Baking isn’t typically my forté, but if I know how to do one thing it is brownies. I think everyone has a general idea of what the perfect brownie looks and tastes like and I like my brownies super chocolatey, thick and definitely a little undercooked and preferably eaten the next day. Why? It is because eating them the next day means the second you sink your teeth into your first brownie it is like eating fudge. I think I prefer brownie this way because I am not a huge cake fan and I think brownies should be indulgent. Nothing says indulgent like fudge. Better yet? This entire recipe is VEGAN FRIENDLY. Yep, no butter, no eggs. Sadly, this isn’t one of those refined-free recipes, I think I have ultimately given up with my sugar-free refined-free baking attempts because they tend to always disappoint, but I think I have a happy medium with these absolutely delightful brownies.
I’m not sure what quite inspired me to put beetroot in the recipe other than the fact that they were 50c each at the market, it was a rainy Sunday afternoon and I had seen it done before by bakeries such as Little & Friday. So, I went on a search for the ultimate vegan version of the famous combination and came across one that I have adapted my recipe from. That recipe used nutmeg and no melted chocolate and I found the flavour to be far too earthy for me and I found the nutmeg with chocolate to be peculiar. Not quite the brownie I had pictured. I wanted to make a recipe that was indulgent, chocolatey and had the perfect consistency. The Nigella Lawson recipe I usually uses has such a fluid batter, so I thought adding more liquid might be the solution to my problem. I decided to add melted dark chocolate as I knew it would help create that perfect texture I was looking for and boost the chocolate flavour to balance the earthy beetroot taste. The chocolate chips were just a perk from leftover chocolate to be honest.
The result? Well, I think I might be sneaking beetroot into my brownies from now on because this recipe made a delicious chocolate treat and the beetroot flavour is masked just enough to coerce even the most health-averse to go back for seconds. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Ingredients
- 2-3 beetroots, peeled and diced
- 1 banana
- 160g dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup plain flour
- 1/2 cup wholemeal flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar + 1/2 cup boiling water (1/2 cup maple syrup)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
METHOD
- First, boil the beetroot cubes in a large pan until soft. Drain and blend into a pureé with the banana.
- Preheat your oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Melt 60g of the dark chocolate. Chop the remaining chocolate into small pieces.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl, except for the dark chocolate, and mix well to combine.
- If not using maple syrup, combine the brown sugar and boiling water in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add all of the wet ingredients to another bowl and stir until combined.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until smooth, then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-45 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean. If you use a deep dish, it may take longer than expected.
- Allow to cool, cut into squares and serve.
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