Vegan chocolate and beetroot cupcakes

For the sponge

• Self-raising flour 260g, sifted
• Soft brown sugar 235g
• Cocoa powder 65g, sifted
• Baking powder 1½ tsp
• Cooked beetroot 335g, roughly chopped
• Coconut milk 265g
• Sunflower oil 135g

For the ganache

• Dark chocolate 250g
• Coconut milk 200g

1. Preheat the oven to 170°c / gas 3.
2. For the sponge: mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder in a large bowl.
3. Blend the cooked beetroot, coconut milk and sunflower oil in a food processor until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine thoroughly.
4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Pour the mixture into the cases until ¾ full.
5. Bake for 35 minutes until the cupcakes dome and their surfaces begin to crack. Leave the cakes to cool in the tin on a wire rack. When cool, remove the cakes (still in their cases) from the tin and set aside. Don’t decorate with the ganache until the cakes are cold or it will melt.
6. For the ganache: break the chocolate into a bowl and leave to one side. Bring the coconut milk to the boil in a saucepan. Once boiling, quickly pour the milk over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has melted.
7. Leave the mixture to cool until it holds a stiff peak when stirred. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a star nozzle, then pipe swirls on the top of the cupcakes.