To make the cake – preheat an oven to 160°C. Beat the ricotta, eggs yolks, vanilla extract, beetroot juice, lemon juice, cocoa and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in the almond meal, hazelnut meal, grated beetroot and lemon zest and mix well to combine. In a separate bowl- whisk the egg whites to form soft peaks. Fold in a third of the eggs whites to loosen, then gently fold through the rest. Spread into a suitable, lined cake tin and sprinkle over the flaked almonds. Bake for about 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
For the syrup – place all the ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Stir constantly and reduce to syrup consistency.
To serve – place some cake on each place with some whipped double cream and finish with a drizzle of the beetroot syrup.
¼ cup beetroot juice
1 tablespoon cocoa, mixed with water to a paste
juice and zest of ½ a lemon
1 small beetroot, grated
700g ricotta cheese
8 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups caster sugar
400g almond meal
200g hazelnut meal
100g flaked almonds
double cream, whipped to serve