Ooey Gooey Beetroot Brownies

I recently bought a juicer and have become slightly obsessed with juicing (a whole other topic!), beetroot being a staple in all my juice concoctions. Beetroot has slowly become one of my favorite vegetables to cook with and eat. I’m not sure why because it has a sort of earthy, dirty flavor. Maybe it’s the gorgeous ruby color that adds a dash of wow to anything you cook or the heartiness of the vegetable. It can substitute for meat (on occasion), it can be eaten raw, cooked, warm, cold, grilled, roasted, boiled, and the list goes on.

In this recipe, beetroot adds a gorgeous color, an earthly flavor and most of all some nutritional value to classic dessert. The dark chocolate adds antioxidants and mood lifting properties. Need I really say more?? They’re brownies for goodness sake!

Ingredients:

400 g beetroot, leaves removed

100 g good dark chocolate, broken into pieces

150 g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

250 g (11oz) caster sugar

3 eggs

100 g plain flour

50 g (2oz) cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

Directions:

1.  Carefully wash beetroot under a cold tap. Do not scrub them – simply rub off any dirt with your fingers. Try to avoid damaging the skin otherwise the beetroot will ‘bleed’ while cooking.

2.  Place the beetroot in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer, then cover and continue to simmer for between 30 minutes and 1 hour, depending on the size and age of the beetroot. They are cooked when their skins rub off easily and a knife can easily be inserted into the center of each beetroot.

3.  Once cool enough to handle, rub the skins off the beetroot and cut beetroot into chunks. Place in a food processor with the dark chocolate and blend until a smooth purée and set aside. Warm beetroot will melt the chocolate nicely.

4.  Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). If the cake tin (8”x8” square tin) has a removable base, butter the sides and line the base with a square of baking parchment, otherwise line the base and sides of the tin.

5.  Mix together the butter and sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

6.  Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl for just a few seconds until mixed then gradually add these to the creamed butter mixture, beating constantly.

7.  Beat in the puréed beetroot mixture.

8.  Sift the remaining ingredients together and fold into the wet ingredients until fully combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin reaching half way up the pan and smoothing the top with a palette knife or spatula. There is a bit extra batter that can be poured into a muffin tin (yields 3-4 additional brownies).

9.  Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the centre of the cake is almost set but still wobbles when you gently shake the tin.

10.  Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool completely in the tin before carefully removing the cake and cutting into squares to serve. (If you can resist them for that long, these will keep for a few days in an airtight container.)

Excellent the next day, heated in a microwave or oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.