by Shlomit Singer-Shamir
Beetroots are highly nutritious root vegetables that are a great source of vitamins and minerals such as potassium, sodium, iron, folate, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, and B vitamins such as thiamin, niacin, and riboflavin.
Rich in antioxidants, they get their deep purple colour from the betalain pigment, which has potent anti-inflammatory properties. They’re also a great source of dietary fibre and low in fat, cholesterol, and calories.
Cocoa is rich in polyphenols, which have significant health benefits, including improved cholesterol levels, decreased inflammation, improved heart and brain health, blood sugar and weight control and healthy teeth and skin.
These muffins can be kept for about 4 days in the fridge or longer in the freezer.
Ingredients – makes about 12 muffins
- 180g spelt wheat
- 2 teaspoons cacao powder
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup oil
- 100g vegan soya butter or 100g of sunflower oil*
- 250g beetroot
- 100g dark chocolate (70% cacao)
- 1/4 cup soya milk (plus a little bit extra if needed)**
- 50g slivered almonds for topping (optional)
*You can use 80g of coconut oil instead of the butter or sunflower oil but the muffins will be a little denser in texture.
**If necessary, add a little extra milk to the muffin mixture (different wheat absorbs different amount of liquids) but be aware that whilst baking the beetroot adds some liquid to the muffins.
Equipment:
Muffin tray and blender.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 170 Celsius and grease the muffin tray with a little butter (not necessary if using a using silicon tray)
- In a bain-marie melt the chocolate with soya butter.
- Peel the beetroots and blend in a mixer / blender to a paste. Add the oil, milk and chocolate butter mixture.
- In a separate bowl add the spelt wheat, cacao, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
- Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and mix carefully. (Try not to be too heavy- handed or the muffins will become too dense after baking).
- Fill the muffin tray with even blobs of the mixture. Decorate with the almonds.
- Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes (just until they’ve risen but are still soft and slightly moist inside)
- Take the muffins out of the oven and put them on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature or gently warmed.
More tasty vegan treats from Shlomit
About the author
From a young age, movement and nutrition have been a big part of Shlomit’s life, and she became a vegan seven years ago. She practised Ashtanga yoga for around 18 years, before undertaking a kids’ teacher training (25hrs) and qualifying as a yoga teacher in Amsterdam (200RYT). Recently her passions combined and she now creates recipes for a vegan restaurant in Haarlem (The Netherlands), sells home-baked pastries on request for special events, and teaches yoga.
Learn more about Shlomit’s yoga classes on Facebook and find inspiration for her delicious, vegan recipes on Instagram.
