Chocolate and beetroot cake

Ingredients (serves 12)
250g good quality, plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
3 large eggs
200g light muscovado sugar
100ml sunflower oil
100g self-raising flour
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2tsp baking powder
50g ground almonds
250g raw beetroot
Icing sugar for dusting

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees/gas 4. Grease a 22cm round, loose-bottomed cake tin with butter and line the base with baking parchment.
2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water then set aside to cool.
3. Place the eggs, sugar and sunflower oil in a bowl and whisk together using an electric whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
4. Stir in the vanilla extract and sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and gently fold into the mixture, together with the ground almonds.
5. Peel and grate the beetroot (a good tip is to wear rubber gloves to pretend your hands from staining) and then squeeze out the excess liquid. Fold the beetroot into the cooled chocolate mixture.
6. Pour the mixtures into the tin and bake for around 50 minutes. If the cake browns too quickly, cover it with foil and test the cake by inserting a skewer into the centre to see if it comes out clean.
7. Cool the cake on a wire rack and then dust with icing sugar before serving.