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'we should cocoa' chocolate and PG Tips cake

15 February 2011 by Dominic Franks

… that’s tea to you and me…

… for this months ‘we should cocoa’ challenge the mystery ingredient was tea! Quite an unusual one, I think you’ll agree but a great challenge… and the more I thought about it the more it seemed to make sense… both tea and dark chocolate have that earthy, heady quality that hits you at the top of your mouth and lingers… I initially wanted to use a light floral tea such as Earl Grey or Jasmine but I felt this was almost too sophisticated for what I wanted to achieve…

… and then a thought struck me about using a third ingredient that would compliment both the tannin in the tea and the bitterness of the chocolate… hello my old friend beetroot… and beetroot needs a strong, kick-in-the-teeth kind of cake-fellow… Beetroot, meet PG Tips.

… for my non-British friends PG Tips is a bog-standard English Breakfast Tea. Not fancy. Not grand. Just good tea with a strong clean, taste. It delivers a reliable cuppa every time. It’s a tea of the people… the builders tea.

The recipe I’ve gone with is a recent favourite and easy to make but I’ve made a bundt shape this time because this was the only cake tin my good friend Jenny had in her cupboard. It was her fathers cake tin and over 60 years old but has turned out as probably one of he best-formed cakes I’ve ever made…

… and if a cake could be both light and fluffy and moist and dense at the same time, then this is it…

the builders tea cake





1/2 cup of boiling water
2 tea bags
250g plain chocolate broken up
3 large free range eggs
200g light muscovado sugar
100ml sunflower oil
1tsp vanilla extract
100g self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarb
1/2 tsp baking powder
50g ground almonds
250g raw beetroot (finely grated)
– put the kettle on, place the tea bags in a cup and add half a cup of boiling water… let this sit whilst you make the cake,
– melt the chocolate (i did it in a microwave but a double boiler is the traditional way)
– whisk together the egg, sugar and oil until smooth and creamy, stir in the vanilla extract then fold in the flour, bicarb, baking powder and ground almonds
– grate the raw beetroot, squeeze out the liquid and fold it into the cake mix along with the cooled melted chocolate
– add the tea and re-mix the cake mixture… it should be loose but firm, not sloppy.
– pour the mixture into you cake tin (I used a 20cm round bundt tin) and bake on 170 for 50 mins – 1hr.
– cool COMPLETELY on a wire rack




eat and of course, enjoy!

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Filed Under: Everything else Tagged With: chocolate

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Comments

  1. Chele says

    15 February 2011 at 5:21 pm

    I love that you have called this the Builders Tea Cake – if ever there were two words you'd never hear in the same sentence it would have to be builder and cake lol. Looks so good, I want a piece right now!!!

  2. Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes says

    15 February 2011 at 5:54 pm

    Dom, you're killing me with these delicious recipes! Please pass a slice!

    Oh, thanks for explaining what PG Tips is! I was thinking “parental guidance” suggested . . . huh I said to myself?

    Have a good one! As usual, a great visit!

    Mary

  3. Michael Toa says

    15 February 2011 at 7:46 pm

    I've never baked with tea. This cake sounds and looks utterly delicious. I love the colour too from the beetroot. I've got the tea (PG of course) and now just need a slice of the cake…

  4. Please Do Not Feed The Animals. says

    15 February 2011 at 7:57 pm

    And can you taste the tea in it?
    I have a compulsion – I have to have a cup of tea and some chocolate at least after every meal but about every two hours if I am at home all day. It is something I need to stop especially as I am not nearly so active during the winter months.
    So, part of me is desperate to make this cake and the other part really feels I should be avoiding it just now. But really I know I won't give up cake and having extra tea in my cake along with my tea (!) sounds wonderful.
    Thanks for the recipe.

  5. Suelle says

    15 February 2011 at 8:10 pm

    This looks such a smart cake – I love the clean lines of that tin shape. Could you taste the tea?

