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Gluten Free Courgette and Beetroot Chocolate Cake by Glutarama
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Gluten Free Courgette and Beetroot Chocolate Cake

Prepare for a taste sensation with this Courgette and Beetroot Chocolate Cake. Who knew that garden vegetables worked so well together. This chocolate cake is moist and rich in flavour with a delicious earthy sweet beetroot frosting coloured a natural beautiful rose pink. Great for using up homegrown veg and hiding veggies in bakes for the children to eat. This is not only gluten free but also dairy free and egg free but you can make with dairy and eggs if you wish.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Seasonal, Tea Time
Cuisine: Vegan
Keyword: Afternoon Tea, Beetroot, Courgette, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Hidden Vegetables, Vegan, Vegetables
Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 359kcal
Author: Glutarama

Ingredients

For the courgette chocolate cake

  • 200 g gluten free self raising flour
  • 150 g courgette/zucchini(s) finely grated
  • 150 g caster sugar
  • 150 ml dairy free milk use your normal DF milk or normal milk
  • 50 g butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter) I use blocks of plant butter, or use normal butter
  • 2 tbso cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp ground flaxseed [see notes for egg version]
  • 1 tsp psyllium husk powder (optional) optional but does improve structure
  • ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice optional but does improve rise
  • 100 g dairy free chocolate chips or normal chocolate chips

For the beetroot frosting

  • 40 g cooked beetroot [see notes on how to do this]
  • 50 g butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter) or normal butter
  • 250 g icing/confectioners sugar confectioners sugar

Instructions

To make the courgette cake

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C | 180°C fan | 400°F | Gas 6 and line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper or loaf tin liner.
  • Prepare and grate your courgette by scrapping out the fluffy seeded centre , no need to peel off the skin.
  • Add the grated courgette to a sieve over the kitchen sink and press down with the heel of your hand to squash out any excess liquid. Set aside for now.
  • In a large mixing bowl add the caster sugar and butter or butter alternative and beat together until pale.
  • Next add the flaxseed, psyllium husk (or egg), cocoa powder and vinegar and mix to combine.
  • Now add the dairy free (or normal) milk and flour and mix to combine.
  • Finally add the courgette and chocolate drops, give the cake batter a good stir. The courgette will loosen the cake batter to a dropping consistency.
  • Pour the batter into the loaf tin and put in the oven for 50 minutes. I check if it's cooked by inserting a wooden skewer. If it comes out clean it's cooked.
  • This cake takes a while to cool completely so take this into consideration.

To make the beetroot frosting

  • Chop the cooked beetroot into small pieces and ideally, with a hand blender, blend the beetroot into a grainy paste (you won't get a totally smooth paste).
  • Tip the beetroot into a large enough bowl and add the 'butter' cut into cubes and the icing sugar and begin to beat together. You will find the frosting takes on a beautiful dusty pink colour with tiny beetroot speckles. Set aside until the cake it completely cooled and you can decorate.
  • I use a reusable piping bag with a flower nozzle but feel free to add your own artistic flare to the cake. For the photo I added some of my daughters rose tea, not edible in bud form but pretty to look at!

Notes

For the egg version:
Instead of adding ground flax seed and psyllium husk you can add one egg. However, this increases the liquid ratio so you will only need to add 100ml of milk. Add the egg and milk to the creamed sugar and butter and carry on with the rest of the method as instructed.
To cook raw beetroot:
You can buy already cooked beetroot in shops (normally sold in vacuum packs of four beets). If using raw and homegrown beetroot top and tail the beetroot and add to a saucepan of boiling water. simmer for 20-40 minutes depending on the size of your beets. 
Once cooked cooled completely and scrape the skin away with a teaspoon, a bit like you scrap the skin off fresh ginger root. Use washing up gloves if you don't want red hands for the rest of the week!

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 79mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg