Saturday, November 8, 2008 - Veggies in the Dessert |
I blame the other half. He forwarded me an article by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from the Guardian in which there were several recipes of his that incorporated veggies in sweet recipes. Being the adventurous type and having most of the ingredients on hand, I made the beet(root) and chocolate brownies. Here's the recipe:
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/nov/08/chocolate-fruit-brownies-recipe
Funnily enough, the only ingredient I had to buy were the beets themselves and I could only find the organic variety in my local Kroger.
Prep was easy enough because I have nitrile gloves so I didn't get my hands stained beet red when peeling and grating the cooked beets.
I'm pretty good at making brownies now because I make them at work so I'm familiar with exactly when to pull them out of the oven. The trick is to check the center with a toothpick or similar and they're done when there's just a few crumbs sticking to the stick. The center should not be fully baked through. That would result in dried out brownies.
However, my brownies did not take even the maximum 25 minutes that Fearnley-Whittingstall writes of. Mine took closer to 40 minutes but I think I know why. Ever since moving to the US, I've noticed that US produce has a noticeably higher water content than UK fruit and vegetables so I expect even the organic beets have a higher water content and thus, a longer baking time.
Nevertheless, they were removed from the oven at the right time and once cooled tasted just great. The other half claims he can taste the beets but I can't. I also gave a quarter of the pan of brownies to my next door neighbors whom we had dinner with this evening and they love beets so I await their remarks on these unusual brownies.
In appearance, there is no difference to regular brownies, even down to texture. If anything, they're just a little more moist than other brownies I've made.
For those living in the US who may want to try the recipe, I used Trader Joe's 72% eating chocolate. It's the big bars they sell in the red wrapper.
Overall, the brownies are delicious and the recipe is one I'll be keeping and using again. |
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About Me
Former Londoner, now living in Durham, NC since 2002.
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