I know I said in the last round of the #steemit iron-chef challenge by @progressive-chef that I wasn't entering this week because I'm flying to England and won't have my normal kitchen, but when I saw it was a Monochrome theme, I had to enter because I had been thinking to try and make a version of the red velvet cake for a while, this was the perfect opportunity! I'm actually flying tomorrow, so I was under pressure again, I always have a habit of leaving things to the last minute. I've always been this way, in my studies and most life activities!

YES these delicious ripe and tasty strawberry's are in season here, They are called Del Maresme strawberries because that is the stretch of coast line they are growing on (where I happen to live). They grow on hill sides overlooking the sea, under covers and unfortunately not organic but they are fresh, local and good quality and perfect for the monochrome challenge. I also grabbed plums and dried cranberries and of course the BEETROOT needed for the natural food coloring for this beautiful cake.

Trust me you can't taste beetroot at all and because I don't have an oven, these will be raw cupcakes. Actually being raw is a lot healthier because you get all the vitamins from the food instead of it being cooked out!

🍓❤️ 🍓❤️ 🍓❤️ 🍓❤️ 🍓❤️ 🍓❤️ 🍓❤️ 🍓

Ingredients

For the cupcake

Beetroot
Dates
Agave nectar
Lemon Juice
Hazelnut oil
Raw cacao butter
Raw cacao powder
Almond and Coconut pulp after making nut milk

Once all combined they are ready to eat! you can chill but they hold together fine. You might want to use a cake tin or muffin to shape them, I don't have either of these (because of the lack of an oven) but I found some cupcake holders and used them to shape the cakes, I wanted to make them look organic and all different instead of streamline perfection.

Here's where things got a bit experimental I created several different purees to compliment the dish, using cranberries, plumes, strawberries and I also made a coconut and strawberry cream. They were all different shades of the red spectrum and different consistencies. I played around with some patterns on the plate. It took me a few goes, to get some nice shapes, I could do with some squeezey bottles and brushes but i'm only using a spoon so it can be a bit tricky.

Even though its a monochrome challenge, I decided to leave the green tops on the strawberries, just to give the strawberries definition in the photo. I tried a few without the tips but I just didn't think it looked quite right. I hope this is still valid anyway. It's 9.30pm already and I've still got to pack my bags so this is going to be my dinner tonight, I guess because it contains a vegetable it can count as a main meal >< It taste bloody delicious so i'm not complaining :)