Sweet Treats – Chocolate Beetroot Brownies

Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

Much as we all love chocolate brownies, there’s something at times that is so dense, so sweet that we fear a sugar coma just by tasting them. The addition of beetroot adds an imperceptible earthiness to the chocolate, cutting through the sweetness and adding a depth on your palate.

Not to mention it’s a fab way to get vegetables into your reluctant fussy eaters.

There’s really nothing different in this brownie recipe, except for the addition of some grated cooked beetroot.When cooking brownies I find it always pays to err on the side of caution – take the brownies out of the oven sooner rather than later. I prefer a soft, almost uncooked centre rather than letting them dry out.It goes without saying you need to wear rubber gloves to avoid covering your hands in garish pink stain, but in every other way it’s straightforward. Get to it.

INGREDIENTS

250g beetroot, unpeeled and skins scrubbed; 250g butter, cut into pieces; 250g dark cooking chocolate (about 70 % cocoa), broken into pieces; 3 eggs, lightly beaten; 250g caster sugar; pinch sea salt; 150g self-raising flour

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Grease a shallow baking tin, approximately 18 x 28cm, and line with baking paper so that it overlaps the two longest sides.Trim the stalks from the beetroot, leaving about 3cm of stalk. Place the beetroot in a saucepan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Drain them, and when cool enough to handle, peel the skin from the beetroot and remove the remaining stalks, then grate them into a glass or ceramic bowl and set aside.

Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate has melted, then stir well until the mixture becomes glossy. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and double in volume, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Sift the salt with the flour, over the chocolate mixture, and add the beetroot into the bowl as well. Gently fold it all in with a large metal spoon. It’s important not to overbeat the mixture or it will make tough brownies.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes   – when the brownies are done, a 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.

COST
$7.75 for 12 brownies