Chocolate Beetroot Brownies
I don’t usually start recipes telling people to get undressed…but if you’re wearing a white top, take it off now! Or at least put an apron on, these brownies are truly delicious, but not worth ruining your favourite crisp white tee for.
I struggled with this recipe, I squirm admitting this, but I used to be one of those #fitfam people who would sweeeaarrr that courgetti was just like pasta and that cauliflower pizza was ‘actually nicer’ than the real deal. Along with this, was trying to convince my family that no sugar no fun beetroot ‘ brownies’ were better than gooey scrumptious OG brownies made with butter, sugar and more butter. They saw straight through it!
I am very pleased to say this is a very good compromise between the two, all the squish and decadence of a traditional brownie but with gorgeous beetroot back notes and less butter. Trust me on this – it works!
If you have leftover beetroot I suggest making a beetroot dip – blitz in a processor with a dollop of yoghurt, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon of paprika and a dash of dried chilli. Serve with a few other leftover salads for a nutritious and delicious lunch or as a dip for pita!
Ingredients
85g Butter
140g Brown Sugar
1 large free-range
250g Precooked beetroot – NOT IN VINEGAR!
150g Plain Flour
50g cocoa
60g chocolate chopped into chunks – I use milk!
100ml milk
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Line a brownie tin with greaseproof paper. Side note – I don’t have my brownie tin with me in SA, so I used a Pyrex dish measuring about 25cm long and 20cm across so anything around that should work!
2. Beat the butter and sugar together. Here in Cape Town, it’s warm enough that the butter is very soft at room temperature, if yours is rock hard give it a quick zap in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften.
3. Egg the egg and mix well, I switched to a whisk here!
4. Drain the beetroot, put into a food processor and blitz until smooth – you will need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. It may need a teaspoon of water to loosen it if it’s sticking in lumps (This happened to me, but I was using a very small handheld processor so a higher-powered beast may be fine!)
5. Mix the beetroot puree into the butter mixture – admire the great marble colours!
6. Fold in the flour and cocoa powder.
7. Add half the milk and the chocolate chunks, and mix to combine. Add the rest of the milk and gently stir to combine. The mixture should be loose.
8. Pop into your tin/dish. Bake for 22 -27 minutes, it is crucial not to overbake brownies. Mine were down after 25 minutes on the dot, but I kept a close eye on them for the last few minutes. Check with a toothpick/chopstick – if it comes out with no wet dough they are done!
9. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes before taking out. Once cool, cut into squares and enjoy! They are best eaten on the day they are made.
