Sorry for the gap in posts. I am in New Zealand and it is not easy to cook on the road. I prepared this post just before I left and it is gorgeous. A little rich so keep portions small. This size feeds a crowd and is perfect for Christmas.
The idea comes from Harry Eastwood, who uses all sorts of vegetables to make her cakes moist without adding too much fat.
Some people may guess this cakes contains a vegetable but I bet nobody will guess it is an aubergine. The cooked aubergine replaces the fat usually found in cakes and adds moisture to this silky smooth tasting cake. But don't be fooled into thinking this cake is low fat. 100g chocolate contains about 30g fat so you need to go easy. To make it look super special I have added some real gold leaf. This is optional. But if you do want to try using, it can be bought online or in large supermarkets like Waitrose in the UK.
Chocolate, aubergine, cranberry and orange cake
15 slices
Ingredients
- 1 large aubergine (weighing roughly 400g)
- 300g dark chocolate
- 50g cocoa powder
- 50g ground almonds
- 3 medium free range eggs
- 1tsp orange extract
- Zest 1 orange
- 200g golden syrup
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 tbsp brandy
- 100g fresh cranberries
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
You will need a loose bottomed cake tin measuring 23cm across and 7cm deep, or a baking tray for cooking individual small muffin sized cakes.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350C/gas mark 4. Line the cake tin with baking parchment and brush lightly with oil. Or fill the muffin tin with small paper muffin cases.
Puncture the aubergine all over with a skewer, place in a bowel, cover with clingfilm and cook in a microwave on high for 5 minutes until soft. Throw away any liquid that has accumulated, leave to cool a little. Skin the aubergine and puree with a stick blender or liquidiser. Add the broken up chocolate which will melt in the warmth of the cooked aubergine.
Place the remaining ingredients apart from the cranberries and caster sugar in a large bowl and mix together thoroughly. Stir in the aubergine and melted chocolate and 50g of cranberries.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 30 minutes. If you are making small muffins reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and and let it cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling tray. Place the remaining cranberries in a small bowl with the caster sugar and cook in the microwave on high for 1 minute. These can be used to decorate the cak