This week is National Baking Week and to celebrate I decided to make brownies, very special brownies with a intriguing ingredient. My love of baking is well documented. I enjoy it because it is stress-relieving, creative, rewarding, fun and I believe a home-baked good is always better than shop bought.
Hugh is officially a god. If he can turn a humble beetroot into a glorious, moist, rich chocolate brownie he’s a god in my eyes. Hey you know what I’m like, I’m always drawn to pink food like a magpie to anything shiny, and if it is pink and glittery…well I’m hooked. The taste was nothing like I expected. You can certainly taste the beetroot, but rather than it being an earthy taste its paring with dark chocolate turns it into a deep sweet taste, not unlike cherries. This has helped conquer my belief of vegetables not belonging in cakes.
This recipe was featured on River Cottage Autumn last week and has caused a bit of a stir on foodie forums. One thing I did find was that I had to bake it for quite a bit longer than the original recipe, but this is probably because I used a different sized pan.
Beetroot Brownies
makes 16 squares
From River Cottage Autumn
250g 70% dark chocolate
250g unsalted butter
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
150g self-raising flour
250g boiled beetroot, grated (boil your own, or use ready boiled-as long as it’s not pickled!)
1) Preheat oven to 180oc. Line an 8×8 In a bain-marie (or using the oven method Hugh uses in the above link) gently melt together the chocolate and butter. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
2)Whisk together the sugar and butter then beat in the chocolate/butter mix.
3)Fold in the flour then beetroot. Pour into the tin and bake for 20-30 or until a skewer come out just about clean. Allow to cool in tin before slicing as it will continue to cook until cooled.
1 comment
4 pings
sarah
March 20, 2010 at 4:01 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
Oh, yum and double yum. I am a big veg lover and so many people have been talking about baking with veg lately. I love making cake with beetroot and also a birthday cake with beetroot, courgette, carrot, and a goat’s cheese frosting. Your brownies look delicious. Thanks. :)
Mini Carrot Cakes « Butcher, Baker
March 20, 2010 at 4:29 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
[...] far too many dry, over sweet, mass-produced carrot cakes of the past. Hugh F-W inspired me to put beetroot in brownies and squash in [...]
Sweet beets | Domestic Executive
March 26, 2010 at 5:53 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
[...] beetroot would be a welcome ingredient to our afternoon tea ritual. By way of the suggestion of The Butcher and Baker I ventured to make Beetroot and Chocolate Brownies last weekend. There is no doubt that this [...]
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July 7, 2011 at 9:49 am (UTC 0) Link to this comment
[...] cakes, bakes and geekiness HomeAboutAs Seen On… Twitter Facebook RSS Feed ← Beautiful Beetroot Brownies Adopt a Blogger [...]
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July 7, 2011 at 10:37 am (UTC 0) Link to this comment
[...] having surplus veg and not having a clue what to do with it I put it in a cake. Think back to the Beetroot Brownies & Squash Honey Drizzle Cake (though I have Hugh to thank for both of these recipes). While [...]