Rich, indulgent, fudgy chocolate brownies with hidden (and undetectable) beetroot so you can enjoy your sweet treat with a little extra goodness mixed in!
Set the oven to 180°C / 350°F and line a 22cm/8" square brownie tin with baking parchment (or use non-stick mini loaf tins, lightly greased).
Mix the flax seeds and water and set aside for 10 minutes while you start the rest of the recipe.
2 tablespoon ground flax seeds, 60 ml water
Break up the chocolate into pieces and put in a glass jug with the coconut oil. Melt by microwaving in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each. (It usually takes me about 1-2 minutes depending on how quickly I take it out of the microwave each time).
150 g vegan dark chocolate, 100 g coconut oil
Whizz the dry ingredients in a food processor briefly until well combined with no lumps. (Thermomix setting: 15 secs / sp. 5). Set aside.
150 g ground almonds, 120 g dark muscovado sugar, 50 g gluten-free plain flour blend, 40 g cacao powder, 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder, ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Whizz the wet ingredients (including the cooked beetroot), the flax mixture and the melted chocolate and oil mixture in the same food processor (no need to wash it out) until smooth with only very small lumps of beetroot (don’t worry, these won’t show in the finished brownie). (Thermomix setting: 30 secs / sp. 8).
140 ml oat milk, 120 g well cooked soft beetroot, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add the dry ingredients back into the food processor with the wet ingredients. Whizz together briefly (or pulse) until the ingredients are all combined. (Thermomix setting: 15 secs / sp. 5).
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and put it in the oven. Bake for around 30-40 minutes at 180°C / 350°F.
To check if it is ready, feel the top. You want it to be quite firm but springy. I like to use a thermometer to gauge the inside temperature. I stick it in the middle (not going down to the base), leave it there for 30 seconds and it should read about 80-90°C (175-195°F).
Once out of the oven, leave the brownies in the tin for 5 minutes to firm up, then take them out of the tin (see notes below for some tips on this). Leave to cool on a wire cooling rack.
Notes
I use the vacuum packed cooked beetroots for this recipe just because it is easier and I usually have some in my fridge. Feel free to cook up some beetroot yourself if you prefer. Just boil in a pan of water until really soft when tested with a fork. Then whizz to a smooth puree in the food processor before adding the other wet ingredients.
You can make these nut-free by substituting the almond flour for more plain gluten-free flour.
Do not try to melt the chocolate and coconut oil in one 1 minute microwave session. It may seem unnecessary and pointless stirring the chocolate after 30 seconds when it has only melted a tiny bit, but this prevents the chocolate from seizing and going all bitty.
Line the tin with more parchment paper than you need so that you have some hanging over the edges. You can use these as handles for lifting the cooked brownie out of the tin.