Buried Treasure Brownies

Ingredients

  • 150g Cooked beetroot
  • 50g Dried prunes
  • 30g Sultanas
  • 50g Sugar
  • 60g Soya marge
  • 125g Self raising flour
  • 40g Cocoa powder
  • 50g (Dry) pearl barley
  • 2 Cherry & cinnamon tea bags
  • 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 30g Glacé cherries
  • 110g Fondant icing sugar

Method

  1. Place the pearl barley in a saucepan with the tea bags and cook it as per the instructions on the packet
  2. Stir 30g of the cocoa powder into the flour and rub in the marge until the mixture resembles crumbs
  3. Chop the prunes and beetroot and stir in the sultanas and cinnamon
  4. Stir the sugar and dried fruit mix in to the barley (when it is cooked; reduce the liquid down but don't pour it off) and allow it to cool
  5. Add the barley and fruit into the prepared flour and mix well, adding more water if the consistency seems dry (they should be moist)
  6. Lightly spread the mix into a greased, lined tin and bake in a cool oven for 15 minutes
  7. Sieve the remaining coca powder into the fondant icing sugar and mix to icing consistency adding 1 teaspoon of water at a time
  8. Remove the brownie slab from the tin and scatter the chopped glacé cherries over the top
  9. Spread the chocolate icing over the slab and refrigerate for at least an hour before cutting to the required sizes

Cooking Temperature: 180 degrees

Cooking Time: 15 Minutes

Serves: 8 - 10

Keeps For: 5 days

Tips and Comments

  • I invented this after a not-great week when I was in definite need of comfort food but not wanting to compromise on nutrition.
  • Named 'Buried Treasure' due to the barley 'pearls' and beetroot 'rubies'. (Also 'Beetroot and Barley Brownies' don't sound as appetising!)
  • These are not super-sweet as I prefer to let the flavours come through but you could add more sugar if you felt you needed it.
  • See Not-Dairy for info on soya marge.