Beetroot chocolate brownies

This is my adaptation of a cross between a Harry Eastwood and a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe, with added decadence through the inclusion of chunks of chocolate, a mix of demerara and caster sugar, lots of cocoa.  If you want them even more chocolatey, increase the amount of melted chocolate - but I think this is a nice amount to maintain the earthiness of the beetroot, which makes them lovely and moist.  The trick with this one is not to use grated raw beetroot but to dice and microwave the veg and blitz it into a purple puree.  I've also separated the eggs so you get lots of air into the mix at the end by adding the beaten egg whites at the last minute.  Altogether, this recipe takes quite a long time to make and you need to be prepared for the amount of washing up required afterwards - but the end results are amazingly well worth it!

For a party to welcome home our friends James, Kate and their new baby Nia, I chopped them into inch squares and piped on a blob of cream whipped with cocoa powder and icing sugar, and added a raspberry to the top of each one.  Pretty!

Ingredients

500g raw beetroot

150g plain chocolate, broken into small pieces

250g butter, diced
4 eggs
220g golden caster sugar

80g demerara sugar

Pinch of salt

1tsp vanilla extract

250g self-raising flour

100g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder

50g ground almonds
150g walnuts, chopped

Method 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.  Use vegetable oil to grease and line the base and sides of a large rectangular roasting tin (mine is 26 x 35cm).
2. Wearing a pair of rubber gloves to stop your hands from staining, peel the beetroot and dice into 2cm cubes.  Place in a heat-proof bowl with a splash of water, cover with cling film, and microwave for 10 mins.
3. Meanwhile, melt half the chocolate and all the butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.  
4. Separate the eggs into two large mixing bowls.  First beat the egg whites until stiff but not too dry, then set aside.
5. Next, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, salt and vanilla until pale and thick.
6. Once the beetroot has cooked, drain the excess water and blend to a purée.  Add the melted butter and chocolate and blend until the mixture is smooth.  
7. Add the beetroot mixture to the egg yolk mixture and beat well.
8. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and ground almonds into the egg yolk/ beetroot mixture and stir well to combine. 
9. Add the remaining broken chocolate and half the walnuts and stir.
10. Finally, add the egg whites and fold in with a metal spoon to combine, trying not to lose too much of the air from the beaten egg whites.
11. Pour into the tin and sprinkle with the rest of the walnuts.  Cook in the middle of the oven for 35 mins. 
12. Once removed from the oven, leave to cool in the tin for at least 20mins, before cutting into squares and then removing individually from the tin.