Chocolate Cakies

Since Buenos Aires is such a remarkable city to eat in, we love taking our guests to our favorite spots during their visits.  I love it at the time, but I find that it negates my last few months of work at the gym and almost always ends in a vow to eat healthy after everyone has left.  Nothing takes the edge off of eating healthy more than a dessert that you can enjoy sans guilt, and since we have a 3-day weekend vacation coming up in one of the most gastronomically intense areas of Argentina, this is a great time for a low-fat dessert recipe post.  I got this recipe from my favorite cookbook, The Low-Fat Way to Cook, the recipe claims that the final product will be brownies, but I would argue that the brownies are a closer resemblance to chocolate cake.  Thus, I give you Chocolate Cakies:

Medicrim, our sour cream alternative

Frosted Chocolate Brownies
vegetable cooking spray
1/2 c plus 3 tablespoons of reduced-calorie margarine, softened
1 1/3 c sugar
8 egg whites
1/2 c nonfat sour cream
1/3 c evaporated skim milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 c flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2/3 c unsweetened cocoa

Delicious cakie batter

Directions:

1. Beat margarine until fluffy, gradually add sugar and beat well.
2.  Add egg whites, sour cream, milk and vanilla, beat well.  Note:  I cannot find evaporated skim milk in the grocery stores here, so I use the following substitution - heat double the amount of milk you need (in this case 1 cup) in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.  Steam milk until it has reduced by half (takes up to an hour).  It works perfectly for this recipe. 
3. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl, stir well. 
4. Slowly add dry mixture to creamed mixture until fully incorporated.
5. Pour batter into a 13 x 9 inch pan coated with cooking spray.  
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, cool on a wire cooling rack.
7. Once cooled, top with Creamy Chocolate Frosting (recipe below)

You're not quite done yet...

Creamy Chocolate Frosting 
3 c sifted powdered sugar
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa
1/4 t salt
1/4 c skim milk
1 1/2 t vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients until mix is of spreading consistency.  If the frosting is too thick, add more milk one drop at a time.  Be careful, it doesn't take much to over-thin the mix.   

This recipe yields 24 servings and each serving contains approx 180 calories and 3.9 grams of fat.  A perfect way to end your healthy-eating day.