CHOCO BERRY RECIPES

Steps:

• 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.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Grease a 23cm/9in springform cake tin with a little oil and line the base with baking parchment.
• Measure and sift the cocoa powder into a bowl or jug and whisk in the boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.
• In another smallish bowl, combine the ground almonds (or flour) with the bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt.
• Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment (or other bowl and whisk arrangement of your choice) and beat together vigorously for about three minutes until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream.
• Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the ground almonds (or flour) mixture.
• Scrape down and stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very centre, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.
• Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with some ice cream, as a pudding.