Beetroot and Seed Cake

I had some Beetroot that I had pulled out of the garden a few days back.  Not enough to bottle so my dilemma was what to do with it. So I googlized things to do with Beetroot and also just happened to watch good old Hugh Fern-Leaf-never-grow from River Cottage make lots of things with Beetroot.  So armed with a recipe and my ingredients I was off to Build me a cake.

First I weighed out 225g of self raising flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.  This was all sifted into a large bowl and set to one side.

Next I was to get some Madagascan or Muscovy duck or something like that sugar. Buggered if I knew what that was but it started with an M and I didn't have any so I used castor sugar.  Ok so in my blender went 225g castor sugar with 180ml of sunflower oil.  Blend together then add 3 egg yolks one at a time and blend each time.  The blender is such fun, pulse, pulse, Bleeeennnd!!  Make sure the lid is on tight.

Add the juice of half a lemon. I realised while doing all this cake construction how I seem to have all my grandmothers old baking tools.  Like her solid as a brick you know what lemon squeezer.  Pretty sure I was using her old wind the handle and hope for music sifter too!! Oh yeah, BLEND!!

Grating Beetroot is farking messy work!!  And I had red fingers for a wee while there.  Anyway, you need 150g of raw and peeled grated beetroot and this is what it looks like.  Add this to the blender and, all together now, BLEND!!

Next you add 75g of sultanas and 75g of mixed seeds.  I used pumpkin, sunflower and linseed.  I have walnuts which I forgot to use, they aren't on the recipe but I think they would be tasty.  Back to Blending again. 

Now you add the brightly coloured mixture from the blender to the dry ingredients that have been waiting patiently on the bench.  Mix gently with a wooden spoon.

Remember the eggs, well you beat the whites until they are nearly STIFF!!

Add the Stiff whites to the wet Red stuff!!

It is so not like me to follow instructions exactly, but then again it is so not me to bake a cake that I have never made before.  But at this point you have to fold the egg whites into the cake mixture with a metal spoon.  Something to do with air I think?!  You fold this until all is combined in a happy relationship.

Pour the cake mixture into greased or lined loaf tins.  Place in the your oven at 180* for 30 minutes.   Set your timer!!

You now have half an hour to do what you want.  Like hang out some washing, do the dishes, check things on your computer and plan a new garden!!!

When the timer goes off you must return to the kitchen. 

Remove from the oven, cover with tin foil and put back in for another 25 minutes.

When these come out of the oven you let them rest covered for about 15 minutes before turning  onto a cooling rack.

Make some lemon drizzle with the juice of the other half of that lemon you used at the very beginning and probably cannot find, and some icing sugar.

Drizzle over the top of the loaves and top off with Poppie Seeds!!!

Ready with a freshly picked bunch of garden flowers to go for a drive in the country for lunch.

And here are my two guinea pigs taste testers!!  Sue and Liz, also Joe was there but wouldn't join in with the picture taking.  This went down well after a fabulous lunch of mushroom soup and tasty farm bake bread.

I think it is safe to say it was a success!!  But lets not tell TOF that I can actually bake!