  6. MissCakeBaker says

    15 February 2011 at 8:52 pm

    Not sure what I love more – the look of the cake or the fact the cake tin is 60 years old!

  7. Brownieville Girl says

    15 February 2011 at 11:25 pm

    The texture looks perfect.

    Come on now ….'fess up – have you just bought shares in a beetroot farm?!!!!!

  8. From Beyond My Kitchen Window says

    16 February 2011 at 2:18 am

    Absolutely my kind of cake. Yum!!

  9. Tess Kincaid says

    16 February 2011 at 3:05 am

    Yummity-YUM!!

  10. lovemyhusband says

    16 February 2011 at 9:25 am

    Hi Honey
    Well, the cake is still going strong, G and I have a slab each night and it just keeps getting better. That tin of my dads really worked.

    Hope to see you soon, Love to the Viking & Hols

    Love Jenny xxxxxxx

  11. Dom at Belleau Kitchen says

    16 February 2011 at 9:31 am

    Thanks all for the cool comments. The cake was really good and as Jenny just said it's one on those cakes that gets better and better with each day.

    How jealous are we all that they get to keep it and eat it!?!?

    And yes BVG I have shares in beetroot farms all over the uk!

  12. Magic Cochin says

    16 February 2011 at 3:37 pm

    I must try this! Your cake looks perfect đŸ™‚

    Celia

  13. VegBoxBoy says

    16 February 2011 at 5:06 pm

    That's a very tidy cake. Most impressive.

  14. Phil in the Kitchen says

    16 February 2011 at 5:14 pm

    Looks good – fantastic colour. Beetroot obsession is a new one one me, though.

  15. Salty says

    16 February 2011 at 9:54 pm

    Builders tea cake? With PG Tips? I think I've just come over with an attack of the patriotic vapours – brilliant idea!

  16. The Viking says

    17 February 2011 at 1:23 pm

    I must admit that I'm one of nature's freaks – I don't like cake.

    However, I have family that do love cake, and they love tea, and they have birthdays coming up. I've not baked since I was a child, but I am going to bake this as soon as I can. Looks lovely (even to a non-cake eater!)

  17. Josie @Skinny Way Of Life says

    17 February 2011 at 4:34 pm

    I'm a cake fiend and this looks amazing, especially the texture!! I'm a good cook but i suck at baking : / can you ship to the United States!? : P

  18. Michelle Peters - Jones says

    17 February 2011 at 5:44 pm

    Isn't it amazing how the mention of tea brings out the patriotic Englishman/woman out in us?

    This cake does look wonderful. Beetroot in cake is such a good trick for keeping it moist and delicious. And the tea would just complement it.

    This theme seems to have really brought out the creative in all of us!

    PS – Does this cake count as one of your five-a-day ;-)?

  19. Les rĂªves d'une boulangère (Brittany) says

    18 February 2011 at 3:29 pm

    Looks lovely! I could never guess there was beetroot hidden in there. I'm really intrguied. I must give this ingredient a go sometime soon!

  20. Peggy says

    18 February 2011 at 4:14 pm

    I love the ease of this cake! Such an interesting combination of tea and chocolate, but obviously, it works!

  21. Susan says

    18 February 2011 at 5:36 pm

    I love the color of this cake, not wuite red, not quite cocoa brown, not quite golden from the tea, sooo interesting and I agree that the crumb looks fantastic! I also love, Dom that you used that vintage heirloom bundt tin … I truly feel it makes the cake even more special!

  22. Choclette says

    20 February 2011 at 7:28 pm

    Looks very elegant for builders tea, but it does look grand. And I just love it that you're still using beetroot, no wonder you've achieved such a perfect looking cake. Thanks for entering We Should Cocoa

  23. Baking Addict says

    26 February 2011 at 9:31 pm

    What a delicious looking cake. I love the flavour combinations. Will definitely have to give this a go sometime.

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About Dom In The Kitchen

My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Dom In The Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

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