A one bowl, cheap, quick and incredibly easy recipe that tastes completely sweet, fudgy, rich and delicious but is sugar free and even contains some vegetables! Packed with goodness but without any beetroot flavour, this is the perfect healthy Easter treat to enjoy together this holiday.
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil (not extra virgin*)
- 200 g (7oz) cooked peeled beetroot (you can buy a pack pre-cooked or roast raw ones yourself at 220C/425F/gas 7 for about 45 mins-1 hour then peel and use - they would be more nutritious but means the extra faff!)
- 150 g (3/4 cup) xylitol (if you are used to shop-bought sugary cakes, I recommend adding a little more sweetener - I would use a few drops of liquid stevia**, but you could add more xylitol if you prefer)
- 200 g (1 cup) plain full-fat natural yogurt (or unsweetened coconut yogurt for vegan)
- 2 tsp sugar free vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt (about 1/4 tsp)
- 200 g (2 cups) wholemeal spelt flour (or wholewheat flour)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 50 g (1/2 cup) cacao powder
- creme fraiche and fresh fruit, to serve (edible flowers and/or non-edible Easter decorations can look lovely, too!)
-
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Grease and line a 6" (15cm) deep cake tin (you can also make this in an 8" (20cm) cake tin, but it won't be as tall a cake and you may need to reduce the baking time).
-
Blitz the olive oil, beetroot and xylitol in a food processor until smooth. Add the rest of the cake ingredients and pulse until combined as a smooth batter. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool*** and serve topped with creme fraiche, fresh fruit and/or edible flowers or Easter decorations.
* I have not tested this with extra virgin olive oil as I feel the flavour would potentially be a bit strong and come through. However, if you don't mind the flavour in cake, it could be delicious and contain even more health benefits!
**You can get liquid stevia here. I bought mine almost two years ago and am still using it, as you only need a drop or two at a time to sweeten things since it is 300 times sweeter than sugar.
***Although delicious (and the least beetroot-y) cold, our favourite way to have this is cooled on the top but still ever so slightly warm on the inside. It makes the cake super fudgy. With a deep 6" cake, we left it to cool for about 20-30 mins to have it still be slightly warm in the centre.