We celebrated our wedding anniversary this week. It’s been nine whole years since I stood at that altar before friends, family and God, and promised all of me in exchange for all of him. Where has the time gone?
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I look back at photos of our big day and I cannot help but smile at the innocence of the love-struck pair hurtling into “I do’s” and ever after. We were so carefree, so seemingly invincible in our belief that our love could conquer all that life threw at us. Fast forward and the ticking clock has added a few house moves, job changes, four babies and a whole lot of responsibilities and challenges to our laps and lives. But through it all, we are still here, and he is still my favourite. That is worth celebrating.
We treated ourselves to simple dinner for two at our favourite Italian down the road in the evening- time together in this season of life is absolutely the best gift of all. During the day however, it was business as usual – work for him, and a day with the kids for me. We had agreed to no gifts, but I struggled to come to the day empty handed this year. So I tucked a heart shaped brownie into his lunch box to remember me by come lunch time. Corny, perhaps. But I wanted there to be something in his day that reminded him of me, of us, that would make his heart smile and feel loved.
Said beetroot brownie recipe is one of our family’s favourite go-to treats. We bake them regularly – for end of term celebration tea parties, first day of school celebrations, tea time and poetry treats, special playdates with special friends – basically lots of times when we are celebrating life, being together, and could use a treat to sweeten the deal.
The recipe was born out of a need to use up the beetroots that appeared in our weekly organic veg box delivery. I am not a beet fan, but refused to let them to go to waste.
I couldn’t find a red-veg inclusive recipe that totally floated my boat. So I experimented with amalgamating The Whole Food Diary’s delish Paleo Brownie recipe and Ella’s Kitchen’s equally yum Blushing Beetroot Brownies. Full credit to these guys for their recipes – mine is only an adaptation of theirs. But it always goes down so well with friends and family that I felt to share it.
It is really easy to whip up these brownies once you’ve prepped the beetroots. I usually chuck everything in my trusty Magimix – a.k.a. my best friend in the kitchen – and whizz together, but you can mix by hand if you prefer. I have tried substituting spelt flour when I ran out of ground almonds, but they just don’t have the same squidge, taste or texture, so I wouldn’t recommend it. (UPDATE: you can sub ground almonds for spelt flour IF you add a mashed banana too!)
INGREDIENTS
2 – 4 beetroots – boiled / steamed and then (finely) grated
85g cacao
113g butter (or coconut oil)
125g coconut sugar
3 eggs (or mix 3tbsp chia seeds + 7.5tbsp water and set aside for 5 mins)
2tsp vanilla
60g ground almonds (OR 60g spelt flour + 1 mashed banana)
Pinch of salt
3/4tsp baking powder
2tbsp honey / maple syrup
Handful of cacao nibs, seeds or nuts to sprinkle on top for a bit of crunch!
METHOD
Prep the beetroots by boiling them in a pan of water for about 30 minutes. When they’ve cooled down, gently peel the skin off and grate them (by hand or with a food processor attachment). Set them aside.
Pop the sugar and eggs in a food processor and mix / whisk together by hand. In a small pan over low heat, melt the butter and cacao, stirring often to avoid burning it. Add the butter and cacao plus all the other ingredients – save the beetroots and crunchy toppings – to your food processor and give it a whirl till all is mixed in. Add the beetroots and pulse a couple of times.
Pour all into a lined brownie tin. Sprinkle your toppings and bake for 19 minutes (seriously, this short bake time-frame is how you maintain the squidge element!) and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees. Let them cool down, and tuck in.
Let me know how you go with these if you do try baking them for your own crew. Tag me on instagram @myeverydaymatters so I can see what you are up to.
What is your favourite family celebration treat? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!
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