Better Beetroot Brownies Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with olive oil and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and baking soda together. Set aside.
• Add the chopped beets, sugar and vanilla, if using, to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the beets are just puréed but before they begin to liquefy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, add 1 cup/6 ounces chocolate chips and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Heat in the microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring between each round, until the chocolate is almost completely melted, up to 75 seconds total. Remove the chocolate from the microwave, stir until completely smooth, then immediately add it to the food processor. Blend it with the beets on high until smooth. Add the eggs, blend to incorporate, then add the dry ingredients and blend until just combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Remove the blade, and using a rubber spatula, scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan, then smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons/1 ounce chocolate chips on top and bake until the brownies have puffed and set on top but are still a little fudgy when a toothpick is inserted inside, about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the brownies from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares and topping with flaky sea salt.

Steps:

• Wear a pair of rubber gloves to stop your hands from staining, then top, tail and peel the beetroot - you'll need about 400g flesh. Roughly chop and put into a large bowl. Add a splash of water, cover with cling film, then microwave on High for 12 mins or until tender.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. While the beetroot cooks, butter then line a 20 x 30cm traybake or small roasting tin. Roughly chop the chocolate and cut the butter into cubes. Tip the cooked beetroot into a sieve, drain off any excess liquid, then put into a food processor or blender with the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Whizz until the mix is as smooth as you can get it. The chocolate and butter will melt as you do this.
• Put the sugar and eggs into a large bowl, then beat using an electric hand whisk until thick, pale and foamy, about 2 mins. Spoon the beetroot mix into the bowl (it won't look too pretty at this stage, but bear with me), then use a large metal spoon to fold it into the whisked eggs. Try to conserve as much air in the mixture as you can. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder, then gently fold these in to make a smooth batter.
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 25 mins or until risen all over, with just the merest quiver under the centre of the crust when you shake the pan. Cool completely in the tin, then cut into squares.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line a 20 x 30cm cake tin with baking parchment. Boil the beetroots in a pan of boiling salted water for 15-20 mins or until tender. Drain and leave to cool before peeling (wear clean rubber gloves to peel if you want to avoid beet-stained hands). Chop one-third of the cooked beetroots into small cubes and blitz the remainder in a blender or food processor to a paste. Sit the paste in a sieve over a bowl - just until you have collected 1-2 tbsp juice. Save this for the icing, and mix the oil into the purée.
• Melt the chocolate slowly in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and leave to cool slightly. Use an electric whisk to beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl until light, fluffy and tripled in size. Carefully fold the eggs into the beetroot mixture, followed by the melted chocolate. Fold in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder, then add walnuts and the chopped beetroot.
• Pour into your prepared tin and bake for 20-25 mins. The brownies should still be slightly gooey in the middle. Allow to cool. Mix enough reserved beetroot juice with the icing sugar to get a runny icing - dilute with water if you need. Remove brownies from the tin, drizzle with the icing and cut into squares.