Beetroot, orange, pecan & poppyseed cake
A birthday cake to celebrate 5 years of Wicked Leeks magazine. True to form, we have some veg in the mix; sweet, earthy beetroot adds moisture and a whiff of worthiness. It owes more than a passing nod to a carrot cake so feel free to use those instead, or grated courgette, squash or even parsnip would work too.
Cook's notes
If you’re feeling fancy... you can decorate the top with candied oranges. Halve 2 oranges and cut each half into 5mm thick slices. Heat 1 cup of water with ½ cup of caster sugar in a large frying pan. Add the orange slices and simmer for about 20 minutes, turning the slices every so often, by which time the liquid should be a sticky syrup. Remove the slices and cool on baking parchment. You can add a thin slice of beetroot to the pan at the start if you’d like the orange to have pinkish/red hue, or alternatively use blood oranges if they are season.
Ingredients
- 200ml sunflower/vegetable oil
- 250g light muscovado sugar
- 4 eggs, divided into yolks & whites
- 180g beetroot, grated
- 125g pecans, roughly chopped
- 2 tsp poppy seeds
- ½ tsp ground mixed spice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 orange, zested & juiced
- 250g self raising flour
- ~for the frosting:
- 50g soft butter
- 125g cream cheese
- 125g mascarpone
- 125g unrefined icing sugar
- zest of 1 orange
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking parchment.
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Step 2
Place the oil and sugar into a large mixing bowl or food mixer and whisk together. When they look creamed and well mixed, whisk in the egg yolks, a little at a time. Stir in the beetroot, pecans, poppy seeds, mixed spice, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, a pinch of salt, orange zest and half the juice. Keep to one side.
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Step 3
In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until light, fluffy and just forming stiff peaks.
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Step 4
Sift the flour into the bowl of wet ingredients. Fold it in with a large spoon until no dry patches appear, taking care not to overmix. Next, fold one spoonful of egg white into the cake mix to loosen the mixture, followed by the rest, folding until the mix is well combined. Do not beat the mixture as you don't want to knock the air out of the egg whites.
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Step 5
Split the mix evenly between the tins and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife tip or skewer comes out just clean. When ready, cool in their tins for 15 mins and then transfer to a cake rack until completely cooled.
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Step 6
To make the frosting, put all ingredients in a bowl, making sure to sift the icing sugar, and beat until smooth. Keep chilled until needed.
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Step 7
To build, sandwich the layers with one third of the frosting and top with the rest. Garnish as you see fit (see cook’s notes).