Look away now if you’re on a diet. While this mousse might contain a generous helping of roast beetroot, I can make no claims for it being at all healthy. It’s rich, indulgent and highly calorific. Which is why it tastes so darn good.

Isn’t it the most amazing colour? You can imagine the look on my girls’ faces when they first saw it.

White chocolate and cardamom, as you’re probably aware, work brilliantly together. I made white chocolate and cardamom cookies for Christmas presents last year, and they went down a storm. The addition of beetroot not only gives it a glorious colour, but also adds an almost fruity, almost juicy flavour, which lifts it to new heights and stops it from being too cloying.

Be warned though: this velvety mousse is quite intense. I served mine in teacups. Next time I think I’ll use espresso cups, as a little goes a long way.

White chocolate, beetroot and cardamom mousse

Serves 8

350g beetroot, washed and trimmed
8 cardamom pods
100ml milk
300g good white chocolate (I used Green & Black’s)
300ml double cream
3 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 200°C / gas mark 6.

If your beetroot are irregular sizes, cut them all to the same size. Place the beetroot in a roasting tin and add a little water. Cover with foil and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until tender. Leave to cool, then rub off the skins wearing rubber gloves to prevent your fingers staining.

Puree the beetroot in a food processor with 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of the double cream until smooth.

Crush the cardamom pods to extract the seeds, and grind these with a pestle and mortar to a fine powder. Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the cardamom powder and heat gently until it just begins to boil, then remove from the heat.

Break the white chocolate into pieces and place in a microwaveable bowl. Gently melt in the microwave on a low setting. Do it in short bursts: keep checking and stirring to ensure you don’t over heat. White chocolate has a tendency to go grainy if you heat it too much.

In a large bowl, whip the remaining cream, and in another beat the egg whites to form stiff peaks.

Pour the warm milk into the chocolate through a sieve to catch any bits of cardamom. Add the pureed beetroot and stir it all together gently.

Fold in the egg whites, followed by the whipped cream.

Pour into your cups or serving bowls.

Chill in the fridge for a few hours until set. Serve with a cookie or shortbread.

As beetroot is very much in season, I’m entering this mousse into Ren Behan’s Simple and in Season food blogging event, as well as Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy‘s Extra Veg challenge, which is this month hosted by A Mummy Too. I love sneaking extra veg into my children, especially in their puddings! I am also entering it into Beantown Baker’s Power of Pink Challenge, Jen’s annual event to help promote Breast Cancer Awareness during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.