Mad about Minis: Mad Gourmet’s Single-serve Low-fat Molten Fudge Brownie

OK – Enough fooling around. Let’s get back to chocolate…

I have not made brownies in a while and am craving for one. However, I recently found out that my Hubby is not into brownies (although he is the first one who would try the batch). Since I am into single-serve recipes lately… I thought I would look for a mini version.

I think I found the Healthy(ish) Vegan Molten Fudge Brownie in Pinterest. This appeals to me because it is “healthy…ish”, “vegan-ish” (I used butter the first time I made this), and molten. I’ve been trying to make a molten brownie for a while now and this would be a good opportunity.

The first time I made this, I followed the recipe exactly. My option was not vegan (the butter, remember). I really like this recipe and have been one of my emergency desserts. However, in my third (or was it fourth – lost count) time, I decided to try out my healthy brownie recipe option and use mashed bananas and add walnuts.

The result is below… let me know what you think.

Low-fat Molten Fudge Brownie

Adapted from Top With Cinnamon’s Single-Lady,Vegan, Molten Fudge Brownie

 

Ingredients

• 1.5 tsp mashed banana
• 2.5 tsp of agave, honey, or maple syrup (use liquid sweetner, otherwise it would be too dry)
• Pinch of baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp almond flour (if you don’t have almond flour, just use all-purpose flour)
• 1.5 tsp of whole wheat flour
• 0.5 tsp coconut flour (if you don’t have coconut flour, just use whole wheat)
• 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp walnuts
• 1 tsp chocolate chips

Directions

1. Mix in all the dry ingredients (except for the walnuts and chocolate chips) and combine well.
2. Mix in the banana and agave.
3. Smooth the dough in the dish and scatter over the chocolate chips, and walnuts pressing them in slightly.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes (15 in my toaster oven) until it has risen slightly, and is still pretty soft in the center. Eat while still warm.

Verdict

Trying out a cookie... not quite there yet.

I love this recipe. I’ve already made this several times and it inspires me to get tiny shaped oven-proof dishes (just like Top With Cinnamon’s).  It is great for minimal cleaning: mixed everything in the ramekin, and only used my 1/2 tsp measuring spoon (occasionally my 1 TBSP).

I even tried it as a cookie, but it is not as successful… yet!

As suggested, for a gluten-free version, replace the coconut oil with 2 teaspoons of almond butter (or another nut butter or bananas!!!!) and completely replace the flour with 1 Tablespoon of ground almonds (or almond flour – is that gluten-free?).

Mad about minis: (Relatively) Guilt-free Chocolate-Strawberry Lava Cake

I had a craving for cake, but it was about 9 pm and don’t feel like going out. Browsing through the Food and Drink area on Pinterest, I found this easy but tempting recipe. The great thing is I have most of the ingredients at hand. I also recently bought some almond flour and have been experimenting with whole-wheat flour, so I thought this small serving would be a great opportunity to try these out.

Single-serve Guilt-free Chocolate-Strawberry Lava Cake

Adapted from Girl Who Bakes’ Guilt-free Lava Cake for One

Yields 1 cake

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon almond flour*
• 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour*
• 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour*
• 3/4 tablespoons light brown sugar**
• 1/2 tablespoon agave nectar**
• 1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli’s)
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons almond milk
• 1 tablespoon non-fat strawberry-flavored Greek yogurt***
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

* You can use 2 1/2 tablespoon of flour (any combination).

** You can use 1 1/4 tablespoon of sugar, any combination – I just like brown sugar and agave.

*** Actually, any flavor yogurt will do, but anything that blends well with chocolate will be best. In my case, this would be berry, banana, or vanilla-flavored. I used Dannon Oikos Strawberry (Fruit in the bottom, but mixed).

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.     Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

3.     Mix milk, yogurt, and vanilla in separate bowl.

4.     Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients and stir until combined.

5.     Grease a 7 ounce ramekin with cooking spray. Pour batter into ramekin and bake for 12-16 minutes or until edges and top of cake are set.

6.     Let cake cool for 1 minute then invert onto larger plate or bowl.

Verdict:

This is an awesome dessert and relatively guilt-free (the original recipe is only 171 calories, not sure what mine is with all the substitutions). It really looks quite decadent especially when you serve it with whipped cream and berries. Personally, I would have preferred to serve it with strawberries, but I only had blackberries.

I will try this again. Maybe use honey instead of agave. I think you still need to use a bit of sugar though for moisture.

And when you invert the ramekin and a cake pops out, wow!  Girl who bakes is right! You will feel like a professional. Not sure about looking like one though, especially if you are baking these in your jammies.

Peanut Butter + Chocolate + Bananas = Healthy Peanut Butter Brownies = Yum!

Time for another Brownie experiment! My husband has been enjoying peanut butter and chocolate candy bars, so I thought I would make him Healthy Peanut Butter Brownies. Bananas are great with peanut butter, so I decided to use one of my variations and use mashed bananas instead of butter.

As for the peanut butter topping, I decided to start my search in AllRecipes.com. since I’ve had good luck with their recipes. I found Michelle’s Peanut Butter Marbled Brownies. I used Adam’s Creamy Peanut Butter since it only contains peanuts and no additional oils, partially hydrogenated or not.

I also opted to use My Basic Brownie Recipe. Besides, I have already tried mine with mashed bananas, and I think it’s great.

Here's the recipe...

Mad Gourmet Peanut Butter Marbled Brownies
Based on Michele’s Peanut Butter Marbled Brownies from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

For the Healthy Banana Brownies:

• 1/2 cup mashed bananas, preferably over-ripe
• 2 tablespoon melted butter 
• 2/3 cup brown sugar  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Peanut Butter Topping:

·       6 oz (light) cream cheese, softened

·       1/2 cup peanut butter

·       1/4 cup white sugar

·       1 egg

Note: The original recipe required milk, but I (accidentally) left it out of the recipe. The brownies came out well without it. However, if I do use milk, I may try unsweetened almond milk instead of regular milk.

Directions:

1.     Follow steps 1 & 2 of the Basic Brownie Recipe. Set aside about 1/3 cup of the batter, before spreading it evenly into the greased pan. Remember, ½ c melted butter is replaced by ½ c of mashed bananas and 2T of melted butter.

2.     In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1 egg, until smooth. Set aside.

3.     Spread the peanut butter filling over the top. Drop the reserved chocolate batter by teaspoonful over the filling. Using a knife, gently swirl through the top layers for a marbled effect.

4.     Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out almost clean. Cool completely, then cut into bars.

Verdict:

These peanut butter brownies are delicious. My husband loves these and did not last that long.  An added bonus is that they make the kitchen smell awesome. After all who can resist peanut butter and chocolate.

That said, I do not think these have enough peanut butter. Next time (and there will be one) I may change the cream cheese and peanut butter ratio, maybe 4 oz cream cheese and ¾ cup of peanut butter. I may even use chunky peanut butter and add the almond milk for a nuttier combination.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.