Chocolate and beetroot brownies

The international success of the carrot cake has surely paved the way for experimenting with root vegetables in other cake recipes. Well, this is my contribution to the genre. It’s a corker – rich and velvety, and a tad lighter than a traditional, fudgy brownie. Warm from the oven, it makes a good pudding brownie to serve with vanilla ice cream.

MAKES

20

INGREDIENTS

• 250g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

• 250g dark chocolate (about 70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into pieces

• 3 medium eggs

• 250g caster sugar

• 150g self-raising flour (I use wholemeal, but white works well, too)

• 250g beetroot, boiled until tender, cooled, peeled and grated

METHOD

1. Grease a shallow baking tin, approximately 20cm x 25cm, and line the base with baking parchment.

2. Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

3. Set the oven at 180C/160C fan/Gas 4 and put the bowl in it for a few minutes until the chocolate and butter start to melt. Stir, then put back into the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely. Of course, you could melt them together in the traditional way, over a pan of hot water, but it seems a shame not to exploit the warming oven.

4. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until combined, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Combine a pinch of sea salt with the flour, sift them over the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in with a large metal spoon.

5. Fold in the grated beetroot – be careful not to over-mix or it will make the brownies tough. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes; when the brownies are done, a knife or skewer inserted in the centre should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don’t be tempted to overcook them or they will be dry. Remove the tin from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.

Recipe from River Cottage Every Day! by Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall (Bloomsbury, £26)