I have spent all my adult (and teenage for that matter!) life either on a diet or breaking one!! So when I came upon this recipe on Nigella's website for "Diet Brownies" it was a no brainer, I had to try them immediately.
They were quite nice, my brownie aficionado son said that they weren't the best I'd ever made but they were still nice, as I hadn't mentioned the diet bit to him, I reckon this was high praise!
The one thing worth mentioning about these brownies is that they didn't keep wonderfully, they dried out considerably within three days (and the whole point of diet brownies is that you eat them over several days, all at once kinda defeats the purpose!!)
They had a rich, deeply chocolaty taste, and a proper brownie texture (for the first two days anyway). They gave such a chocolate hit that it cut down on the temptation to eat the whole plate full - score!!!
I know that "diet" is a dirty word these days, so I'll say that I cooked some very healthy vegetable side dishes this weekend which I'll blog about soon - they were creamy and luscious, nobody guessed that they didn't contain all sorts of creams and butters. Happy Days!
Diet/Healthy/Less Unhealthy Than Usual Brownies
Lauren McC
50ml Oil
150g Caster (or brown) sugar
2 Medium Eggs (beaten)
1tsp Vanilla Extract
50g Cocoa Powder (your best stuff)
1/2tsp Baking Powder
80g Flour
Makes 18 - 20 Brownies (86 cals each)
Preheat oven to 170 C
Prepare 20x20cm brownie tin.
Mix sugar and oil.
Add eggs and vanilla.
Carefully add the cocoa, flour and baking powder.
Mix gently.
Pour batter into prepared tin (best lined with parchment paper to keep fat level right down!)
Bake 20 minutes or until done.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy.
11 comments:
I find that as soon as something is perceived as healthy or diet or lo-cal or low fat I just tend to eat double the amount. Thereby cancelling out any of the aforesaid advantages. Whereas if I know something is uber-bad then I'll only have one :-)
Yummy! These look georgeous BrownievilleGirl, mmmmmmmm.
Thank you for your comments on my blog, and welcome as a follower :o)
Might they freeze successfully, BG ? I am beginning to realise that the key to being able to eat home made cake without turning into an elderly elephant, as I live alone, is to make small cakes, or something that is easy to portion, then freeze them and only defrost one or tweo at a time.
I agree with BetterLate. Brownies usually freeze very well and this may solve your issues with the lack of longevity for this particular brownie. I think a brownie lacking butter and real chocolate will dry out quickly. I like Melanie's take on eating the full fat versions but less...um, I just have to work on the less bit.
Ha! Diet Brownies, what a contradiction, I may have to give them a try though. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I'm just stuck on the fact that they lasted 2 days in your house!! :) I bet they'd taste great with ice cream... can you say that about 'diet' brownies?
That is it, I am packing up and moving to Ireland so I can be your official brownie taste tester.
I would be happy to try a delicious, lower fat brownie. They look good to me.
Are they still diet if you top them with cream? lol
Great post...I love oxymorons (diet brownies!) Love your "about me" description...it was like reading it about myself!
Melanie, these have such a strong chocolate hit that it would be hard to eat more than one (and I am very very good at eating more than one!!!)
Rose, thank you so much, welcome:}}
BL, good idea to freeze them (also means a good hiding place) Loved the "Fred" post!!!
Jutta - the "less" bit has me stumped too!!!
CC - my Dad always said "a bit of what you fancy does you good"!!!!!
Saffy, LOL (actually made other brownies to ward of the teenage masses!!!!)
Bridgett, I wish!!!!!
AlaG, should have gone with the "slightly less unhealthy than normal" title!!!
I had a batch of brownies dry out once (kids weren't around to devour them instantly) so I stuck a slice of bread in a bag with them, over night....works wonders! (works for cookies too)
I'm totally trying these. And SOON too! I can't tell you how long I've been looking for an oil-based cocoa brownie recipe!! Thank you, dear! :o)
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