Usually when I feel compelled to eat my baked goods it is because they taste good. While this is also true for these Beetroot Muffins, there is also a more sinister reason.
While putting this post together I started looking at the photos I had taken this morning and I was disturbed. My muffins looked evil, particularly the one now named Beetrax, King of the Muffins (pictured above). With their chocolate chip eyes, pock marked skin and not to mention their strange lopsided heads, I decided I could not sleep tonight knowing that this muffin was still in my kitchen.
Thankfully Beetrax tasted good, and I am glad I ate him.
I had been wanting to make Beetroot muffins for months, but it was only now that I actually got round to it. Almost all beetroot muffins use cocoa powder to give a chocolate taste, however who wants another chocolate muffin?
I wanted to try something different, I still thought chocolate would compliment the flavour but I didn’t want to overpower it. Plus I couldn’t destroy that wonderful colour.
Beetroot and Choc Chip Muffins
~ makes around 12 muffins
Adapted from Super Moist Spiced Chocolate and Beetroot Muffins
- 1 1/2 cups Flour
- 1/3 cup Cocoa Powder, I added an extra 1/3 cup of flour instead
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 cup Sugar, I used less around 3/4 cup
- 1/2 cup Oil, I used 1/3 of a cup – they are still pretty moist
- 2 Eggs, large
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 cup Grated Beetroot, mine had been roasted in chunks
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Allspice
- 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips
I used fairly different directions from the recipe above.
Preheat the oven to 180oC. Prepare a muffin (or fairy cake tray) with liners.
As my beetroot was in chunks I added them into a food blender, blending until fairly fine, but not completely pureed. I then added the milk, and blended again.
In a bowl add all the dry ingredients and mix well. Then pour in the Beetroot and milk mixture.
Mix well, then add the eggs and oil and mix until combined. Lastly add the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture evenly into the liners.
Place the tray in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes (mine were quite big muffins so I left them for closer to 25 minutes).
Once removed from the oven leave them to cool for at least 20 minutes.
These muffins tasted good, and if you weren’t told they were made with beets you probably wouldn’t be able to guess. I have to say I really liked the chocolate chips, as they added great flavour but didn’t overpower.
The one thing that disappointed me a little was the colour when cooked, they had a pink top layer, but inside they were orange! They were still prettily coloured, but maybe next time I would add a little pink colouring (the food dye I had is made from beetroot anyway) just to keep the colour vivid.
And just incase you couldn’t sleep tonight after seeing the evil muffins, rest easy Beetrax is gone…
