Chocolate Beet Brownie Cups

Deep, earthy, slightly sweet beetroot pairs surprisingly well with rich, slightly bitter dark chocolate. And, as always, hiding veg in a pud this delicious is always a thrill. The crucial thing here is to carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the melted chocolate mixture, rather than simply stirring them together, which would knock the air out and undo all of your good work.

Serves: 12

Equipment: 12 hole muffin pan

• 200g cooked beetroot

• 100g unsalted butter, diced

• 200g dark chocolate

• 4 tbsps cocoa powder

• 3 eggs, separated

• 100g caster sugar

• Zest of an orange

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/fan 160C/Gas Mark 4.

2. Grease the muffin pan with butter and dust with 2 tablespoons of the cocoa powder or alternatively line with paper cases.

3. Preheat oven to 180C, fan160C, gas 6. When you are ready, roll your pastry on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a fifty pence piece. Stamp out circles and fit them into the tartlet tin holes and chill for 30 minutes.

4. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water without letting the base of the bowl touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is almost all melted; the rest will melt with the residual heat. Set aside to cool.

5.Beat the egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer until bright white, glossy and forming stiff peaks. This should take you about 5 minutes with a handheld electric whisk.

6.Whisk the egg yolks into the cooled chocolate mixture with the drained beetroot until combined then add a spoon of the egg whites to the chocolate bowl and fold, don’t beat, until fully incorporated. Add the rest of the whites to the chocolate and fold again until no white is visible in the bowl. Add the final 2 tablespoons of the cocoa powder, orange zest, vanilla and salt.