Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/565097
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 SEPTEMBER 2015 14 Food Piece of cake Baking always seems like such a job. So many ingredients, so much heat, so much mess. These simple recipes from last season's Gourmet Today TV are guaranteed to give you great baking ideas with easy to follow recipes. Check out Michael Diacono's beetroot and chocolate cake, which will make getting the kids to eat their veggies that much easier, and Sean Gravina's pistachio and olive oil cake with roasted grapes and crème frachie. Gourmet Today TV will be back again for a second season this October. Stay tuned. Michael Diacono Want to get your kids to eat more veggies? Check out this recipe for chocolate cake with beetroots that's so delicious the kids won't even know there are vegetables in there! Ingredients • 175g plain flour • 1 tsp baking powder • 75g cocoa powder • 225g sugar • 3 eggs • 200g beetroot, cooked and peeled • 200g vegetable oil Topping • 250g plain dark chocolate • 250ml fresh cream Method 1. Heat oven to 200°C. 2. Line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper 3. Sift flour with baking powder and cocoa into a large bowl. 4. Add the sugar. 5. Blend the eggs with the cooked beetroot and vegetable oil in a food processor till smooth. 6. Fold the beetroot mixture into the dry ingredients until well amalgamated. 7. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 40 mins. Check with a skewer to make sure cake is cooked. 8. Prepare topping by heating cream in a pot till it starts to boil. 9. Add the broken chocolate and stir in till melted. 10. Remove from heat and leave to cool before using to coat cake. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 6 February, 2015. Beetroot and chocolate cake Pistachio and olive oil cake with roasted grapes and crème fraîche Sean Gravina Ingredients • 145g plain flour, sifted • 1 tsp baking powder • ½ tsp salt • 1 egg • 160g sugar • 110ml milk • 80ml olive oil • 100g pistachios Orange lavender frosting with roasted grapes • 2 cups seedless grapes (red) • 1 tbsp butter • Sprinkle brown sugar • 1 tub crème fraîche • 1 orange, zest only • Few sprigs lavender • 2 tbsp honey Method 1. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add the salt. 2. Whisk the sugar and egg together for 1 min on low speed, then increase to medium high and mix for 5 mins until thick. 3. Combine the milk and olive oil. 4. With the mixer on medium low, add half the flour mixture, followed by half the milk and oil mixture and half the pistachios. Repeat until all ingredients are incorporated. 5. With the mixer on medium low, add half the flour mixture 6. Dry ingredients sifted together 7. Line the baking tin with butter and flour and pour the batter and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 40 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. 8. Once done, allow to rest in the tin for 10 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool for 40 mins. 9. In the meantime, melt the butter in a pan and add the seedless grapes and sprinkle with brown sugar. 10. Allow to cook on very low heat for 5 mins. 11. Combine the crème fraîche with the honey, orange zest and lavender petals and whisk until smooth. 12. Slice the cake in half and spread crème fraîche mixture in the centre. Top with the remaining mixture, roasted grapes and orange zest. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 3 October, 2014.