Chocolate & Beetroot Layer Cake with Cacao Fudge Frosting

Ingredients

GF, RSF, Dairy-free

2-3 hours

12-15

Cake

• 300g good quality dark chocolate
• 80g coconut oil
• 3 eggs or 3 'chia seed eggs' for a completely vegan cake (blend 3 tbs chia seeds with 6 tbs water (or 9 tbs of water if it seems a little dry) and leave to sit for a couple of minutes)
• 1¼ cups coconut sugar (or panela or 1 cup brown or raw sugar)
• ½ cup pure maple syrup (or ¼ cup coconut sugar or sugar of choice)
• 1 tbs vanilla bean paste or extract
• ¾ cup buckwheat flour
• 1½ cups almond meal
• ½ tsp bicarb soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup cacao powder
• 400g raw beetroot, peeled, grated, or blitzed in a food processor until fine
• ¾ cup milk of your choice
• ½ tsp sea salt

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

• 3 large ‘just ripe’ avocados
• ⅓ cup coconut oil, softened
• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tbs cacao powder
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 200g dark chocolate, melted & slightly cooled

Method

Cake

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C / 350°F (fan forced)
2. Grease and paper line two 20cm cake tins. 
3. Melt chocolate and coconut oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.
4. In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs, coconut sugar, vanilla, and maple until thick and light.
5. Fold in the buckwheat flour, almond meal, cacao powder, bi-carb, baking powder and sea salt.
6. Next fold in the grated beetroot, milk, and melted chocolate, and mix gently until just combined.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tins and bake for 50 - 60 minutes depending on your oven.
8. Once the cakes are cooked remove from the oven and set aside to cool.​

*If you are planning on frosting the cakes relatively quickly, place them into the freezer for about an hour or until completely cool.

Frosting

1. In a food processor add the avocado and blend until super smooth (this will take 2-3 minutes). Taking the time on this step will ensure the frosting is silky smooth, which is exactly what we want. 
2. Next add the coconut oil, maple, cacao powder, vanilla, sea salt, and blend until smooth (1-2 minutes).
3. Finally, add the melted chocolate and blend until smooth (a further 1-2 minutes).
4. Place the mixture into the fridge for an hour or two to firm up before frosting the cakes. ​

To Assemble the Cake

1. Ensure the cakes are completely cold before frosting (this will prevent any melted frosting disasters). 
2. Place the first cake layer onto your serving plate then scoop a couple of large spoonfuls of frosting onto the cake and smooth with the back of a spoon or a frosting spatular. 
3. Place the second cake on top then add more frosting to the top of the second layer and around the sides of the now 2 layered cake.
4. Smooth the frosting around the cake with a tall frosting spatular until smooth.
5. Decorate simply with a dusting of cocoa OR flaked chocolate, dried beets, or berries. Enjoy!