Mary Berry’s beetroot and chocolate cake with feathered icing

MAKES 12 SQUARES

3 large eggs
50g cocoa powder
150g self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
175g light muscovado sugar
300ml sunflower oil
225g raw beetroot, peeled and coarsely grated (approximately 2 medium beetroot)

ICING

200g Bournville chocolate, broken into pieces
200ml pouring double cream

TO DECORATE

50g white chocolate, chopped

Step 1 Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. You will need a 30cm x 23cm traybake tin, greased and lined.

Step 2 Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the cocoa, flour, baking powder and sugar and stir a little. Gradually pour in the oil and beat with a wooden spoon to give a thick batter. Once smooth, stir in the grated beetroot.

Step 3 Spoon into the tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes until risen and springy to the touch. Remove to cool.

Step 4 To make the icing, break the Bournville chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Pour in the cream, sit above lightly simmering water and stir until melted and smooth and glossy – be sure not to overheat. Leave to cool a little so that it is a thick pouring consistency (this won’t take long, depending on room temperature). Pour the icing over the cold cake, spreading out with a palette knife to cover the cake completely.

Step 5 To decorate, melt the white chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of hot water. Place in a small piping bag, snip the end and pipe in lines down the cake, about 2cm apart. Using a cocktail stick, drag through the white chocolate in opposite directions across the cake to give a feathered effect. Cut in small squares and serve.