Beetroot-Chocolate-Muffins for Pauline

The  cake recipe  is originally from Nigel Slater, who describes himself as "a cook who writes" and who cooks "simple, handmade food for everyday.". I have found Nigel Slaters homepage while searching for a recipe of a "Beetroot Chocolate Cake".


Nigel Slater describes beetroot cakes as follows

"This tastes no more of beetroot than a carrot cake tastes of carrots, yet it has a similar warm, earthiness to it. It is less sugary than most cakes and the scented icing I drizzle over it is purely optional."

The suggestion to "get rid" of some of my beetroot by baking them into a lovely cake (or now muffins) came from a good aussie friend who now lives in London for nearly 10 years. Thanks Pauline for the suggestion! It's a great way to use beetroot and the muffins are just delicious.

The ingredients list and the preparation method as stated below are from the BBC homepage which contains even more recipes from Nigel Salters which sound very tempting to me.

Ingredients
200g/7oz butter
250g/9oz cooked and peeled beetroot
200g/7oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
4 tbsp hot espresso
135g/5oz plain flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
5 free-range eggs, separated
190g/6.5 oz golden caster suger
crème fraîche or double cream to serve

Preparation method

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease a 20cm/8in cake tin with a little butter and line the bottom of the tin with a disc of baking parchment.
• Blend the beetroot in a food processor to a rough purée.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of hot water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water), then pour in the hot coffee.
• Stir in the butter in small pieces and leave to soften. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  
• Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa together in a bowl and set aside.
  
• Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks in a bowl until frothy. Stir the eggs into the chocolate and butter mixture, then fold in the beetroot.
• Whisk the egg whites until still peaks form when the whisk is removed. Fold in the sugar.
• Fold the sugar and egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour and cocoa mixture.
• Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in the tin, then serve with crème fraîche or double cream.

Source
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/beetroot_chocolate_cake_82388 

Rezept auf Deutsch

Zutaten
200g Butter
250g gekochte, geschälte Randen
200g dunkle Schokolade (70% Cocoa-Anteil)
4 EL heisser Espresso
135g Weissmehl
1 gehäufter TL Backpulver
5 Freilaufeier, getrennt in Eiweiss und Eigelb
190g Zucker
Crème fraîche or Doppelrahm zum Servieren

Zubereitung

• Backofen auf 180°C vorheitzen. Backform einbuttern oder mit Backpapier belegen.
• Randen zu einer dicklichen, nicht zu feinen Masse pürieren.
• Schokolade im Wasserbad schmelzen, dann den heissen Espresso dazu rühren.
• Den Butter in kleinen Stücken dazu geben und schmelzen lassen. Das Ganze abkühlen lassen.
• Währenddessen das Mehl und das Backpulver vermischen und zur Seite stellen.
• Die Eier trennen. Das Eigelb in einer Schüssel schaumig rühren und zur Schokolade-Buttermasse geben. Das Randen-Püree darunter mischen.
• Das Eiwiss schlagen bis sich Spitzen bilden, wenn die Mixstäbe herausgenommen werden. Den Zucker unterrühren. Die Masse in die Schokoladen-Mischung geben, dann die Mehl-Backpulvermischung untermischen.
• Die Masse in die vorbereitete Form einfüllen.
• Cake für 40 Minuten backen.
• Muffins (normale Grösse) für 18-20 Minuten backen.
• Minimuffins oder Gugelhöpfli für 12-14 Minuten backen.
  ... Nadelprobe machen bei jeder Art von Backform.
• In der Form etwas abkühlen lassen.
• Mit Puderzucker bestäuben und/oder mit Crème fraîche oder Doppelrahm servieren.