To me, this is one of the all time greatest reduced fat fudge brownie recipes. It's called Michael's Fudge Brownies, and it was created by Alice Medrich at the request of her sister-in-law, a nurse who wanted a sweet treat for a young patient. The kind nurse had her husband (Alice's brother, Michael) bake the brownies, and thus they became "Michael's Brownies".
I love this recipe because it's so simple and approachable like most of the recipes in Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Desserts. This book is a little dated, but only in terms of when it was written. The recipes are still perfectly modern -- just no protein powder, alternative sugar or the like. Which is not to say you can't experiment! I've done my share of that, but the best way is Alice's way.
Michael's Fudge Brownies brownies are a great reminder that sometimes less is more. There's less fat, less fuss, and definitely less cleanup, but you’ll still get a deeply satisfying chocolate payoff. Here are a few tips for success.
- Sift the flour before measuring. If you have a scale, weigh it.
- If baking in a toaster oven or using a glass pan, bake at 325F rather than 350 for a more controlled bake.
- Use the highest quality Dutch process cocoa powder.
- Chilling overnight improves the texture, but bring them back to room temperature before serving.
- Add chocolate chips for some textural contrast. Walnuts on the top are also a nice touch, but optional.
Recipe
Michael's Fudge Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 grams)
- ½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder, plus another ½ T. (50 grams)
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 5 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted) (70 grams)
- 1 ¼ cups sugar (250 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg whites (or use another whole egg)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder dissolved in 1 teaspoon of water (optional)
- ⅓ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. If using a glass pan, preheat to 325F.
- Line an 8-inch square metal pan with foil and grease the bottom only. If using glass, just grease the bottom and a little around the sides.
- Sift your flour and then measure 1 cup sifted or weigh out 114 grams. Mix it with the cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sugar to the hot butter and heat the sugar/butter mixture for about 30 seconds or just until sugar starts to become shiny. Remove from heat and stir, allowing sugar to melt a little. It will still be pretty grainy looking at this point.
- Add the eggs, egg whites (or 1 whole egg) and vanilla and beat by hand with a heavy duty scraper until smooth. If you are using the espresso powder, add that too. Mixture should start to appear shiny.
- With a heavy duty scraper, beat in the flour mixture. If you are using the chocolate chips (which I definitely recommend), let the batter cool for a few minutes so that it won't melt the chips. When sufficiently cool, stir in some chocolate chips.
- Spread evenly in the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies appear set. Let cool completely, then lift from the pan and cut into squares.
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