Did You Try Making: Antonia Cafati's Beetroot Cacao Cake - Countlan Magazine Countlan Magazine

October 23, 2013

Did You Try Making: Antonia Cafati’s Beetroot Cacao Cake

Antonia Cafati the Santiago, Chile based vegetarian chef, teacher, writer and blogger from Brotes y Raices: miscellanea naturista shares a recipe with Countlan for autumn.

“I chose this recipe for its natural sweetness. It is ideal to serve it with hot herbal tea when it’s cold outside. The fact that the cake is made with dates, beetroot and honey, gives it just the right amount of sweetness without going overboard. I also wanted to use the last blueberries and flowers of the summer as a reminder of the warm season.”

Recipe: Beetroot-Cacao Cake

The cake has a nice moist texture, the taste is a combination of cacao with a mild almond after taste. The blueberries give it a fresh tone.

For the cake:
1/2 cup of dates (if the dates are too dry, cook them in a pot with 1/2 cup of water on low heat until the water evaporates)
4 spoons of honey
1/3 cup of virgin coconut oil
1 1/2 cup of rice milk (you can use almond, oat or any other non-dairy milk)
1 egg (if you are vegan replace it with 2 spoons of linseed with a bit of water, imitating the texture of an egg)
1/2 cup beetroot purée (2 beetroots cooked and mashed)
1/3 cup bitter cacao powder
1 1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup polenta
1/2 cup chopped almonds

For the filling:
2 cups soaked and peeled almonds, use 1 1/2 because it grows in water
2 spoons honey
1 cup water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 spoon virgin coconut oil
blueberries
rice milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Put the dates, honey and coconut oil in food processor, and blend until puréed. Add the rice milk, egg and beetroot purée until you get a homogeneous mix. Place the mix in a bowl, add the cacao, almond flour, and polenta, stir well (it works better if you add the ingredients one by one). Finally add the chopped almonds. Place the mix in a greased pan (with a bit of sunflower oil) and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes.

To Make the Cream Filling:
Add the almonds, water, honey, lemon juice and coconut oil in a food processor and pulse until you get a cream.

For serving:
When the cake is cool, take it out of the pan and slice it in half creating two layers. Place the first layer on a plate, pour a bit of rice milk in a spoon and use it to moisten the cake by sprinkling it on top. Next, spread the almond cream across the cake followed by a layer of blueberries. Place the second cake layer on top of the first and repeat with the cream and blueberries. Decorate with edible flowers and/or aromatic herbs, such as peppermint.

NOTE: The filling is meant to be consumed fresh (within two days) otherwise the color changes and starts to oxidize because of its raw preparation.

Photo Source: Antonia Cafati Brotes y Raices

Three Foods worth Trying in Santiago:
01 My Cochayuyo Avocado Ceviche: Cochayuyo is a local algae that goes great with avocado, red onion and seeds.
02 Porotos Granados con Mazamorra is one of the few typical Chilean vegetarian dishes. It is a summer soup with fresh beans (porotos), corn puree (mazamorra), basil and vegetables.
03 Chirimoya alegre (custard apple and orange juice) is a super natural and fresh Chilean dessert.

Three Restaurants worth Trying in Santiago:
01 Quinoa: Is a very beautiful and good vegetarian restaurant.
02 Peumayen: Is a new, popular restaurant. It’s based on local products and ancestral preparations.
03 I recently visited a restaurant called Tea Connection, which has a lot of good vegetarian options.

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