Beetroot brownie

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipes Chocolate and beetroot brownies recipe

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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

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Date Published:
16/10/2008

There's no tastier way to get your five a day than enrobing your veg in chocolate

Ingredients

  • 250g/10oz good, dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
  • 250g/10oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for greasing
  • 250g/10oz caster sugar
  • 3 free-range eggs
  • 150g self-raising flour (we used wholemeal self-raising)
  • 250g beetroot, boiled until tender, peeled and grated

Method: How to make chocolate and beetroot brownies

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a baking tin of approximately 20 x 30 x 3cm and line the bottom with baking parchment.

2. Break up the chocolate into pieces, cut the butter into cubes then mix them up a bit in a heatproof bowl. As the oven begins to warm up, put the bowl onto one of the shelves for a few minutes until the chocolate and butter starts to melt. Stir, and put back into the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely.

3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until combined, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Gently fold in the flour then the beetroot – be careful not to overmix or it will make the brownies tough.

Hugh's tip:

Be careful not to overmix or it will make the brownies tough.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth over the top with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes. A knife or skewer pushed into the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don't be tempted to overcook them! Remove the tin from the oven and leave on wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.



© River Cottage

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Comments

  1. I've baked these twice as SO delicious, and a slightly lighter more 'cakey' texture than standard brownies. Used a coarse grater rather than fine and this improved texture further (had some off-putting 'hair-like' issues with finely grated as mentioned by another poster below). Timings seem to vary widely, but FWIW I use a baking tray measuring 26cm x 34cm and, although the brownies are quite flat, the 20 minute timing is perfect for my non-fan oven.
    Posted by loomer on 26/10/2009 12:12:02
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  2. I've never made brownies before, I followed the comments here to finely chop, rather than grate, the beetroot and to cook for 40, not 20, minutes. They are amazing! too delicious (my poor waistline) The beetroot is a really fantastic addition to all of the flavours, definately more than the sum of it's parts.
    Posted by jemma on 13/09/2009 17:11:05
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  3. Very good. Some of the better brownies I've had. You barely notice the beet is in them. Mine took about 40 minutes to bake. Would definitely make again.
    Posted by Carrie on 03/08/2009 23:48:51
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  4. I have made these twice. They are great. An improvement is, rather than grating the beetroot, chop it into pieces the size of pomegranate seeds. This provides jewel like pieces of distinct beetroot which is lovely with their moist change of texture. When you grate the beetroot, it just disappears too much.
    Posted by Sue Nelson on 03/08/2009 16:08:01
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  5. Fab recipe! Just the thing for a beetroot glut. I grated the cooked beetroot and let it drain for 5 mins and had no probs with the cooking time. 20 mins in 180 fan oven was perfect. They taste great - am taking them to my cofee morning now.
    Posted by Renee on 23/07/2009 09:37:22
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  6. Just made these yesterday, and they are delicious! I couldn't wait for them to cool properly to try then, so found that they fell apart a little bit when warm. But today, they've firmed up really well and taste amazing! Definitely going to make them again, but might chop the beetroot into pieces rather than grating them, as it got a bit lost in the dark chocolate I thought. Definite thumbs up though!
    Posted by Helen on 22/07/2009 13:52:30
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  7. Didn't cook after 30 minutes (with oven thermometer to check temp was correct). Tested them with a skewer and it came out clean so I took them out to see if they would set up a little, they didn't! The mixture tasted really good but they just didn't seem to cook properly at all so 3/4 of them were wasted as they were raw. Probably wouldn't make them again
    Posted by babaconda on 13/07/2009 18:34:26
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  8. Didn't cook after 30 minutes (with oven thermometer to check temp was correct). Tested them with a skewer and it came out clean so I took them out to see if they would set up a little, they didn't! The mixture tasted really good but they just didn't seem to cook properly at all so 3/4 of them were wasted as they were raw. Probably wouldn't make them again
    Posted by babaconda on 13/07/2009 18:30:25
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  9. A colleague brought the beetroot brownies in today. They are fabulous -- very chocolatey (even though she used milk choc and I prefer dark) and moist. The beetroot made lovely ruby jewels, and most of all, they are up there with the best of the best brownies I've made or tasted. And I say that as an American known for her brownies.
    Posted by marian from connecticut on 13/07/2009 03:31:36
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  10. no offense, but i like chocolate chocolatr. without all this veggies-stuff-thatr-i-dont-like!
    Posted by cake loverr on 16/06/2009 20:52:04
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  11. tried these beetroot brownies. they are absolutly fantastic. moist and rich.
    Posted by gill jackson on 28/02/2009 11:58:23
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  12. These brownies are gorgeous My daughter made these for New Year. Unfortunately we didn't have enough dark chocolate so substituted it with 74% chocolate & praline shells and used gluten free flour. The brownies were very moist and chocolaty, will definitely be making these again
