Judy's Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Squares

My little girl turned 3 today and I couldn't decide whether or not to carve out a sizeable chunk of my propoints allowance for what would probably be a miniscule slither of her bakery-bought birthday cake.

Fortunately, I did some baking of my own this morning, and it occurred to me that one of my fudgy chocolate brownie squares would make a very satisfactory alternative while everyone else tucked into the 'proper cake' - all for a very respectable 2pp... (though in the end of course I did a fair amount of fondant-icing picking and cream-filling swiping, so it was lucky I had some extra propoints floating about as emergency cover!).

This chocolate brownie cake is lovely and moist and very quick and easy to make. It goes extremely well with ice cream, a bit of squirty cream, or lightly warmed with some 0pp fruit compote.

JUDY'S FUDGY CHOCOLATE BROWNIE SQUARES

Ingredients

2 large eggs
1 egg white
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup plain flour
3/4 cup splenda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
4 tablespoons ground almonds
1 heaped teaspoon coffee granules dissolved in 4fld oz hot water
8 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat the eggs, egg white and applesauce till smooth and add in the dry ingredients. Mix well. Stir in the coffee and vanilla essence and beat again till no lumps remain. The mixture will be extremely runny - don't panic. Pour into a greased 8 x 6" tin and bake for 30 minutes in an oven preheated to 160'c. Leave for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack. Cool and cut into 18 small squares of 2pp each.

Serve warm or at room temperature.