Buckwheat Beetroot Brownie Bites

 

Buckwheat has become a bit of a regular in my kitchen for no other reason than I like the texture it brings to baked goods – sweet and savoury. Delicate, versatile and gluten free, I find myself turning to it more and more frequently. These brownies were one such experiment and whilst they were lovely, I’m not done with them yet …  a few minor tweaks here and there just to perfect an already solid little recipe.

 

Whilst I know ‘refined sugar free baking’ is all the rage at the moment this concoction was actually borne out of necessity rather than choice – namely, my sugar supply was at an all time low. So, I pooled what sweeteners I had at my disposal (agave, maple and date) and this was the result. But seeing as the chocolate addition does contain some sugar I can’t claim that these are entirely ‘healthy’ although you could probably sub with cocoa powder, however, you may end up compromising on intensity. Left to my own devices (and proximity to any kind of general store) this would’ve been an all-singing, all-sugar affair because I’m not terribly bothered about keeping my diet completely ‘clean’. Ah, buzzwords, don’t you just love ‘em?!

 

The beetroot puree can easily be substituted for sweet potato or mashed banana but seeing as you can’t even detect it, it makes for a nice little binder with impressively subtle results – no overriding root vegetable flavours here. It goes without saying you should use pre-cooked beetroot not stored in vinegar. I simply blended it to a smooth puree before adding it to the other wet ingredients, which included a boat-load of melted chocolate and (crucially) a shot of espresso … I emphasise: the coffee inclusion seriously makes this recipe, in my opinion.

 

Be sure to bake it for less time than a regular brownie or else you risk it becoming crumbly … buckwheat doesn’t take well to being over-baked. I recommend 15mins max and let it completely cool before slicing – the more is ‘rests’ the better it will taste. Oh, and don’t scrimp on that sea salt sprinkle either. It finishes the whole dish off to a ‘T’. Sweet and salty? Hand it over.

 

what you’ll need

200g buckwheat flour

50g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

100g pre-cooked beetroot

140g dark chocolate

4 tbsp vegan margarine or coconut oil

3 tbsp agave

3 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp date syrup

1 x shot of espresso (strong)

60g roughly chopped walnuts or pecans

 

for the chocolate drizzle

100g dark chocolate

1 tbsp vegan margarine or coconut oil

1 tbsp maple syrup or agave

seasalt

 

what you’ll do

pre-heat the oven 180 degrees celsius.

 

whisk the dry ingredients (buckwheat flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt) in a large bowl until combine and no lumps remain.

 

blend the beetroot to a smooth puree and transfer to a bowl.

 

gently heat the chocolate, margarine and 1 tbsp of the allocated agave (and a pinch of salt)  in a saucepan until smooth and glossy. add to the beetroot along with espresso shot and stir to combine.

 

make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the chocolate mix. fold gently until combined before stirring through the walnuts (or pecans) and transfer to a line brownie tin. smooth to the edges using the back of a spatula and bake for 15 mins – check at 12 mins just to be on the safe side.

 

remove from oven and let it cool on a rack before cutting into small bite-size squares.

 

melt the chocolate, margarine and syrup in a pan until smooth and glossy before generously drizzling over the entire brownie. let the chocolate cool slightly before sprinkling over some sea salt. set aside to let the chocolate firm and the brownie ‘rest’ … enjoy!