brown stuff.
- Add the lemon rind and walnuts, mix one final time, and pour into the tin
- Bake for 90 minutes.
Drink the beetroot juice that you squeezed out: it’s delicious!
Carrot cake alternative: you really should use beetroot, but if you can’t, use 6-8 grated large carrots to make up the 500g (but no need to squeeze them).
If the cake looks dry or burned, let it cool then wrap it in greaseproof paper and leave it in a plastic bag overnight. The dry/black top magically disappears.
