Fudgy Cottage Cheese Brownies
Struggling to find sweet treats that don't trigger nausea or stall your weight loss goals? These 121-calorie cottage cheese brownies are perfectly optimized for GLP-1 users. Low fat, low calorie, and deeply fudgy without the heavy nuts or rubbery protein powders.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 60 g granular Erythritol, or normal Erythritol blitzed into powder
- 80 g Cadbury Bournville Classic Dark Chocolate Slab
- 200 g low-fat cottage cheese (~185g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (5 ml)
- 45 g cake flour or all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp fine salt
Instructions
Prep and Setup
- Preheat your oven to 170°C (Conventional) or 160°C (Thermo-fan).
- Line an 18cm × 18cm square baking pan (or a small loaf tin) with baking paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the brownies out easily later.
The Powder Trick (if you can’t find Woolworths Erythritol Icing Sugar: Place your 60g of granular erythritol into a blender or coffee grinder and blitz for 10 seconds until it becomes a fine, powdery dust.
Melt the Chocolate
- Break the 80g Bournville slab into small pieces.
- Melt it gently in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water (or in the microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring between each).
- Set it aside to cool slightly - it should be distinctly warm but not scorching hot.
Build the "Meringue" Crust (The Secret Step)
- Crack your 2 large eggs into a mixing bowl and add the powdered erythritol.
- Using an electric hand mixer on high speed, whip the eggs and sweetener for a full 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stop when the mixture is pale yellow, thick, has tripled in volume, and leaves a visible trail (ribbon) when you lift the beaters.
Mix the Batter
- Gently stream the warm melted Bournville chocolate and the 1 tsp of vanilla extract into the whipped eggs while mixing on low speed until just combined.
- Add the 200g of smooth cottage cheese and gently fold it in with a spatula.
- Sift in the cake flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and fine salt. Fold the dry ingredients in gently by hand just until the flour streaks disappear - do not over-mix, or you will lose the trapped air needed for the crackly top.
Bake to Perfection
- Pour the batter into your lined pan (it should sit roughly 2cm to 2.5cm deep).
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes. At 18 minutes, give the pan a gentle shake. The edges should look matte and set, but the centre 3cm circle should still have a slight, tight jiggle.
- An inserted toothpick should come out with a few sticky, moist crumbs - not completely clean!
The Fridge Set
- Let the brownies cool completely in the pan on your counter for 30 minutes.
- Transfer the pan directly into the fridge for at least 2 hours (or overnight) before slicing into 8 equal squares. This sets the cottage cheese and cocoa fats into that perfect, meltingly crumbly texture.
Notes
GLP-1 Recipe Snapshot per square (makes 8 squares):
- 🔥Calories: ~120 kcal
- 🍗 Protein: ~6.2g
- 🌾 Carbohydrates: ~11.4
- 🥑 Fat: ~5g
- 🪙 Estimated Cost: ~R7.50 per portion **
