White Chocolate - Beetroot Cake with Peppery Blood Orange Buttercream

Huh, if you'd ask if this cake was a spontaneous idea, well then, I would say yes. However, the idea was waiting for about 2 years to be finally baked! Why? Hmm, can't tell you, I just did not find the right opportunity to make it. Okay, no special occassion today, no nothing, I just felt like, I gotta do it, now or never. Nope, it is not that serious, but I guess you got me, don't ya? Besides I bought about 10 kilos of blood oranges, yeah that's crazy, but it was a must, because they disappear for weeks and I can't be without. I am crazy for blood oranges. And as they are great with beets, well it was clear that they must be included in the cake. Maybe it is a bit daring to pare it with black pepper, but go for it! Just be careful, because you have only made it, if it tickles your throat. Otherwise you missed the point! Serve it among a slice of candied blood orange or any other citrus, like mini mandarins.

Ingredients:
for the cake:
100 g white chocolate
100 g butter
50 g beetroot
juice of 2 mandarins
125 ml beetjuice
85 g sugar
1 egg
125 g flour
10 g baking powder
70 g coarsly chopped macadamia nuts

Peel and dice beetroot and cook in mandarin juice over low heat, then puree together with the beet juice. Meanwhile melt chocolate and butter over steam. Pour molten ingeredients into a bowl and add pureed beetroot-beet juice mixture. Beat egg with sugar until pale and stir it into the beet batter. Sift flour and baking powder, then fold it into the batter together with the nuts. Butter and flour a 16-18 cm baking form and bake cake for 45-55 minutes over 170°C.

for the buttercream:
2 eggs
200 g icing sugar
100 ml blood orange juice
2 gelatine sheets
200 g butter
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1-2 tablespoons orange liqueur

Beat eggs with sugar until pale, add blood orange juice and beat it over steam until it thickens. Then stir in the previously soaked gelatine and let it cool. Then whisk in room temperature butter and season with black pepper and orange liqueur.

for the candied mini mandarins:
10-15 mini mandarins or other citrus
500 g sugar

Cook fruits for 2-3 minutes in boiling water, then chill in ice cold water. Bring 500 ml of water to the boil with the sugar. When it reached the boiling point reduce the heat and cook fruits for 30-45 minutes in 90°C hot sugar syrup.