Fairtrade Beetroot & Chocolate Brownies

In Brief

Prep Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 minutes

Serves : 20

‘Beetroot brownies?!Yuk! Gross!’ ‘BEETROOT?! In a Brownie, why?!!’ All things I’ve been confronted with when starting to sell them
at my Riverside stall this month. I’ve had to give away a lot of free tasters to prove people wrong!! Yes, beetroot does have an earthy taste and a lot of
people first taste beetroot in pickled vac-packed form – no wonder they don’t like it. They’ve never really tasted REAL beetroot!!

There are lots of reasons to love beetroot (it’s packed with iron, for example) and it’s incredibly versatile – it can be served sweet or savoury, served roasted,
boiled or eaten raw. You can even use beetroot to dye clothes!!

Think about it – Who thought of putting carrot in a cake? How come that works? Remember the last time you ate carrot cake, did it taste of carrots
or is the carrot used for something else? Exactly, it doesn’t really taste of carrot, rather the carrot adds moisture, texture, natural sugars and makes
the ever so naughty dessert that little bit less naughty. Some might even claim that it’s one of their five a day! I’d of course
never claim that, unless I ate the whole thing 😉

So, going back to the beetroot, adding beetroot to brownies is amazing. The beetroot makes the brownie more sticky and gooey
It also means you use less sugar and, oh yeah, the beetroot gives the brownie an edge that will beat any other brownie hands down.
If you’re a bit wary about giving the brownies a bash in the kitchen, then perhaps pop down to the market and I might just give you a taster if
you charm me!

Shopping List

  • Organic Butter: 250g
  • Dark Fairtrade Chocolate: 200g
  • Grated Cooked Beetroot: 200g
  • Peacan Nuts: 50g
  • Fairtrade Cocoa Powder: 80g
  • Sifted Plain Flour: 65g
  • Baking Powder: 1tsp
  • Fairtrade Sugar 360g:
  • Free-range eggs: 4
  • :
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Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 celsius and get your beets boiling in some water

2. Slowly melt the chocolate and butter together in a large bowl over a pot of simmering water – make sure you stir occasionally so the mixture doesn’t burn on the bottom

3. Skin and grate the beetroot then add to the melted chocolate along with the nuts

4. Grab the remaining dry ingredients – the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar – and mix them together in a separate bowl.

5. Stir the mixed dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture. Stir it well so you don’t end up with any lumps

6. Beat the eggs and then slowly stir them into the bowl until it has a silky consistency.

7. Smear some butter over some baking paper and use the paper to line a baking tray (25cm should do the trick).

8. Pour the mixture into the tray and stick it the oven for about 25 mins.

9. Lick the remaining chocolate mixture from the mixing bowl and spoon while you wait but don’t ruin your appetite!

10. After 25 mins, the brownies should be ready to pull out of the oven –  they should springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle. If you want to use a skewer, stab the middle of the brownie – it should come out a little gooey rather than clean.

11. Allow the brownie to cool in the tray before pulling it out of the tray gently and chopping into squares.

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