Beetroot and Chocolate Brownies

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 4. Grease a square baking tin (about 23cm square) with a little butter, then line the tin with a wide strip of baking paper, leaving extra paper visible at either side so that you can lift the cooked brownies out of the tin. Heat a pan of water so that it is barely simmering, then set a heatproof bowl on top of the pan so that it is sitting over, but not in, the water. Break the chocolate into squares, then put it into the heatproof bowl, together with the butter, and melt gently, stirring every now and then.

Put the cooked beetroot into a food processor and blend to a smooth purée. Add the melted chocolate and butter, and the eggs, and blend again until combined. Add the sugar, ground almonds, cocoa and baking powder and process until all the ingredients have combined into a smooth batter.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is set and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out fairly clean (it will be a little sticky, but don’t worry, as the Brownies are by nature quite squidgy). Remove the tin from the oven, place on a cooling rack and allow to go cold.
When completely cold, lift the Brownie carefully from the tin and cut it into evenly-sized squares, then dust with a little sieved icing sugar before serving.