Very Chocolate Cake

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Brush a little oil on the base and sides of the tin and line the base with baking paper.

Measure out the flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds, salt and baking soda onto a plate and set aside until needed.

Grate the beetroot onto another plate.

Measure the buttermilk.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl for 4 full minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the beetroot, followed by the rest of the dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and coffee before beating again one last time, to make sure that all the ingredients are well introduced.

Pour into the tin before placing into the middle of a hot oven for 30 minutes. Secure a sheet of foil over the cake for the last 15 minutes if you think that it is over baking.

Once cooked, unmold onto a cooling rack and peel off the baking paper. Cool on a wire rack until cold.

To make the icing, melt all the ingredients in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once there are no lumps of chocolate left, stir to combine. Stirring will thicken the mixture, so a couple of turns around the bowl should thicken it to exactly the correct consistency for icing the cool cake.

With the cake still on the wire rack, pour the icing liberally over the top of the cake and let it drip down the sides. Transfer onto a plate or cake stand for serving and plant your flowers into the top for decoration.