Hi! Hi! Hi! Is anybody still lurking around this abandoned blog? I wish I had posted at least once a week, that was my plan initially, but we all know that executing a plan is not as easy as we think it is. So here I am nearly after 2 months of my last post. We recently bought our first home and it has taken me so much time to settle down and I went on a baking spree last week after 4 months. So you can expect a couple of interesting egg free baking recipes in the days to come.
It all started with this "Nearly No Fat Fudge Brownie" recipe I found in the yogurt container. A baking recipe couldn't possibly be any simpler. I had all the ingredients at home and it was already egg free; so I was good to go. This is also a one bowl recipe if you have a large microwave safe bowl. If you are a regular follower of this blog you would know that I try to bake healthy; include a lot of whole grains, reduce the quantity of fat, sugar. So our taste buds have accustomed pretty good. The brownies tasted very good. We did not miss the fat at all. It was chewy and fudgy. Maybe those with a sweeter tooth can increase the quantity of sugar to ¾th cup, but it was fine for us.
Recipe
Almost Fat Free Fudge Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ cup Chopped Pecans (or any other nuts optional)
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1 cup Plain Yogurt (I used fat free)
- ½ cup Water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch square pan and line it with aluminum foil, with some extra foil hanging around the edges so that it is easy to lift the brownie. You wouldn't believe how much time saving and mess free is this simple step of lining with foil.
- In a large microwave bowl melt the chocolate chips. It took about 45 seconds for the chocolate to melt. Do not set the time all at once, melt it in increments of 15-20 seconds because the cooking time in microwave ovens differ from one to another. Use a whisk to stir the melted chocolate to see that its smooth. Let this stand for a minute or two.
- To the melted chocolate add the yogurt and sugar; mix until combined.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and nuts (if using) and stir until just combined.
- To this mixture add water and stir carefully until the batter comes together. This batter looked more like a cake batter.
- The original recipe mentions to bake the brownies between 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Mine actually took 32 minutes. So start with the minimum amount of time mentioned in the recipe and increase the time in small increments if it doesn't bake.
- Remove the pan from the oven and leave it on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes carefully lift the foil and let the brownies cool completely before you can cut it. If you don't use the aluminum foil the cooling time will be much longer. You would have to leave it overnight too. I was able to cut it beautifully within 2 hours.
My Notes
- If you have a sweet tooth I would suggest increasing the quantity of sugar to ¾th of a cup. I also felt a mild sourness from the yogurt (my husband and son did not notice it). So I think the increased quantity of sugar will mask that too.
- If you do not want to increase the quantity of sugar try testing/tasting the yogurt before hand. The original recipe had mentioned to use Balkan style yogurt, maybe that isn't as sour as the plain yogurt I used. I have tried the Stoneyfield organic yogurt and it is not sour at all (at least immediately after opening). Maybe you could try that in this recipe.
- Update: Forgot to write this point before. I was not sure if the melted chocolate mixture would curdle if I immediately added yogurt to it. So I waited for about 5 minutes after I melted the chocolate in the microwave oven before adding the yogurt. To be even more sure I first mixed the sugar to melted chocolate; mixed it well and then added the yogurt.
Zulay says
I am going to try some of your recipes. Passed in by
My daughter who is moving from vegetarian to vegan.
Madhuram says
Hope you try the recipes and your daughter loves it too.
Akky says
This is my go to recipe for brownie. I have rated this recipe before as well. Today while preparing brownie, chocolate just seized very badly while adding curd and sugar. So I boiled half cup water and kept adding it to the mixture in small batches while whisking and scraping the bowl for chocolate lumps. When 90% of the chocolate was almost lump free,I added dry ingredients. This turned out to be my all time best brownie. Just sharing my experience as there is a good chance that chocolate will harden.
Madhuram says
That's great to know, Akky. Thank you very much for sharing your experience.
Ks says
What can i substitute for the baking powder? Can i use the yeast as the leaving agent (Rest the bater for half an hour)?
Madhuram says
Yeast won't taste good in brownie recipes, KS. If you have vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of that might work.
Akky says
I tried this recipe twice, both times with dark chocolate and I must tell you it came out really well. Used half cup wheat flour instead of all purpose flour, 4tsps jaggery powder in place of sugar and added some milk towards the end. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Madhuram says
Wow! Jaggery in this recipe! I can't wait to try it now. Thanks for sharing, Akky.
Veronica Alexander says
Many thanks for the perfect low fat brownie recipe ...simple, quick, easy. ..kids love it
Madhuram says
You're welcome Veronica.
Divyangi says
Excited to try this recipe! Does this work with home made yogurt?
Madhuram says
I'm sure it should Divyangi.
Sheetal Totloorker says
Can I replace the flour with whole wheat flour?
Madhuram says
Yes you can Sheetal.
Krupa says
Hi Madhuram, I have a pot of Greek yoghurt (set). Would this work or would I need to add more water due to the high fat content. If so, how much water would be required?
Madhuram says
It would work, but as you said it is very thick. You may have to add about 1-2 tablespoons of water. Also I personally feel that sour yogurt might work well and Greek yogurt is not sour. Try you luck!
parvathy says
Madhu thanks for this recipe . I am planning to make this over the weekend . Again thanks a ton
Madhuram says
Thanks Paru. 🙂
Kerry says
Lovely recipe. I'm always looking for healthy yet tasty bakes. Thanks so much!
Madhuram says
You're welcome Kerry.
meera says
hi,
One more suggestion you can make red velvet cake using beetroot. I love seeing your recipes because they are quiet simple. I used to conduct baking classes in USA and India(eggless). Try doing 3D birthday cakes. using fondant(like trains,school bus). for best fondant recipe there is a site called fondant101. Keep going you are doing a fantastic Job.
regards
Meera
Canada
Madhuram says
Yes Meera, I too have seen such recipes and meaning to try it for sometime now. Maybe that's what I should be baking for my eldest son's birthday. I'll check out the fondant website.