Friday, January 09, 2009

Chocolate Beetroot Brownies


New year, heartfelt resolutions, need to be healthy - you know the spiel I'm sure. All a bit hair shirt really in these dark days of chill winter. Fear not, feast with bron has the answer - pleasure and comfort wrapped up in dense rich velvety chocolate. But definitely good for you, part of the new going forward plan. These delicious little suckers are made with beetroot - giving them depth and moistness and giving you the moral high ground because you've had one of your five a day. Perfect, no?

Chocolate Beetroot Brownies
250g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus a little more for greasing
250g plain chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids), broken into squares
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
150g self-raising flour
250g cooked and peeled beetroot, grated or puréed

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/ gas mark 3. Lightly grease a baking tin that's roughly 20cm x 30cm in size and at least 2cm deep. Line the bottom with greaseproof paper and butter the paper, too.

Put the cubed butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl held over a pan of barely simmering water.

In another bowl, whisk the sugar with the eggs until smooth and creamy. Stir in the chocolate mixture until well combined. Sift in the flour, stir, fold in the beetroot. Pour into the prepared tin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a knife or skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it - be careful not to overcook the brownies. Remove from the oven, then stand the tray on a wire rack until cool enough to cut into squares.

It comes from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstalls column in the Guardian last year - and he says it makes 15 squares. His idea of squares are a bit bigger than mine - it can make a few more if needs be!

It cost about £6 - with the chocolate on special at Waitrose.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the colour - that slightly reddish tinge! They remind me of red velvet cake!

bron said...

They came out a great colour - and almost shiny. Don't know red velvet cake - but I love the sound of it!