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Daring Bakers March Edition 2013!

PS : still need to take pictures

Do you think I need to give an explanation for my absence from the world of food blogging? 
Um....nah! You all understand don't you- life happens...
This month's we were challenged to incorporate veggies into out baking and I did too.

 Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

Beet brownies (From Good Food)- 
yeah I did not feel like converting to the American measurement system :)

 500g whole raw beetroot , washed
100ml canola oil
250g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa, dairy-free if you want, chopped)
3 large eggs
150g golden caster sugar
50g coconut sugar
2-3 tsp ground flax seed
2 tsp vanilla extract
140g plain flour
75g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
50g Pecan pieces , roughly chopped

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 (so I used oven at 350F). Grease and line a square pan with baking parchment. 
  2. Boil the beetroots in a pan of boiling salted water for 15-20 mins or until tender (of course I forgot the salt this step). Drain and leave to cool before peeling . Chop the peeled beets and make a paste using a food processor.
  3. Melt the chocolate slowly in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and leave to cool slightly (um..I used the good old friendly microwave, you just have to watch it like a hawk is all). 
  4. Whisk 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 and oil. Fold in the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder, then add pecans.
  5. Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 20-25 mins (this was not to be- mine took a good 55 min to get done and my thermometer did read 350F; so may be the google-led-conversion-program was wrong). 
  6. The brownies should still be slightly gooey in the middle. Allow to cool.
Optional: 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.


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