2 secretly healthy treats…
I give you, first up…
Beetroot chocolate mini fudge cakes with chocolate honey glaze
I adapted a cake recipe from here and used a glaze recipe from here to come up with these little beauties.
Makes 12 mini cakes
Ingredients
250g beetroot, boiled and puréed then weighed
200g dark chocolate, finely chopped
100g unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 large eggs
200g white sugar
150g all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 180°C. Put 12 mini cake pans on a baking sheet and set aside.
To prepare the beetroot, wash it and remove any leaves but leave the stalk intact and the skin on, boil until tender (about 30 minutes), cut off the stem and tip and rub the skin off or scrape it off with a knife.
Purée beetroot in a blender or food processor until smooth.
Put about 2cm of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, put the chocolate and butter in a shallow metal boil. When the water comes to a boil, sit the bowl on the top of the saucepan (the bowl should not touch the water) and stir until both the chocolate and butter have melted completely and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Add the puréed beetroot and the vanilla to the chocolate mixture and stir until well combined and smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and gently fold together with a spatula.
In another bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together, sprinkle the mixture over the wet ingredients and gently fold together with a spatula, just until there are no traces of flour left. Be careful not to overmix.
Spoon the mixture into the mini cake pans (about 3 heaped tablespoons per pan) and bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
Chocolate honey glaze
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons water
100g dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
Bring the honey and water to a gentle boil in a small saucepan, or heat in a bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes on medium-high, stirring halfway.
Remove from heat, add chocolate and let it sit until melted.
Stir the mixture until combined. Add the sugar and stir until thoroughly combined and smooth.
Once the cakes have fully cooled, spoon the glaze over them.
Let the cakes stand for at least 20 minutes before serving.
And next up, I present to you…
Sweet potato butterscotch blondies
I got inspired by a fellow Daring Baker, the lovely Heather of apronaddict, and her sweet potato cookies, did a bit of experimenting and adapted a blondie recipe from here.
Makes 12
Ingredients
250g sweet potato, peeled weight
200g all-purpose (plain) flour
200g dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
100g toffee chips
125g butter
3 eggs, lightly beaten
120ml milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 175°C. Lightly grease a 22 x 28cm baking dish.
Peel and dice the sweet potato, then steam or microwave until soft. Purée and set aside to cool.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, add the toffee chips and set aside.
Cut butter into small pieces and heat in small saucepan over medium heat until melted. Whisk continuously until it becomes golden brown and tiny brown flecks appear in the butter. Remove from heat, whisk for another 30 seconds and strain through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Let cool for several minutes.
Add the eggs, milk and sweet potato to the butter and mix until smooth and combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold together with a spatula, just until there are no traces of flour left. Be careful not to overmix.
Pour the batter into the baking dish and spread to the edges. Bake for 30 minutes.
Cut in the pan then let cool before serving
pizzarossa 
WOW They both look great and I wouldn’t suspect there was hidden veggies in what you made, TRUE! Well done! LOVED this challenge too! 🙂
Cheers! Joanne
Thanks Joanne! It was fun! 🙂
They look great – I love vegetables in cakes!
I’m definitely going to be doing it more often 🙂
I can’t even decide which one I like more! they are both super tempting!
Great job on this challenge as always 🙂
By the way, LOVE the mini cake paper molds!
Thanks, Sawsan 🙂 The molds are gorgeous – very spring!
Oh wow! they both look amazingly delicious!! Those blondies are calling my name :o)
The blondies were a huge hit – my son keeps asking for them again! 🙂
Wow, they both look delicious. Presentation is beautiful and I like blondines recipe.
Thanks so much! 🙂
This was my first Daring Bakers challenge, and I was so excited! I love the idea of making blondies using sweet potatoes!
Btw, I LOVEEEEE the paper loaf liners you’ve used! They’re so cute!
Welcome to the Daring Bakers! 🙂 They had three different styles of the paper liners and I couldn’t decide so I got all three! I’m going to stock up while they still have them in the store 🙂
Those blondies sounds amazing!!! Great job.
Thanks, Korena! They were scrumptious! 🙂
Yum!!! I did chocolate and beets as well! Now I really want to go out and buy some sweet potatoes! 🙂
Oh, you should! The blondies were the most popular here!
These look lovely! And I love your mini cake pans.
Thanks! 🙂
Wow, both the mini cakes and the blondies look fantastic!! I am seriously loving all these great desserts with hidden veggies in them! Awesome job!
Thanks, Jenni! 🙂
Two delicious sounding recipes – and stunning photos – I love the mini loaf cases, they are super cute! Thanks so much for taking part this month Rx
Thanks for such a great challenge, Ruth – it was so much fun! And thanks for being such a wonderful host! 🙂
I am so trying those blondies. Like, want to run out and get some sweet potatoes tomorrow. And the chocolate loaf looks outstanding. And that chocolate honey glaze? I want to make that now and drizzle it on EVERYTHING! Great job!!
Thanks, Shelley! 🙂 You should try the blondies – I’m still surprised at how good they were! 🙂
These recipes are brilliant! I love both of them!!
Thanks, Lisa! A great way to sneak extra goodness into the diet – especially for my boys who shun most veggies. The eternal conundrum of the vegetarian parent! LOL!
You’re amazing! They both look so good and I think I’m going to try the blondies. They are really tempting me. Great job at the challenge!!!
Thanks, Indra! 🙂
Yum! They both look wonderful. I never would have thought about making sweet potato blondies. Nice job on the challenge!
Thanks, Kim! 🙂