A distant relation of a recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, this is my answer to the question “why would you make cake out of beetroot?”

Because beetroot brownies are the future.

Beetroot-almond brownies

Ingredients

250g good quality dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces.

250g dairy free margarine (eg. Tomor margarine block, cut into pieces, or Pure spread)

250g sugar (caster sugar, unrefined light brown sugar or a mixture of the two)

3 tablespoons of ground flax seed + 9 tablespoons of water

1 tsp vanilla essence

100g of plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

50g of ground almonds

50g of roughly chopped almonds

250g beetroot, peeled and grated

 

Method

1. Turn on the oven and set the temperature to 180C/Fan 160C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Find a baking tin approximately 20cm x 30cm x 3cm and cut a length of baking parchment a little longer than the tin to line it.

2. Pop the broken chocolate and the margarine into a heatproof bowl and stand this on a shelf of the oven as it is warming up, so that they melt. Stir occasionally.

3. In a large bowl, mix the flax seed and water together and leave for a few minutes to allow the flax to absorb the water. Mix in the sugar, then add the vanilla essence, and stir in the melted chocolate/margarine until combined.

4. Gently fold in the flour, baking powder and ground almonds, being careful not to overmix. Lastly, fold in the grated beetroot and chopped almonds.

5. Pour this mixture on to the baking parchment-lined tin and smooth until level. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a sharp knife or cocktail stick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove the tin from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.

 

Notes: These will keep well for several days stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. To make these gluten-free, use gluten-free flour and baking powder. To make them nut-free, omit the chopped almonds and replace the ground almonds with an extra 50g of flour. Make sure your chocolate is vegan-friendly – the allergy information will tell you whether it contains dairy.

 

Beetroot-Almond Brownies
 
Cook time
Total time
 
A distant relation of a recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, this is my answer to the question "why would you make cake out of beetroot?" Because beetroot brownies are the future.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 250g good quality dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces.
  • 250g dairy free margarine (eg. Tomor margarine block, cut into pieces, or Pure spread)
  • 250g sugar (caster sugar, unrefined light brown sugar or a mixture of the two)
  • 3 tablespoons of ground flax seed + 9 tablespoons of water
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 100g of plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 50g of ground almonds
  • 50g of roughly chopped almonds
  • 250g beetroot, peeled and grated
Instructions
  1. Turn on the oven and set the temperature to 180C/Fan 160C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Find a baking tin approximately 20cm x 30cm x 3cm and cut a length of baking parchment a little longer than the tin to line it.
  2. Pop the broken chocolate and the margarine into a heatproof bowl and stand this on a shelf of the oven as it is warming up, so that they melt. Stir occasionally.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the flax seed and water together and leave for a few minutes to allow the flax to absorb the water. Mix in the sugar, then add the vanilla essence, and stir in the melted chocolate/margarine until combined.
  4. Gently fold in the flour, baking powder and ground almonds, being careful not to overmix. Lastly, fold in the grated beetroot and chopped almonds.
  5. Pour this mixture on to the baking parchment-lined tin and smooth until level. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a sharp knife or cocktail stick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove the tin from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.
Notes
These will keep well for several days stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. To make these gluten-free, use gluten-free flour and baking powder. To make them nut-free, omit the chopped almonds and replace the ground almonds with an extra 50g of flour.