I haven’t put too many desserts into my blog – it’s not my forte, all things considered. I much prefer making paella.
However, a good friend of mine was in need of a chocolate fix. I’d already sent her a generous slab of chocolate tart (i.e. this Moorish Tart). She was doing work for Daisy, and needed a pick-me-up. A week later I understand her cravings had got more acute and more of the brownstuff was required. You’ve got to realise I’m not making chocolate stuff for me, you know – this was a drooling choco-maniac going cold turkey. What could I do?
Chocolate and beetroot brownies. That’s what. Unlike the Moorish Tart, which had certain element of palaver about it, this one is pretty simple. Uh-huh.
Moister than the downpour I got caught in walking home through Brighton last night…
(I get that ‘uh-huh’ sign-off from a character in a couple of Peter James novels; an oddball Brighton taxi driver with a fetishist’s obsession with ladies’ shoes; no shoes were harmed in the making of this dessert.)
You need 250g unsalted butter, 250g dark chocolate (min 70% cocoa solids), 250g caster sugar, 250g beetroot, 150g plain flour, and four eggs.
In making this, and it is pretty simple, all I’d say is don’t be brutal. Over mixing doesn’t really help the consistency.
Break the chocolate and butter into small pieces, and slowly melt in a bain-marie over slowly simmering water. Mix slowly and gently. Meanwhile, beat the four eggs in with the sugar until you get that pale yellow gunk (see Large Al’s Cookbook passim). Take the melted chocolate off the heat, and making sure it’s not too hot, mix in with the egg gunk. Stir firmly, but not too much. Add in the sifted flour, and the mixture will thicken to a loose gloopy texture.
Finally, grate the beetroot. If you’re using beetroot from a supermarket packet, simply open and grate. If you’re using fresh beetroot with stalks and skin still on, you need to prepare the beetroot, and that is very simple – cut away the stalks and boil in unsalted water for 20-30 minutes or so. Drain and, peel off the outer skin (it should just fall away), and the flesh inside will be firm, but soft enough to grate.
Stir the grated beetroot into the chocolate/butter/egg/sugar/flour mix.
Liberally grease a square 25x25cm tin, and pour the mixture in. With these quantities, it will take up the tin to a depth of about two inches (5cm). Bake at 180 deg C / 350 deg F / gas mark 4 for about 25 minutes. It will start to dry on the top and sides, but the middle should be moist. When I removed it from the oven after 20 minutes, I dipped the knife into the middle, and it was still a bit ‘wet’, rather than ‘moist’. There is a temptation is to slightly over-do it because of its final cake-like texture. The trick is to find the right spot between ‘wet’ and ‘moist’. All the while it is still in the tin, it will retain its moisture (helped by the moisture within the beetroot), so I turned off the oven, and left it in there for another 10 or 15 minutes.
The results, thankfully for this happy amateur, were superb. The intended recipient of some of the brownies (I was never going to let her have ALL of it) was delighted. Which was nice. I just hope her cravings are satisfied.
Brownies variation – my good chum Tim Herbert suggests adding some chilli powder in there, or maybe even chopped chillies – either as well as or instead of the beetroot. Or you could just try this without the beetroot, but where’s the fun in that?
Cheers, Al
Large Al's cookbook 
I made a cake with beetroot and was thrilled with how it turned out. Beets are quite sweet!
I thought the beets added a moistness you couldn’t get otherwise. Also, I didn’t think you tasted “beet.” Just moist chocolate. Highly recommended.