Chocolate and beetroot brownies
You’d never know that these brownies contain two whole cups of beetroot. This nutritional root vegetable adds a subtle rich and earthy flavour which pairs surprisingly well with chocolate.
We were also inspired by some delicious chocolate avocado cake we recently tried (thank you, Notes), and just had to come up with a way to include avocado in a cake of our own.
And so here’s the result. The avocado added to the mixture might sound strange, but it’s what makes these brownies so soft and moist. (Sorry.) Rich in essential fats, the avocado essentially replaces butter or oil. And it’s a great way to add the superfood to your diet. Again, you can’t taste it.
The frosting gives the brownies an indulgent edge, but they’re great on their own if you’re short of time.
These also work well as muffins – keep the cooking time the same.
Makes 12-14 brownies
You will need:
- 2 large, raw beetroot (approx 250g or 2 cups)
- 1 small, ripe avocado, chopped into chunks (approx 100g when peeled and stoned)
- 50g coconut oil, melted
- 150ml maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 shot espresso, cooled (optional)
- 3 eggs, beaten together
- 150g buckwheat flour
- 50g ground almonds (almond flour)
- 50g cacao powder (or 100% cocoa powder)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch sea salt
- 75g high-percentage (min 85%) dark chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks (we used Lindt 90%)
For the frosting:
- Half a ripe avocado
- 20g coconut oil, melted
- 25g cacao powder (or 100% cocoa powder)
- 25g maple syrup (or honey)
- Half tsp vanilla powder (or seeds from 1 vanilla pod)
Method:
- Heat oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and grease a non-stick, shallow baking tray with coconut oil.
- Peel and grate the beetroot and put to one side.
- Blend together the avocado, coconut oil, maple syrup and espresso, either in a food processor or with a stick blender, until smooth.
- Transfer the avocado mixture to a large bowl and gently whisk in the grated beetroot and beaten eggs.
- In a separate bowl mix together the flours, cacao (or cocoa) powder, baking powder and salt.
- Add the flour mix to the beetroot mixture and fold in gently with a metal spoon. Stir through the chocolate chunks.
- Spoon into the baking tray, smooth the top with a knife, and bake for 20-25 mins until the brownie is well risen, coming away from the tin, and crisp on top. It will crack slightly, but that’s fine.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring to a metal rack to cool thoroughly.
- For the frosting: mix all the ingredients together in a blender (or simply mash the avocado with a fork and stir in the remaining ingredients) until it forms a thick and glossy paste. Spread the frosting over the cooled brownie.
- Cut the brownie into 12-14 bars and store in an airtight, tin container in a cool place (or fridge) for up to 3 days.
NOTES
The brownies freeze really well. Take them out of the freezer an hour or so before you want to eat them. Eat within 24 hours of defrosting.
We’ve tried these with more ground almonds than buckwheat and they worked out just fine – as long as the overall quantity remains the same, they’ll still be delicious.
These can also be made without the chocolate chunks if you prefer.
Did you know you can replace an egg with 1 tbsp chia seeds + 2 tbsp water if you’re one short? Genius!
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