Chocolate Beetroot Brownies (Dairy Free)

I know exactly what you’re thinking.

Why the heck would you want to spoil a perfectly good brownie by putting beetroot in it?

Well, in response to that I have one word for you: gooeyness.

It’s true. Just like with zucchini bread, adding vegetables to baking gives an added softness (and in this case, gooeyness) that you just can’t get with the regular recipe.

Added bonus – these brownies are a little bit pink! Who doesn’t like pink brownies?!

I have only baked with beetroot once before, and that was in a chocolate cake, many moons ago. But when I found myself with extra beetroot after whipping up some delicious pita wraps (as with the ginger beer, some of my best creations come from having too many leftover ingredients) I knew I needed to create some chocolate beetroot brownies.

Now, if you can’t stand beetroot, as I know many people sadly can’t, don’t worry. These brownies don’t actually taste like beetroot at all! They taste like ridiculously gooey chocolate brownies. Ingenious, huh?

Basically, the beetroot offers liquid to the mixture without adding a lot of extra butter or oil. That keeps them moist and gooey. How many times can I use the word “gooey” in this post? Ummm….lots, is the answer.

These brownies are dairy free, replacing the regular butter with coconut oil and using good quality dark chocolate. They were so soft that they almost fell apart when I ate them. And I ate a lot of them, so I should know.

The moral of this recipe is this: you can feel good about yourself by eating some vegetables in your brownies, while still getting your fill of chocolate and gooeyness.

There. That’s the gooey count done for the day.

Chocolate Beetroot Brownies (Dairy Free)

Recipe by Julia

Servings

16

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200g) dark chocolate (chips or broken into pieces)

• 1 cup (200g) coconut oil

• 3 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 cups (275g) light brown sugar (caster sugar may be substituted)

• 1 1/2 cups (200g) self-raising flour

• 1 3/4 cups (200g) fresh raw beetroot, grated

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and grease and line a 20×20 baking tin.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (or melt in a microwave proof bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time), stirring constantly. Set to one side and allow to cool slightly.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla extract and sugar with a whisk and then slowly pour in the melted chocolate and combine.
• Using a wooden spoon, carefully fold the flour and beetroot into the chocolate mixture until there is no dry flour left in the bowl.
• Pour the mixture into the baking tin and bake for around 40 minutes. A toothpick or skewer should come out mainly clean, but you want the brownies to still be slightly gooey and a little wobbly.
• Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tin and allowing to cool on a baking rack.