A secret ingredient for low-fat brownies - includes recipe - Everyday Low-Fat Cooking

Sunset, Oct, 1996 by Elaine Johnson

"Great brownies - so moist and chocolaty. They have an elusive flavor," said one taster at a low-fat brownie bake-off. "Prunes? You're kidding!"

If you're into low-fat baking, using pureed fruit such as prunes or applesauce to replace fat may not surprise you. But how do various purees measure up?

We tested seven purees in an old-fashioned brownie recipe we'd adjusted to a low-fat format (see how, below). Most contained prunes, which are naturally high in fiber (it traps air, as fat does) as well as sorbitol (a humectant to counteract dryness) and malic acid (a flavor enhancer).

The purees we tested included four all-prune types: Gerber prune baby food, WonderSlim (a fat substitute), Solo Prune Plum Lekvar Filling (a sweetened dessert filling and fat replacement), and a homemade puree (1/2 cup soft prunes whirled in a blender with 3 tablespoons hot water until smooth). Two fat replacements - Lighter Bake and Just Like Shortenin' - contained prunes and apples. Our seventh puree was unsweetened applesauce.

The results? Tasters were hard-pressed to tell the six prune brownies apart; all were judged moist and fudgelike (though the ones made with Solo filling and homemade puree were a tad heavy). The applesauce brownies differed dramatically from the others, with greater volume and a texture closer to devil's food cake's.

To create our low-fat brownies, we replaced fat with the same amount of applesauce or half as much prune puree. To counteract the purees' slight tendency toward gumminess, we kept a bit of butter and added a little leavening. Including one egg yolk (rather than all egg whites) also dramatically improved the texture.

Fudgy Low-fat Brownies

Prep and cook time: About 35 minutes, plus about 1 hour for cooling

Makes: 16 brownies

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg white

6 tablespoons applesauce or 3 tablespoons prune puree (see choices at far left)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1. In a 2- to 3-quart pan over low heat, stir chocolate and butter until melted. Remove from heat. Add sugar, whole egg and egg white, applesauce or puree, and vanilla; stir until smooth. Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, and soda into pan; stir to blend.

2. Evenly spread batter in a lightly oiled 8-inch square pan. Bake in a 350 [degrees] oven until brownies pull from sides of pan, 22 to 24 minutes. If they do not pull from sides, bake no longer than 25 minutes. Cool on a rack. Cut with a serrated knife.

Per brownie: 101 cal., 31% (31 cal.) from fat; 1.5 g protein; 3.4 g fat (1.8 g sat.); 18 g carbo.; 69 mg sodium; 15 mg chol.

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Do you have tips or recipes for low-fat cooking? Write to Everyday Low-fat Cooking, Sunset Magazine, 80 Willow Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025, or send e-mail (including your full name and street address) to lowfat@sunsetpub.com.