Updated date:

Nigella Lawson's Beetroot and Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe

I love baking tasty cakes and I enjoy giving tips on how to make them.

Yummy beetroot and chocolate cake

Yummy beetroot and chocolate cake

Rate this Recipe

Beetroot and Chocolate Cake

Beetroot . . . in a cake? It sounds weird, but it seems to be the new 'it' thing in baking ingredients at the moment. Lots of people have been talking about it—mainly because of the British Bake Off, I think. So I thought it was worth trying out! The idea of putting a root vegetable as strong as beetroot in a cake was almost an urban legend until people really started doing it. It makes the cake so moist and really beautiful, too. You can't really taste the beetroot as the baking and other ingredients change it.

My recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson's, I altered it slightly based on what I had in the cupboard. The cake itself is really tasty and smooth in texture, and you can easily eat quite a few pieces of it. The ganache is so rich; it is nice when it is still hot and runny, or after it has cooled into more of a dark chocolate frosting. Oh, so good!

Cook Time

Prep timeCook timeReady inYields

15 min

40 min

55 min

Serves 10


  • 175g plain flour
  • 10g baking powder
  • 75g cocoa powder
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 225g raw beetroot (ready to eat is easiest)
  • 200ml olive oil
  • 250g dark chocolate, 70% is best, broken into chunks
  • 250ml double cream
  • Butter, for greasing


  1. Preheat your oven to 200C/180C if fan assisted, or Gas Mark 6.
  2. Grease a 20cm cake tin with a bit of butter. A pan with a detachable base is easiest.
  3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder together into a large mixing bowl.
  4. Chop the beetroot and place in a blender. Pulse to chop smaller, then blend until smooth.
  5. Add the eggs and oil to the blender, and mix until combined (should only take a minute).
  6. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until they are all combined.
  7. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and gently tap the edge so it fills to the edges and flattens out on top. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  8. While the cake is baking, make the ganache. Pour the double cream into a small pan and gently heat until it just starts to simmer.
  9. Then remove from the heat and add the broken chocolate, gently stirring until it all melts together. It should have a silky, glossy look. Set aside to cool.
  10. Once the cake has cooked, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes in the tin before you turn it out and place it on a wire rack to cool.
  11. Once cooled, top with ganache and serve!

Have you tried beetroot cake before?


Chantele and Julie (author) from Wales on December 16, 2013:

Hi Mariochnaydar Hope you like it!

mariochnaydar on December 16, 2013:

Great cake i will try to make it soon

thank you very much


Related Articles