Beetroot Granola Cake

Me and Pete are moving house and as a result need to use up as much of our food as possible, to save on carrying half opened packets of food 150 miles across the country. This has led to some interesting food over the past week or so (stir fry vegetable curry with peanut butter and mustard anyone? ... surprisingly alright tasting if a bit bizarre), and this cake is the result of having several young-ish beetroot from the garden which needed eating up.

I also had some granola lurking in the back of the cupboard which I put in. If you don't have granola, just use oats and dried fruits, or omit it altogether, and leave out the milk. This recipe was cobbled together from a variety of online ones, and then modified a bit more...  it could have been a disaster but it turned out pretty nice. It's very easy to make, and pretty quick, with one caveat: the beetroot is a bit of a nightmare to grate, so be careful as you will definitely have pink fingers afterwards and will look like you've gone on some kind of murder spree. A final tip: I've found that glass chopping boards don't stain with beetroot, whilst plastic or wooden ones are more likely to.

150g unsalted butter
150g sugar (caster or brown, I used a mixture)
3 eggs
200g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
75g granola
150g beetroot
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, and grease a medium sized cake tin (10 inches, I guess).

2. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time and beat in.

3. Add flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and cinammon, and stir to mix.

  

4. Add granola and stir. Slice off the top and tails of the beetroot, and peel with a vegetable peeler. Grate directly into the mix, and stir. Add the milk, and if using, the maple syrup, and stir. You mixture will look lovely and purple, though the distinctive colour disappears in cooking (unfortunately).

5. Bake in oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack and cool. Tastes great with a cup of hot English tea.