I promise you this recipe I dreamt up on the weekend is 100 per cent worthy of such an obnoxiously long title.

I have been politely declining beetroot’s renaissance for some time now.

To me the ‘humble beetroot’ is somewhat of a deceiving mistress. Hiding behind that vibrant magenta façade is in fact a rock hard, earthy-tasting carrot/potato lovechild. 

Originally used for clothes dyes, winter road salt and animal fodder, you can hardly blame a gal for taking a wide berth.

Even more disturbing, European food shortages during the world wars saw a rise in mangelwurzel disease, which resulted from copious consumption of – you guessed it - beetroots.

Don’t get me wrong, pickle them, boil them up in a delicious borscht and they are dreamy – but on their own, I am less than enthused.

I have been informed by many a – sort of – reliable source, that beetroots are supposed to be really good for us.

This weekend it was one of my very best friends birthday. She is somewhat of a healthy person and I knew she would appreciated delicious baked goods that were also smuggling some hidden veggies.

And I guess everybody loves something that tastes like chocolate but looks like a cosmic purple moon cake. 

The salted ‘caramel’ and peanut butter frosting alone turned me into an animal. I am very ashamed of how much I inhaled before even reaching icing stage.  

1. For the frosting, combine everything in a food processor and set I the fridge for about an hour. 
   
2. For the cakes, add the butter, beetroot, dates and vanilla been paste to a saucepan and simmer until all of the butter has melted and the dates have softened. 
   
3. Add the cacao baking powder, flour, sugar and coconut cream liquid. Stir in the egg once the liquid has cooled slightly. 
   
4. Scoop into cupcake trays and bake for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before icing. 
   
5. Ice/pipe frosting on top and sprinkle with crumbed pistachios.