Beetroot & Mandarin Brownies

Inspired by Alice Zaslavsky’s Blender Beetroot Brownie, with a Daddy Bakes twist.

Growing up, we called them red beets, and honestly, I thought they grew in cans. That vinegary, tinned version was all I knew — until I stepped into the kitchen properly and discovered just how bloody delicious fresh beets really are. Earthy, sweet, and vibrant enough to stain your fingertips and your soul. Now that’s produce with presence.

This recipe isn’t your usual quick-mix brownie, it’s a little extra. You’ll boil, you’ll blend, you’ll bake, but trust me, the payoff is worth every minute. What you get is a brownie that’s rich, gooey, and utterly decadent. Moist in all the right ways. Exactly what Daddy Bakes lives for.

The original version calls for oranges and walnuts, but I went rogue and swapped them out for juicy mandarins and toasty hazelnuts, because thats what I had. I also threw in a little sprinkle of fennel seeds for a subtle aniseed finish. The result? It’s giving Jaffa with a twist. A fudgy, fragrant, full-bodied bite that feels a bit fancy, but still has its sleeves rolled up.

Serve it warm with a dollop of double cream (or ice cream), or just eat it straight from the tray while standing at the bench. Daddy won’t judge. Daddy gets it.

Ingredients

Ingredients

2 Beetroot
3 Mandarines
1/2 Stick cinnamon
4 Cloves
2 Star Anise
Jug of water

400g Butter melted
360g Dark chocolate melted
400g Soft brown sugar
5 eggs
400g Almond meal (Almond flour)
150g Plain flour
110g Cocoa powder
15og Chopped hazelnuts (plus extra for garnish)
1 Tbs fennel seeds
1 ½ Tsp baking powder
½ Tsp salt

Garnish

¼ cup Dark chocolate buttons
¼ cup Chopped hazelnuts
Sprinkle of fennel seeds
Salt flakes

To Server

Double cream or ice cream or both! Go CRAZY!

Method

Place beets, mandarine, cinnamon, cloves and star anise into a pot and cover with water. Gently simmer over medium heat, topping with water as needed until beets are soft (easily fall off a fork when poked). Spices are optional, and Im not even sure they do much but man do they smell good!. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Line 20 x 30cm (deep) baking dish. Leave some baking paper overhanging the edges to act as handles come time to remove from the tin.
Preheat oven to 165°c fan forced.
Using a scrunched up piece of foil, remove skin and head of the beets and remove seeds and large centre pith from mandarins. Place into a blender along with melted butter & chocolate and blitz to combine.
Add eggs and brown sugar and pulse until combined.
In a large bowl combine Almond meal, flour, cocoa powder, hazelnuts, fennel seeds, baking powder & fennel seeds, mix to combine.
Add your beet mixture to the dry mixture and using a spatula stir to combine, ensuring all dry ingredients are combined.
Pour mixture into the lined baking tray, crumble over the top the chocolate buttons, hazelnuts & fennel seeds.
Bake for 35-40mins, rotating half way through if needed. When baked a skewer should come out with moist crumbs (a little gooey but not too gooey).
Allow to cool in tray, transfer to chopping board, sprinkle with salt flakes, slice into pieces and serve with cream.

Tips

You can use a large orange in place of the mandarines.
Fennel seeds can be left out if thats not your thing (but why not give it a try, its very subtle).
The spices can be left out of the boiling process if you don’t have them.
I like to use baking dark chocolate, but you can use any type of dark chocolate.
The leaves of your beetroot can be used to make a delicious pesto.
you can use any type of chopped nut that you desire.