Light Chocolate-Chunk Brownies (Martha Stewart)

I hear whining and complains whenever I serve baked pasta with 50% fat reduced cheese...

I hear the same whenever I serve anything that is not flavoursome enough... especially low fat brownies!!!

Hey guys, this is low fat. You know?
Hey mum, this is not delicious. You know?

What can I say?

Remember that I have used applesauce to bake low calories Happy Brownies previously in January 2012? I must admit that I had to put happy faces on these brownies in order to make look appealing. Although all of the happy brownies were eventually consumed, we prefer something with sinful texture and also something fully packed with satisfying amount of chocolate. Having said that, please don't get me wrong here... I'm truly a pro-health person but like to satisfy my family's taste buds with good tasting food. Like I always said, Moderation is essentially what I'm after. Do you face the same dilemma?

To compromise, I have found this Martha Stewart's light chocolate-chunk brownies recipe which uses healthy ingredients like applesauce, fat reduced sour cream and just 2 tablespoon of good oil to bake a wholesome and moist brownies base and then fills the base with lots of bittersweet chocolate. The beauty of this recipe is that the chocolate bits and chunks have actually given the brownies a compromising boost of chocolaty taste even though that its low-fat moist brownies base is actually quite simple and plain.

For the fact that it is healthier version of brownies, I have to say that these brownies are pretty GOOD! Even BETTER that I'm not hearing any whining or complains when I packed these wholesome brownies into lunchboxes. BEST if you can bake and judge these by yourself???

Hey mum, I can eat these brownies but can you don't bake these brownies again?

Geez... My son can taste that these brownies are fat reduced!!!

Light chocolate-chunk brownies

The healthy ingredients to make this brownies. Instead of applesauce, I'm using apple puree.

I like to enhance the taste of brownies with good quality chocolates and preferably dark muscovado sugar.

Just mix mix mix...

... and bake!

Any whining or complains? Well, I didn't but my son did a little ...

Here's the recipe from Martha Stewart
(with my notes and modification in blue)

2 tbsp vegetable oil, such as safflower, plus more for pan
(I used rice bran oil)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
(I used 110g)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
(I used Valrhona Dutch processed cocoa)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
(replaced with baking powder)
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
(I used dark muscovado sugar)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
(I used 120g apple puree, baby food)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream (with 18% fat)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (2 ounces melted, 2 ounces coarsely chopped)
(I used (1) 60g Callebaut ones with 55% cocoa, melted, (2) 60g Callebaut ones with 55%, finely chopped and (3) 60g Callebaut ones with 70% cocoa, coarsely chopped)
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F or 160°C fan forced. Brush a 9-inch square baking pan with oil; line with a strip of parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides, and brush paper with oil (I didn't brush mine with oil).In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, applesauce (apple puree), sour cream, melted chocolate, eggs, and oil until combined; add flour mixture, and mix just until moistened.

Spread batter in prepared pan; sprinkle top with chopped chocolate. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 mins - I baked mine for 30 mins.

Cool completely in pan. Use paper overhang to lift cake from pan; peel off paper, and discard. Cut into 16 squares.

Happy Baking
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