World Food Night

I am so excited to be taking part in - wait for the hashtags - #WorldFoodNight. It's ran by Refugee Action and the beautiful part is that ANYONE can take part from ANYWHERE, on Saturday 1st March. I, for example, will be taking part from my humble kitchen and questionably sized dining table.

The idea is, you hold a dinner, ideally using a recipe from the World Food Night website or recipe pack, and the people who come round and eat your offerings pay, however much or little as they want. All these service charges then get donated to Refugee Action, who help to prevent starvation for refugees in countries all over the world.

The tricky part is obviously choosing what to cook. I was prepared to have to de-tomato and vegetarianise a lot of the recipes but a lot of them actually come fully prepped to my fussy needs. At the moment, I'm torn between the Sichuan Hotpot from China or a more traditional Cheese and Onion Pie from good old Blighty... both completely different, but equal amounts of temptation. Even though I've just consumed a pretty large piece of cake, I'm now hungry again just writing this... oops!

Can I just point out how completely overjoyed I was to receive my fundraising pack? I was in a bad mood and it really cheered me up. My name was handwritten onto it (correctly spelled too!), and as well as all the bits you need for your dinner - recipe cards, place settings, STICKERS etc - it also had two teabags from Lancashire Tea and a trial membership card for Gourmet Society! I honestly felt sliiightly birthdayish (hey - it's my fake birthday. I'm allowed to make up words). This is not, it seems, a charity event in which the organisers expect you to do all the hard work. The team are clearly as enthused and dedicated as they need us 'chefs' to be. Sign up here.

I will let you know after March 1st, what I chose, how I cooked it, and how it turned out!

Happy Cake, AKA Spiced Beetroot and Orange Cake

So, I had some beetroot acquired from making a salad, and almost a whole box of eggs, because I'd needed just one as an ingredient for something. These two things, waiting for me to use them, culminated in one thing in my head:

I want to make a beetroot cake.

I always think about cakes when there are eggs in the house, primarily because I don't like eggs and use them only in things where they can't be tasted. It could also be because I'm obsessed with cake, and make up valid excuses to think about them.

I'd never made a beetroot cake before, but the season is perfect for them (although nearly over now) and the crimsonny colourings are awesome for a little valentine's treat. I'm drawn to the effect beetroot has on the colour of foods, just like a little child is drawn to shiny wrapping paper (or me. I am still drawn to shiny wrapping paper).

So in search of inspiration, I began researching the internet for recipe ideas... and got pretty put off. The web was full of elaborate affairs, with 20 ingredients, whites and yolks, 1 hour and 30 minutes of my time. I wanted my cake to reflect the beetroot itself: beautiful (especially on the inside), but simple, quick to use, and understated.

I have been using my personal carrot cake recipe for years and even now (having just eaten a slice of cake) the thought makes my eyes turn into little carrot shapes - if you're lucky, I'll make it for you one day. And I thought, 'is a beetroot so unlike a carrot?'. I decided they were not, and that's when my 'beetroot that once was a carrot cake' recipe was born.

Spiced Beetroot and Orange Cake

NB: I unfortunately only had 100g beetroot to hand so I made half the above recipe - however the above (if my carrot cake is anything to go by) is the most foolproof, unburnable and of course, gives you more cake.

1) Preheat oven to 170C. Whisk the sugar, oil and eggs together until they look like caramel (they won't taste like caramel though, so don't try it!). Mix in the beetroot and orange zest, and then finally the dry ingredients. Enjoy stirring the vivid colours, then pour into a lined cake tin (or silicone case, which I used) and place in the oven. This should take about 30 mins, or until the cake is springy and firm and a knife comes out of the cake clean.

Are... are those ingredients smiling?

I'd like to think it looks a bit like Mars

2) Make the syrup while the cake's cooking. Whisk the sugar and orange juice, and a little lemon juice too if you like. Taste to see if it's sweet enough, or to your personal taste. Add more sugar if needed.

A pretty aesthetic mess

3) When the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and prod it all over with a cocktail stick. Spoon the syrup all over the little holes and all around the cake. Leave to cool.

4) Make the icing: mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Taste to see if any extra sugar should be added. Spread all over the cake with a spatula. If you have made a big enough cake, you can split it in two and double the icing ingredients, to create a sandwich layer too.

This is such a delightful little treat to have with a cup of tea each day. It's citrussy enough to remind you that Spring and Summer are coming soon, but it's also spicy, warming and earthy enough to get you all cosy from the crazy weather that's going on at the moment. Making it produced endorphins because it was so uplifting to work with all the colours. Plus - if you want to eat cake on a frequent basis, this really is a healthier option: wholemeal flour, low fat cheese, fruit and all the nutrients that come with beetroot... there's not really an excuse NOT to eat it.

If I was feeling extra Valentiney, I would have put the mixture into little heart-shaped cupcake cases, and added a little red food colouring to the icing.

When people ask if I'm afraid of red food as a whole... they really just need to review my relationship with this cake.