Start as you mean to go on..

 HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you had a good one. I've been a little quiet lately thanks to too much Christmas scoffing and boozing (I'm most certainly entering 2014 a little rounder than I'd like) but I thought I'd start the year with a good'un - about cake no less.

I sent a geeky letter to Waitrose a few months back, in the hope of possibly winning some fancy Le Creuset cookware, not because I just wanted a new pen pal. No surprises, I didn't cut the mustard and wasn't included in their letters section, but I did get a nice reply. I titled it 'Being True to Beetroot', and here it is..

"I've always been fascinated by vegetable cakes; I remember the revelation as a child that carrot cake did in fact contain carrots, to which I then inspected every slice to get a glimpse of those flecks of the orange veg. So, I was thrilled to find some alternative recipes in the latest Waitrose magazine, and, mixer in hand, I directed myself to the kitchen straight away - also, the fact that The Great British Bake Off has just started again has meant that I've had a thirst for baking for the past couple of weeks! 

I thought I would share a photo of the lovely beetroot cake I made following Lily Vanilli's recipe. Now, I'm not going to lie, it was a fair bit of effort - lots and lots of grating - I was literally caught red handed making a mountain of washing up, but it was totally worth it. I've had beetroot cake in various guises before, mainly chocolate or richly spiced cakes, but this one made with polenta really brought out the earthiness that you typically associate with this root vegetable, and the mascarpone frosting, not being overly sweet, made it a very grown up bake - despite it's vivid colour!

So, thank you for including the recipe, it was delicious, and I'll be sure to try out the Fiona Cairns butternut squash and Harry Eastwood courgette ones too. They certainly make eating cake feel more virtuous."

.. What I didn't say was that I'd actually made this cake a week or so before the magazine came out, and seized the opportunity to be in it to win it (don't hate me Waitrose!). I've had Lily Vanilli's 'Sweet Tooth' book, which the recipe is from, for quite some time and made numerous things -successfully - from it. I've also visited her teeny little bakery, that's only open on Sundays, near Columbia Road's flower market in East London, it's the best place for a naughty brunch, but be prepared to queue as it's very popular. Sweet Tooth is a baking bible. If you're into cakes/tarts/biscuits/etc then this is an absolute must. Its filled with beautiful recipes which have interesting flavour combinations - bacon and maple syrup tea cakes, hot toddy tarts, baked apple cider doughnuts - and it explains in quite straightforward terms the 'sciencey' bits behind baking, with plenty of tips to tighten your technique. It has become my go-to book for anything sugar related, and with lots of ideas on decoration (without a poncey piping set), you can really create some masterpieces at home.

So, if Santa didn't bring you the book for Christmas this year, may I suggest you treat yourself a little New Year's present, it's worth every penny. Oh, and make sure you try the beetroot cake.