Dark Chocolate Ginger Beetroot Cake

From Abel and Cole. 7 Weight Watchers points per serving if there are 12 servings per cake.

A Shropshire-based beetroot grower once invited me for tea and offered me a slice of chocolate beetroot cake, alongside beetroot sorbet and other beet treats. This is my take on the cake. It's a fabulous way to use up your roots, and the beetroot is not there as a gimmicky ingredient. It lends a lovely moistness, an earthy sweetness and a rich, ruby tinge. Serves 8.

• 200g beetroot
• 125g plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of sea salt, crushed finely
• 150g caster sugar
• 200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3 whole eggs
• 150g dark chocolate, finely grated
• Crème fraiche to serve

First, cook your beetroot. Put in a pot, cover with water and boil for 1 hour, or until tender enough to pierce right through with a fork. Peel, brushing the skin off with your fingers while holding the beets under a lightly running tap. Roughly chop and puree in a food processor until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks with the butter and the sugar until pale and creamy. Whisk the whites until stiff and meringue-like. Gently fold the yolk mix to the flour. Then, fold the whites in 1/3 at a time. Gently stir in the beet puree, chocolate and ginger.

Grease an 18.5cm (7in) cake tin with butter, dust with enough flour to coat - or line with parchment paper. Add the cake mix. Bake for 50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. It will be fairly moist, almost fudgy in the middle. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, then turn our and cool on a rack. Serve with crème fraiche.