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Chocolate and beetroot brownies
Chocolate and beetroot brownies
added by HughFW

The international success of the carrot cake has surely paved the way for experimenting with root vegetables in other cake recipes. Well, this is my contribution to the genre. It' s a corker - rich and velvety, and a tad lighter than a traditional, fudgy brownie. Warm from the oven, it makes a good pudding brownie to serve with vanilla ice cream. This recipe comes from Hugh's new book 'River Cottage Everyday'. This book shows how Hugh’s approach to food can be adapted to suit any growing, working family, or busy young singles and couples for that matter - copy and paste this - http://bit.ly/3mOgIe to find out more.

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Prep time
  • 20 mins
Cook Time
  • Bake for 20-25 mins
Servings
  • Makes about 20
Ingredients
  • • 250g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • • 250g dark chocolate (about 70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into pieces
  • • 3 medium eggs
  • • 250g caster sugar
  • • A pinch of sea salt
  • • 150g self-raising flour (I use wholemeal, but white works well too)
  • • 250g beetroot, boiled until tender, cooled, peeled and grated
, , ,
Directions
Grease a shallow baking tin, approximately 20 x 25cm, and line the base with baking parchment. Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set the oven at 180 degrees celsius/Gas Mark 4 and put the bowl in it for a few minutes until the chocolate and butter start to melt. Stir, then put back into the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely. Of course, you could melt them together in the traditional way, over a pan of hot water, but it seems a shame not to exploit the warming oven. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until combined, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Combine the salt with the flour, sift them over the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in with a large metal spoon. Fold in the grated beetroot - be careful not to over-mix or it will make the brownies tough. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes; when the brownies are done, a knife or skewer inserted in the centre should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don 't be tempted to overcook them or they will be dry. Remove the tin from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool before cutting into squares. Variation Plain chocolate brownies With a little more sugar and a little less flour than the beetroot version, these are dense and fudgy - a classic brownie. They're very good served warm as a pud, but also excellent cold. Follow the main recipe but increase the caster sugar to 275g, reduce the flour to 125g and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the egg and sugar mixture. Omit the beetroot.
10 replies
nandan
Replied on

Just pulled my batch out of the oven. OMG fantastic - the beetroot stops the sugar rush and makes them the most delicious brownie I have ever had.

Neoreosc...
Replied on

Really moist, rich brownies. Mine needed an extra 10 mins but they were really lovely.

magdalen...
Replied on

These are the best brownies in the world!

davereed...
Replied on

I tried these today and they are delicious. So moist, thanks!!

lerium
Replied on

I tried this recipe out as soon as I saw it on river cottage and I must say that they are absolutely gorgeous. Everyone who has tried them think so too. when you tell people that there is beetroot in them they look at you funny but when they taste them they just want more.

eskymo
Replied on

This is also really yummy if you substitute the beetroot for bananas - I had a few that were going brown and was going to make banana bread, but decided on something choclatey intstead and thought I'd use this recipe. Now I can't decide which I like best beetroot or banana brownies???

Daniella...
Replied on

Hey, I made theses a while back with my home grown beetroot and they are fab! Im not a massive brownie lover but these where very moist and had a great earthy taste!
Thanks very much, ill be making some more when the beetroot has grown.

me1
Replied on

I must say I tried this recipe when it first aired on tv, I don't realy like chocolate cakes but love beetroot. I had a go and liked it soo much I have made them a few times.

Though the first time I made them I didn't read the list of ingredients properly and bought 85% coco chocolate and was a little disapointed I couldn't taste the beetroot as well as I'd hoped. The second time they were fine, I wouldn't have thought just 15% would make such a differance!

FLSunshi...
Replied on

A friend sent me this recipe/video. Loved the video; tried the recipe and loved that as well! I tried melting the chocolate in the oven, which worked, but I let it get a little overdone and almost ruined the whole thing. I guess I'm one of those "out of sight out of mind" sort of people. I think I'll stick to the double boiler method on stovetop even if it does waste a bit of energy. :(
The brownies were terrific! Very light and moist but still with that dark chocolate richness that make brownies so yummie! Thanks!!!

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