Beetroot and Chocolate Mini Muffins

Beetroot is so versatile. I first grew to love boiled beetroot in a salad. No vinegar was needed. I even pilched it from the container in the fridge as a tasty treat.

Once my Thermomix arrived, I found new ways to enjoy this vegetable: as a pudding with chocolate both cooked and raw, as hummus, and even served to me as coleslaw.

My latest version is beetroot and chocolate mini muffins achieved with minor tweaks to my simplified mini muffins recipe as below. Another difference in this recipe is that I now use spelt flour in my muffin recipes. Of course, the type of flour used is a personal choice.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 cup spelt flour

1 1/3 tsp cream of tartar with 2/3 tsp baking soda

1 tsp mixed spice

3 tbsp sugar

--- The above ingredients can be stored together in a container in the fridge for days or weeks before you need them. If you prefer to sift the flour, cream of tartar and baking soda then do this before adding the mixed spice and sugar.

1 1/2 cups combination of beetroot chopped, chocolate pieces and orange zest

1 egg

3 tbsp olive oil

5/8 cup orange juice

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease mini muffin tray(s) – one large tray for 24 mini muffins or two smaller trays for 12 mini muffins each. 

Process beetroot, chocolate and orange zest in Thermomix on speed 5 for a few seconds.

Sift flour, cream of tartar and baking soda into a separate bowl. Mix in all other ingredients until combined. 

Spoon mixture into the muffin pans

Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. In a non-fan forced oven turn the muffin trays around in the oven after 7 or 8 minutes. Cool in pan(s) for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a plate or wire rack.

I just can’t get enough of the beetroot and chocolate combination. If I have over calculated the beetroot and chocolate quantities, it’s not a problem. The resulting mix makes a tasty dessert in its own right.