Pumpkin protein brownies
41 min · 11 g protein · 84 cals / serving
Dense, dark cocoa brownies where canned pumpkin does the job of the butter and chocolate casein does the job of the flour. Nobody tastes the pumpkin; what they notice is that these are fudgy, not cakey.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process if you have it
- 3 1/2 scoops casein protein powder, chocolate, casein or a whey-casein blend
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder, deepens the chocolate (optional)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin, plain purée, not pie filling
- 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp stevia, pure stevia extract powder, or any sweetener equal to 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp dark chocolate 70-85%, chopped, or chips
Steps
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line a 8 inch square tin with baking paper. Whisk the cocoa, protein powder, baking powder, coffee and salt together, pressing out any lumps.
- In a second bowl whisk the pumpkin, yogurt, sweetener and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the dry mix until no streaks remain. Taste it now, before the eggs go in: it should be a little sweeter than you want the brownies, because baking and cocoa dull sweetness, so add more sweetener if it needs it. Then beat in the egg and egg whites. The batter should be thick, like soft frosting.
- Fold in half the chopped chocolate, spread the batter into the tin and scatter the rest on top.
- Bake 24–28 minutes, until the edges pull away from the paper, a skewer in the middle comes out with moist crumbs and the center reads 160°F. Cool completely, then chill at least an hour before cutting into 12.
Good to know
Will they taste of pumpkin?
No. Cocoa and coffee cover it completely. The pumpkin is there for moisture and body, which is what butter usually brings.
Why casein and not whey?
Whey bakes up springy and cake-like, which is how a protein brownie ends up tasting like a sponge. Casein holds on to water and stays dense. With whey only, take 3 minutes off the bake; it's about the same score.
Warm or cold?
Cold. Straight from the fridge they firm up and turn properly fudgy; warm, they are soft and taste more of cocoa than of brownie.
Per
- Calories
- 142
- Protein
- (52%)
- 19 g
- Fat
- (23%)
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- (26%)
- 11 g
- of which sugar
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sodium
- 252 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1004 kcal goes into the pot and 780 g of ingredients comes out as about 705 g of food: 142 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.