I am slowly working my way through my recipes and tweaking them to be less full of nuts, less fats and introducing more Ray Peat friendly ingredients to offer maximum nutrition, even if it is a sweet treat. This Brownie recipe with Applesauce turned out perfectly!
Good fats are great like cacao butter, coconut oil, even grass-fed normal butter, however when the fudge you are eating is equivalent to a tablespoon of fat each mouthful, well ‘the too much of a good thing’ rule may very well apply.
Anyway, I have been thinking about a Brownie recipe for a while and I found a couple of recipes that were super simple – just how I like it and in the past I would have used these ingredients for sure.
- which I don’t use any more, too many polyunsaturated fats. (See why that’s no good here.)
– which I don’t use so much now either but I would totally make it like this if I did – may need a bit more sweetener in this one, as she tends to go all ‘no added sugar’ which is definitely not a Peat trait. 2024 Update: I do use a new protein powder now that is pro metabolic friendly. Please see below.
So, I’ve improvised and tried something a bit different. It has no flour or eggs and when I was mixing it up and it was all runny – I was sure it wouldn’t work. But wonders never cease…
Applesauce Four ingredient Brownies
Makes 8 small brownies
1 cup applesauce*
¼ cup cacao
¼ cup skim milk powder (This is where I get my milk powder.) or ¼ cup 40UP – Collagen Protein Powder*
¼ cup skim sweetened condensed milk
pinch sea salt
How you do it…
(* I make applesauce by just chopping up two apples, add a tablespoon of honey and about a cup of water and simmer for about 30 mins. So it’s a bit more chunky than the normal pureed version. )
Just mix everything together in a bowl.
Pour into a small parchment lined tin. Make sure you leave at least a 2 inches space from the top as this mix rises to at least double its size for some reason! It doesn’t stay that way once cooled but you don’t want it oozing over the top of your tin all over your lovely oven.
I usually put another flat tray under my brownie tin just in case of spillage.
Bake at 180C (360 F) for 35 mins.
Allow to cool out of the oven for at least an hour before trying to cut, as it is quite soft and delicate.
It is actually the best refrigerated overnight.
Top with any type of frosting. Here are some suggestions:-
Homemade chocolate – it features in the picture.
Sweet Potato Chocolate Frosting
The whole thing keeps in the fridge for at least two weeks. And my taste testers gave it the “mmm yum!” I just can’t believe it’s ‘cakey,’ with no traditional ingredients that would make it that way.
I love how this one turned out, but no doubt I will keep tweaking and see if I can improve it!
Let me know how it works for you.
Kristy x
Update 2024: The protein powder I eat now is a combination of whey protein and Peptan Collagen and it’s called 40UP – Collagen Protein Powder.
Read why it’s great for a Pro Metabolic Diet & where you can get it here.
NB: For more recipes grab a copy of the Sweet Treats book, available for immediate download.