    Posted by liz on 03/01/2009 12:17:37
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  13. I've had mine in the oven at gas mark 6 for 40 minutes so far and it's still not cooked! Adding another 20 minutes to the clock and hopefully it'll be done by then!
    Posted by Evie on 18/11/2008 19:17:26
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  14. This was the first time i've attempted brownies and as such followed the recipe as stated, though I found that it needed a much longer cooking time. Taste-wise it seemed the chocolate was too strong tasting and you couldnt eat much because it was too rich(sickly). As beetrot lovers we even found the beetroot was a little too much. Other than that...great!
    Posted by HGuppy on 30/10/2008 20:20:02
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  15. Made these brownies, and loved them... might have needed a bit more time in the oven, as were a bit soft after only 20 mins, but yummy non the less (more like chocolate pudding)... will make them again soon. great with cream or ice cream! thank you!
    Posted by J Nicholson on 29/10/2008 16:16:05
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  16. Love these, so easy to make and delicious. Definitely in top 10 favourite. Yum
    Posted by NeensBeans on 28/10/2008 17:37:13
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  17. These brownies are amazingly easy to make, although mine were in the oven for about 40 mins (i covered the brownies with foil for the extra 20 mins) and they were still very moist and guey. This recipe is now in my top three and my friends and family loved them. Thanks Hugh, you are a true inspiration.
    Posted by emma ryan on 27/10/2008 10:43:13
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  18. fabulous - sadly so good they lasted no time at all even though I handed out some to neighbours. converts all round. I finely diced the beetroot, rather than grated it and it was like finding sweet jewels tucked into the brownie mix.
    Posted by sue nelson on 26/10/2008 13:17:15
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  19. Thanks for making our faith Lunch something speacial, Ia m now going to grow my ownn veg and egt cooking from my garden from now on
    Posted by helena pearce on 25/10/2008 20:07:27
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  20. Hi have just tried these brownies which were made by my daughter and they are to die for, especially with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.
    Posted by Susie on 24/10/2008 09:05:18
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  21. I still have mine in the oven, after 40 mins. and it is very wet in the middle!
    Posted by pauline on 23/10/2008 17:03:20
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  22. That's a great recipe! - i've never cooked beetroot before, putting it with chocolate inspired me to give it a go (if you came up with a chocolate and concrete recipe i'd also try it.....) I kept the beetroot water in the fridge - can i do anything with it? does it have nutritional value? - seems a waste to just pour it down the sink.
    Posted by TigerKitten on 21/10/2008 20:53:20
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  23. I made these on Sunday evening. They were very nice and I will make them again although I have to admit the grated beetroot did make me think there was hair in the brownie every now and again until I got used to it. This recipe makes enough for 6 people easily. Beetroot is a really under-rated vegetable and it's great to see it being given a spotlight! Thanks Hugh and River Cotage.
    Posted by Hannah on 20/10/2008 18:04:56
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  24. What a wonderful recipe - my favourite foods - chocolate and beetroot combined in cake form - unbelievably good - thank you. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall rocks my world!!! :-)
    Posted by Janice on 20/10/2008 17:24:32
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  25. I made a gluten free version, substituting rice flour for self raising flour and adding 3 tsp gluten free baking powder and 1 heaped tsp xanthan gum. I also cooked the mix in a circular tin with a hole in the middle. Everyone who tasted the cake pronounced it the best chocolate cake ever. Although we don't need to be converted to beetroot, I would never have thought of baking with it.Thanks Hugh!
    Posted by Sheila on 20/10/2008 16:12:01
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  26. Hi Hugh, Just wanted to tell you that I'm a beetroot lover too. I'm going to try this recipe of yours and will let know the results! It has to be as good as carrot cake! I follow your show and I enjoy it so much. I have your book (Seasonal River Cottage) as well ... Thank you very much for all your efforts in trying to convince people of eating healthier! Best regards, Liz
    Posted by Liz Burton on 20/10/2008 14:04:41
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  27. I'm REALLY looking forward to baking these. I mean, beetroot? Lush. Chocolate? Double lush. Both togother? Heaven!
    Posted by Carys on 20/10/2008 12:48:33
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  28. I love watching all Hugh's programmes and think he is the best. Have cooked with beetroot before but has made me think of going it again, courgettes make great cakes too. thanks
    Posted by Jill on 20/10/2008 11:14:39
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  29. hi hugh, made the chocolate and beetroot brownies. they were fantastic, all my 6 children loved them as well.just printed out lots more of your recipes and will have fun making things that i have never made before. love the show,
    Posted by dawn johnson on 20/10/2008 10:11:05
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  30. Is the amount of beetroot (250g) the amount after it has been cooked and peeled, or, the raw weight?
    Posted by Carla Bainbridge on 19/10/2008 21:32:07
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  31. I like watching all the programmes and i will be trying out the choc and beetroot brownies.I have made in the past carrot cake,cougette cake, parsnip cake and pumpkin cake so this will be new challenge for me.I like to try new things
    Posted by avril on 18/10/2008 10:48:43
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