5-minute Microwave Brownies - Low fat & Whole wheat

Wishing everyone who is reading this a very Happy & Healthy New Year 2009.

I started blogging towards the latter part of this year, and this feels wonderful! I have made a lot of new friends, and a lot of new, healthy recipes that I am proud of.
Along the way, I have learnt a lot of things about cooking and eating healthy which I would have been clueless about a few years back. Thanks to all the encouragement from my family and friends.

There is this tradition that I believe in (so do a lot of people) that making and eating something sweet today, will make the whole year sweet and enjoyable.
Chocolate says festive, joy and sweetness to me. And a brownie is an excellent way to put all there is in a chocolate to play. This is my healthy take on this recipe from George Duran of Food Network.
This recipe was requested by one of my friends from school... she wanted them,
low-fat, relatively healthy, sugar free and one that can be made in a microwave quickly.

I have covered almost all of them except for the sugar part. I used regular granulated sugar but it may be substituted with Splenda if you are making it for a diabetic person. You could also use Agave as a slightly better alternative for regular sugar.

Whole wheat pastry flour is one of the healthiest forms of flour out there, and is suitable for baking and making pastries. If you don't get this where you live, then you may use All purpose flour.

Points to note:

Use a 8" or 9" pan for baking this, and it should be at least 2"-3" tall. The batter tends to expand a lot while cooking.

I baked the brownies for 5 minutes in my microwave. And learnt that 4 minutes (or lesser) in mine would have been ideal since it is quite a powerful microwave.
It tasted great when served immediately, but mine dried out a little as time went by.

So while making this, adjust the cooking time according to your microwave.
For a normal microwave: 4 1/2 - 5 minutes (exactly) to make this.
For a powerful microwave: Not more than 4 minutes.

Do not bake in the microwave for more than 5 minutes even if it looks undone. It tends to cook a little during the 3 minute resting period.

Go ahead, impress your friends and family with this quick dessert this New Year.



5-minute Microwave Brownies - Low fat & Whole wheat

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pastry flour - 1/2 c (minus 1 tbsp)
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 2
Sugar - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (add more if you like them sweeter)
Unsalted butter - 4 tbsp
Unsweetened chocolate - 3 oz.
Vanilla - 1 tbsp
Chopped Walnuts - 1/4 cup
Chocolate chips - 1/4 cup (To sprinkle on top)

Method:

Spray a 9" microwave safe dish and keep aside.

Sift whole wheat pastry flour and baking powder and set aside.

Beat eggs and sugar and keep aside. Do not use a hand mixer for this. A simple large whisk/large fork would do the trick.

In a microwave safe bowl, add the butter and the unsweetened chocolate and microwave it for 1-2 minutes till completely melted. Take it out and whisk till shiny and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Mix in the vanilla, eggs and sugar mixture to this and whisk quickly. Make sure the chocolate is not too hot, or it will scramble the eggs.

Add the flour until completely incorporated. Fold in the nuts.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. No need to cover entirely. It should look like this.



Microwave for 4-5 minutes.

Let it rest for 3 minutes.

Spread the chocolate chips (that has now melted) on top into a smooth layer.

Cut and serve with cold ice cream, or enjoy them as it is! How quick was that?
For a few minutes of work, this is way better than the oven baked ones.