Chocolate, Beetroot and Salted Caramel Cake

Makes one 23cm triple-layer cake

Photo: Sophie Likes Cake

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 2 ½ cups caster sugar
• 300ml canola oil
• 250g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup good quality cocoa
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 100ml milk
• 1 cup grated raw beetroot
• 3 cups chocolate ganache
• salted caramel

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 c. Grease and line three 23cm round cake tins with baking paper
2. Using an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar on medium speed until mixture is pale and creamy and tripled in volume. With mixer on medium speed, slowly drizzle in oil and combine.
3. Melt chocolate in a glass blow over a saucepan of simmering water. Add chocolate to egg mixture. Stir to combine.
4. Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder into a bowl. Using a large metal spoon, fold a third of the dry ingredients into chocolate mixture. Add a third of the milk and combine. Continue in this way until all combined.
5. Fold grated beetroot through chocolate moisture
6. Spoon mixture into prepared tings. Bake in centre of oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in tins before turning out.
7. To assemble, use a serrated knife to cut the dome tops off the cakes. Spread ½ cups salted caramel over the top of two cakes and stack to form on triple-layer cake sandwiched together with caramel.
8. Spread a thick layer of chocolate ganache over top and side of cake using a palette knife.