
Beetroot is my dark horse of breakfasts. Mostly because I procrastinate using it when it turns up in my veggie box—and then can’t understand why I waited so damn long once I taste that sweet, earthy, inky magenta.
Beetroot goes especially beautifully with dark chocolate. Which just happens to be my staple breakfast ingredient. (See here and here and also here for evidence of my beetroot obsession.)

Thus, beetroot and dark chocolate muffins. (With a beetroot powder swirled, mascarpone frosting whose lushness borders on obscene.) Squidgy, velvety, and smooth in all the right places.

For this beetroot chocolate muffin recipe, you can use fresh beetroot and cook it yourself, or just buy the vacuum-packed, precooked beetroot balls.

How to cook beetroot
Toss your cleaned beets (approximately 4 small, or 2 large) into a large pot and fill with 1-2 inches water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for around 30-50 minutes. The beetroot should be tender; poke in a fork and the flesh should hold little resistance, but still keep shape. Transfer to a bowl of cold water. Let cool, then peel.
One more thing—these beauties don’t like hanging around. They’re best eaten on the day of baking, although you can store in the fridge for a day without compromising too much on the texture.


BEETROOT AND DARK CHOCOLATE MUFFINS W’ MASCARPONE FROSTING
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40
- Yield: 12 Muffins 1x
DescriptionYum
An obscenely decadent dark chocolate muffin, swirled with beetroot sweetness inside and on top. Squidgy, velvety, and smooth in all the right places.
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup beetroot puree
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup milk (non-dairy, like unsweetened almond milk, is great, too)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I use a mix of 70% and 50% cocoa)
For the frosting:
- 150g icing sugar
- 2tsp beetroot powder
- 375g mascarpone
- Beetroot veggie crisps for topping (optional)
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (180 C)/ Gas Mark 4 and line 12 muffins with unbleached paper liners.
- Whisk together eggs, beet puree, melted oil, honey, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- Stir in only half the milk. Whisk again.
- Sift cocoa powder and flour into the mixture and gently fold until just mixed. If batter is sludgy, add a smidgen more milk—but it should still be fairly thick, and require some scooping to plop into the muffin cases.
- Fold in the choc chips. Fill each muffin case about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes. Consistency should be slightly springy to the touch, and a toothpick should come out clean when inserted (unless it hits a choc chip!). Leave to cool.
- For the frosting, sift the icing sugar and beetroot powder over the mascarpone cheese and whisk until smooth. Spread over the cooled muffins with a butter knife.
Notes
* The beetroot powder will ‘develop’ over time, so your frosting may look light, but will grow into a deeper pink if you wait a few minutes.
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