Sweet and indulgent, these guilt-free beetroot chocolate brownies contain less than half the amount of sugar that ordinary brownies do! This healthier alternative still has an intense chocolate flavour and a fudgy centre, so you’d never guess they contain beetroot!

Serve as a pudding with ice cream or on their own at teatime.

Ready in: 1 hour

Makes: 12

Ingredients

500g whole, fresh beetroot (approx. 3-4)
100g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
100g plain flour
25g cocoa powder

Method

1. Start by preparing the beetroot. It might be useful to wear a pair of rubber gloves so that your hands don’t get stained. Top, tail and peel the beetroots, ensuring you end up with around 400g flesh. Roughly chop and place in a large microwaveable bowl. Add a splash of water, cover and microwave on full power for around 10 minutes. The beetroot should be tender.

2. Heat the oven to 180C. While the beetroot is cooking, grease and line a 20cmx30cm traybake tin.

3. Chop the chocolate and butter into cubes and tip into a food processor along with the vanilla extract. Drain the cooked beetroot, removing any excess liquid. Add the beetroot to the food processor and blitz until smooth. The chocolate and butter will melt as you blend it from the heat of the beetroot.

4. Place the sugar and eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk until light and fluffy. Spoon the beetroot mixture in and fold through. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and fold through again to make a smooth batter.

5. Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. The brownie should have risen and still have a slight wobble in the centre.

6. Allow to cool completely before removing from the tin then cut into squares.

Ingredient of the Week: Beetroot

Fresh beetroot is a root vegetable and can be eaten raw, cooked or pickled. It has a sweet earthy flavour and a vibrant purple / red colour which lends itself to a variety of sweet and savoury dishes. Beetroot has many health benefits too! It’s high in vitamin C, potassium and fibre and the leaves are rich in calcium and iron.

Why not try our recipe for these moreish beetroot chocolate brownies? You can pick up fresh beetroot grown in the UK from our Greengrocers.