Recipe: Beetroot Chocolate Brownies

It was last summer that I really started enjoying beetroot for the first time when I discovered the beetroot and goat’s cheese salad at Bumpkin’s secret garden restaurant in Chelsea. So when I spotted the beetroot chocolate brownies in The Great British Bake Off Winter Kitchen book, I was skeptical but intrigued. I decided to give them a try. And they turned out to be moist and delicious, like home made brownies should be. Plus, I like to tell myself that they are healthy. They have iron and vitamin filled beetroot and delicious dark chocolate that’s full of antioxidants.

Ingredients:

• 2 raw beetroots (about 200g) unpeeled
• 150g unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
• 170g light muscovado sugar
• 100g golden caster sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 160g plain flour
• cocoa powder, for dusting

Start by setting the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4.

Cut the greens off of the beetroot and wrap them individually in foil. Bake them for 40 minutes, until they are soft. Cool them until they’re easy to touch. Peel and grate them into a bowl. Set this aside. Grease a 20cm square tin with butter. (The recipe says to line with baking paper. I didn’t have any so I didn’t and it didn’t matter.)

Put the butter, vanilla, dark chocolate, muscovado and caster sugars and salt into a heatproof bowl. The recipe says to set the bowl over a pan of simmering water making sure the base doesn’t touch the water. Heat slowly, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. I cheated and stuck the bowl in the microwave, taking it out to stir every minute.

Next, mix in the two eggs and the beetroot.

Fold in the flour next.

Smooth into your baking dish and pop into the oven for 25 minutes.

It’s ready when it’s firm on top but a toothpick comes out a tiny bit gooey in the middle. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 20 minutes before you try to flip it over.

Flip it onto a plate, dust with cocoa powder and cut into squares.

Share generously.

Enjoy!