It is nearly a week since I posted in the blog. Last week was kind of hectic with Sruti falling ill. She recovered and I got ill. I am not in a bad shape today and suddenly I remembered the Daring Bakers Challenge. First I thought of skipping it but after half an hour of thinking, I decided to bake a cake. Sruti is in her holidays and I have not even prepared anything special for her snacks. As her health is returning back to normal, I decided to make her favourite-Chocolate Cake. For this month's Daring Baker's challenge, the host Ruth of Makey Cakey challenged us to make a delicious sweet bake with vegetables hidden inside it. She even gave us some examples such as Kidney Bean Choco Brownies, Banana and Spinach Muffins and Parsnip and caraway Cake. She wanted us to go creative and make a bake with vegetables. I was really afraid to add vegetables in the bake. If Sruti knows that some thing is wrong then she will never turn to the cake again. So to play it safe I decided to use beetroot in the cake. As I have done it already, I know how it tastes and even Sruti likes it. You will never be able to detect beetroot in the cake. It tastes chocolatey and is very soft, fluffy and moist. This cake is mildly sweet and so it can be used as a snack perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. And as I have cut it into small squares, they look super cute and are perfect for a tea party. For the egg substitute I used home made Ricotta which I tried last week. The result was awesome.
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour-1 1/2 cups
Cocoa Powder-1/2 cup
Baking Soda-1 tsp
Baking Powder-1/2 tsp
Caster Sugar-1 1/4 cups
Wet Ingredients:
Ricotta Cheese-1/2 cup
Full Cream Milk-1 cup
Beetroot-1 large/ 2 medium
Vanilla-1 tsp
Rice Bran Oil-3/4 cup
Icing Sugar For Topping
Procedure:
For The Ricotta:
1. For the ricotta, heat 1 litre of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream.
2. When you see bubbles on top, add 4 tbs of white vinegar and 1/2 tsp of salt.
3. Remove from flame and set it aside for 30 minutes.
4. Strain the curdled milk through a muslin lined sieve.
5. Place a heavy object on top and leave it for 2-3 hours.
6. You will end up with a soft cheese. Measure 1/2 cup of this and refrigerate the remaining.
For the Cake:
1. Pressure cook the beetroot for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from water and allow it to cool.
3. Peel the skin and chop into small pieces.
4. In a food processor, add the beetroot, milk and ricotta. Blend well.
5. Now add the oil and vanilla essence and blend until smooth.
6. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.
7. Make a well in the centre and add the blended beetroot mixture.
8. Gently mix them both using a wooden spatula.
9. Pour the batter into a greased baking tray. My tray is 14" *10".
10. Preheat oven to 180C. As my tray was black in colour I set the temperature to 160C.
11. Bake for 15 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
12. When cool, dust the top with icing sugar using a fine sieve.
13. Cut into small squares and serve.
Boil and peel beetroot.
Cut into small pieces.
Take it in a food processor.
Add milk and ricotta.
Add oil and essence.
Combine the dry ingredients.
Make a well in the centre and pour the wet ingredients.
Gently fold in.
Pour batter into a greased tray.
Bake, cool and dust with icing sugar. Slice it up.
Serve!!
Labels: BAKES, BEETROOT, CAKE, CHOCOLATES, DARING BAKER CHALLENGE, EGGLESS
