Beetroot brownies

Beetroot brownies? Why not ;). Cakes made with vegetables are nothing unusual these days and have quickly become a staple of the food blogging world. You don’t have to look far – most of you have probably already tried carrot cake, spinach cake or courgette cake, and chocolate beetroot muffins have been on the blog for a long time. Beetroot works wonderfully in chocolate cakes, giving them an exceptionally moist texture. No one I served them to guessed that the brownies contained such an unusual ingredient, and everyone was delighted with the flavour. Next time you’re cooking beetroot for dinner, boil two extra and save them for these brownies ;).

Ingredients for beetroot brownies:

• 250 g butter
• 250 g dark chocolate (70%), chopped
• 200 g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 150 g plain flour or wholemeal flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 250 g cooked beetroot (unsalted), peeled and finely grated

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the butter in a saucepan and set over a low heat. Melt, then remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Leave for a few minutes, then stir until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, crack in the eggs and add the sugar. Whisk briefly, just to lightly beat the eggs. Add the chocolate mixture (it can still be slightly warm) and whisk until combined. Sift the flour and baking powder directly into the mixture and whisk just until combined. Finally, fold in the grated beetroot.

Grease an 18 × 28 cm baking tin with butter and line with baking paper. Pour in the batter.

Bake at 170°C for approximately 20–25 minutes. A skewer inserted into the brownies may come out moist and covered in crumbs, but it should not have any traces of raw batter on it. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: Hugh Fearnley – Whittingstall.