Rolling Thunder Beetroot & Chocolate Cake

This recipe makes four delicious cakes. Not only do they contain one vegetable of your 'five a day' but they're also made with ground almonds (instead of flour) so they happen to be gluten free.

The ingredients are as follows:

4 peeled and cooked beetroot

4 eggs

4 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

Pinch of salt

125g ground almonds

125g dark chocolate

4 tbsp olive oil

30g white chocolate

4 physalis

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Cook for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees c

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For detailed written instructions click through the steps at the foot of this text. Below are a summary of the intructions:

• Take 4 peeled and cooked beetroot
• Purée the beetroot in a food blender
• Add 4 eggs
• Whisk eggs until mixed into puréed beetroot
• Add 4 teaspoons of honey
• Add1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix
• Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• Add a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder and mix
• Fold 125g of ground almonds into the mixture
• In a separate bowl, add 125g of dark chocolate and melt
• Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the chocolate
• Add the melted chocolate to the beetroot mixture and mix
• Line four 10cm cake tins with baking parchment
• Add mix to all four tins (should fill two thirds of depth)
• Cook for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees c
• Once cooked allow to cool
• Cut a cylindrical hole in the cakes
• Melt 30g of white chocolate and pour into each hole
• Peel the four physalis fruit
• While the chocolate is still soft, push the physalis into the chocolate (to resemble a fried egg)
• Allow white chocolate to cool
• You cakes are now ready to serve

Take 4 peeled and cooked beetroot. These are available from supermarkets often vacuum packed in their own juices but be sure to check they are not in vinegar. Check the ingredients list on the pack, it should only say beetroot.

Purée the beetroot in a food blender (best done with the lid of the blender on to avoid a horrible mess! We blended with the lid off so that you can see what's going on)

Pour the puréed beetroot into a bowl

Add 4 eggs

Whisk eggs until mixed into puréed beetroot

Add 4 teaspoons of honey

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix again

Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

Add a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder and mix again

Fold 125g of ground almonds into the mixture

In a separate bowl, add 125g of dark chocolate and melt

This can be done by sitting a heatproof bowl containing the chocolate over a pan of barely simmering water (a bain marie) and allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally. We did it with a small heatproof bowl containing the chocolate sitting inside a bigger heatproof bowl into which we poured hot water.

Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the chocolate

Add the melted chocolate to the beetroot mixture and mix thoroughly again

Line four 10cm cake tins with baking parchment

Add mix to all four tins (should fill two thirds of depth)

Cook for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees c (when cooked you should be able to put a metal skewer into the centre of the cake and remove it without leaving a thick trace of cake mix on the skewer)

Once cooked allow to cool

Cut a cylindrical hole in the cakes

Melt 30g of white chocolate. As before this can be done by sitting a heatproof bowl containing the chocolate over a pan of barely simmering water (a bain marie) and allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally. We did it with a small saucepan over a very low heat because we're only melting a small amount of chocolate.

Pour the white chocolate into the hole in each cake

Peel the four physalis fruit completely removing the papery lantern bit...

While the chocolate is still soft, push the physalis into the chocolate (to resemble a fried egg)

Allow white chocolate to cool

You cakes are now ready to serve