Beetroot Cake

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 625 ml all-purpose flour
• 10 ml baking powder
• 7 ml bicarbonate of soda
• 15 ml mixed spice
• 5 ml salt
• 375 ml sugar
• 315 ml sunflower oil
• 4 large eggs
• 500 ml peeled and grated beetroots
• 250 ml chopped pecan nuts
• 65 ml apricot jam
• 500 g cream cheese
• 85 ml icing sugar, sifted
• 10 ml grated orange rind
• 375 ml sugar
• 315 ml water
• 3 medium beetroots, peeled and thinly sliced

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 190 ºc.
• 2 sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice and salt twice.
• 3 in a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, oil and eggs.
• 4 add beetroot, nuts and jam and mix well.
• 5 sift in flour mixture and mix well.
• 6 pour into a greased deep 20 cm diameter baking pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean.
• 7 cool slightly in pan, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
• 8 spread thickly with icing and decorate with candied beetroot topping.
• 9 -------icing-----------.
• 10 place cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
• 11 fold in icing sugar and gently mix in orange peel.
• 12 ------topping---------.
• 13 place 250 ml (1 cup) each of the sugar and water in a saucepan.
• 14 bring to the boil.
• 15 add beetroot and reduce heat to moderate.
• 16 boil for 25 minutes.
• 17 remove beetroot slices.
• 18 combine remaining sugar and water in another saucepan and boil until sugar dissolves.
• 19 transfer beetroot to this mixture and cool.
• 20 store beetroot in syrup in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.