Once you’ve cooked up some beetroot, these soft and gooey beetroot brownies are a cinch to make. They taste really good with a noticeable orange flavour and they have a delightful purple hue.
Homegrown Veg
Along with the courgette glut in August and September this year, I ended up with a beetroot one too. This was good news. Last year was such a rubbish one down at the plot, we hardly got any courgettes and even less beetroot. So I was very pleased to be able to puzzle over what I could turn my surplus beets into.
Beetroot Brownies Flavoured with Orange
I had a go at making beetroot brownies a few years ago and seem to remember thinking they were more like cake than brownies. However, that was a while ago and I thought another attempt was in order. In retrospect, I recalled making beetroot & almond chocolate squares which definitely got the thumbs up. Never mind, there’s always room for more beetroot brownies in our life.
Orange is a classic flavouring to pair with beetroot, so this seemed like a good place to start. I had some orange and almond Lindt chocolate I thought would work and I reasoned that adding a slug of orange liqueur could only make things better.
These beetroot orange brownies are definitely gooey rather than cakey and they have the classic crackly top. So after due deliberation, I awarded them full marks. Even more remarkably, CT, who is not at all a beetroot fan gave them the thumbs up.
The crunchy pieces of almonds in the orange chocolate contributed to the texture and added to the overall pleasure. But it’s fine to use ordinary dark chocolate if that’s easier to get hold of. Just grate the zest from an orange into the brownie batter instead.
Likewise, if you don’t have any orange liqueur or would rather not use it, swap it for orange juice. Alternatively, just leave it out altogether.
Other Sweet Vegetable Bakes You Might Like
- Almond squash cake
- Carrot cake flapjacks
- Chocolate courgette squares
- Golden beetroot cake
- Jerusalem artichoke cake
- Nettle, lemon & white chocolate cupcakes
- Parsnip walnut chocolate chip cake
- Spiced orange pumpkin cake
- Spinach cake with lemon
Sharing
Ness over at JibberJabberUK is hosting We Should Cocoa this month and has chosen vegetables as the surprise ingredient. This gives plenty of scope and is just right to showcase my recipe for beetroot orange brownies.
As the brownies are made from scratch and with our own beetroots too, I’m submitting these to Javelin Warrior’s Made with Love Mondays.
With all those homegrown beets, this is a slightly cheaper brownie than it might otherwise have been, so I am submitting it to Credit Crunch Munch which is hosted this month by Michelle of Utterly Scrummy Food For Families.
I’m also entering these beetroot orange brownies into the No Waste Food Challenge with Turquoise Lemons. The theme is root vegetables this month and I had a mass of beetroot I did not want to waste.
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this recipe for beetroot orange brownies, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate it. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like to see some more brownie recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Beetroot Orange Brownies. PIN IT.
Beetroot Orange Brownies – The Recipe
Beetroot and Orange Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium beetroot weighing in at 350g once cooked (boiled or roasted) – topped, tailed and skinned
- 200 g dark chocolate (half orange flavoured, half 70% plain)
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp orange liqueur
- 3 eggs
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 50 g dark brown sugar
- 100 g flour (half wholemeal spelt, half plain white)
- 25 g cocoa powder
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate and butter together in a pan over very low heat. Stir until smooth, then allow to cool.
- Puree the beetroot with the orange liqueur – I used a stick blender.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is thick and has doubled in volume.
- Fold in the chocolate mixture, followed by the beetroot trying not to stir all of the air out of the egg mixture.
- Sieve in the flour and cocoa and fold in until just combined.
- Pour into a 9" (23 cm) sq silicone cake mould and bake in the middle of the oven at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for about 30 minutes when the top should be firm, but the middle still a bit squidgy.
- Allow to cool in the mould, then cut into 16 squares.
Kate - Turquoise Lemons says
Wow these look amazing! The next time I have a glut of beetroot I’m baking these. Love the addition of the orange flavour. Thank you for joining in the No Waste Food Challenge.
Kavey says
Love the look of these! I hope we get a beetroot glut next year to do something similar!!
Shaheen says
I’ve been meaning to come on over and comment on your beetroot brownies and how amazed I am at the colour. I’ve made beetroot brownies a few times and mine have never been that red. I note that you have boiled your and then pureed them, so I will be giving your version a try maybe even this month. I will have to omit the orange liqueur though as the kids will want some, do you have any other suggestions.
Johanna GGG says
can’t believe the colour of these – despite them being so full of chocolate – that is a win win – I am not sure I will get a we should cocoa entry in this month – really love the theme but haven’t managed much baking.
Elizabeth Young says
Gosh these look AMAZING! I’ve been wanting to bake with beetroot for ages now but was waiting for the right recipe to come along….this may well be the one!
Angela Darroch says
Wow – they would definitely be a talking point. Love the colour!
The KitchenMaid says
They are SO pink! Are beetroots easy to grow from seed?
Javelin Warrior says
Such gorgeous brownies, Choclette, and I love that these turned out more gooey than cakey – I’m a big fan of gooey! And the color is superb – and not a drop of food dye!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh wow! Look at the colour! Just fabulous!
Angie Schneider says
The colour is so gorgeous!
Hannah Hearsey says
Wows, love that colour! They sound amazing, not only flavour wise but texture wise too!
Barbara Good says
I’ve just planted my first lot of beetroot seeds here and will continue planting them every couple of weeks, this recipe could be just what I need in a couple of months. Love the interesting colour.
belleau kitchen says
look at the colour on these beauties… I think I need the sunglasses out!… they look so good and what a fab combo… orange, chocolate and beetroot… gorgeous stuff!
Katie says
Wow they look delicious. I’m impressed they kept their bright red colour. I find beetroot always makes things lovely and fudgey.
Alida says
I love them! Their colour is very interesting and using beetroot is just great in cakes. I have been buying and cooking quite a lot of beetroot this season. I love its earthy and delicious taste but you need gloves to peel it 🙂
I need to experiment making cakes with it. Love your brownies!
Jibber JabberUK says
What an amazing colour! I was hoping for some homegrown produce this month for We Should Cocoa and I am glad you used your beetroot for such a great recipe.
celia says
Choc, I love the colour of these! I was wondering just yesterday if you could make red velvet cake with beetroot instead of food colouring? The orange liqueur and chocolate would have added a lovely flavour. 🙂
Laura Denman says
These are definitely different and have got me itching to try baking with beetroot. I’ve always been put off before but seeing them in a brownie, one of my favourite cakes, has changed my mind =)