Applesauce brownie recipe

I have been wanting to use apple sauce as a substitute for butter for a while now, and read that it works best for cake type recipes.  This is my favourite brownie recipe as it has orange in, and chocolate and orange is a great combo.  I have also substituted the white sugar for the much healthier coconut palm sugar, which is unrefined and a low gi healthy sugar.  I am sure you could use wholemeal spelt flour instead of plain, but I did not want to change too much in the recipe on the first go.  Anyway, it was a big success all round!!

Ingredients

• 225g (8 oz) unsweetened apple sauce  (at room temperature)
• 275g (9½ oz) coconut palm sugar
• 200g (7 oz) dark chocolate
• zest of 1 large orange
• juice of ½ orange
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• large pinch of salt
• 110g (4 oz) plain flour
• 30g (1 oz) cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/ 350ºF/Gas 4. Line a 20 cm (8 in) square cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Put the coconut palm sugar, and dark chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Set it over a saucepan of warm water. Let the butter and chocolate melt, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan, add apple sauce and leave to cool.
3. Prepare the orange zest and juice. Then whisk these together with the eggs, vanilla, and salt until combined. Whisk the orange and egg mixture into the cooled melted chocolate.
4. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder onto the chocolate mixture and fold it in..
5. Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. When done, let the brownies cool completely in the tin before tipping out. Cut into squares and serve.