Let there be !

5 delicious sugar-free cake recipes that are easy to make Close your eyes……..

Imagine a world…. full of cake……… delicious, joyous cake, free from sugar and dodgy sweeteners. Cake that’s actually GOOD FOR YOU.

What????

OK – perhaps healthy, sugar-free cake won’t be taking over the world just yet, but when it’s so easy and inexpensive to make, surely the glorious day is fast approaching, when all health conscious cafes and shops sell at least some. The aim of this humble booklet is to ease this advance for humankind along a little bit.

I’m sure you know sugar’s bad news for all of us. But did you also know that as well being responsible for obesity and type 2 diabetes, it’s strongly linked to other grim reapers such as heart disease, liver and kidney disease, cancer and alzheimers?

I’m a lover and baker of , committed to a sugar free lifestyle. I warmly invite you to take a peak at these 5 cake recipes that are some of my favourites nibbles. They use a variety of natural sweeteners and flavour enhancers. And what’s more, they’re wheat and gluten free too. I share them with you from the heart and with much love. xx

A little aside about sweeteners before we kick off… Not all the “healthy” alternatives to sugar available these days are significantly any better than knocking back the Tate and Lyle. So at the back of the booklet, I’ve included some more detail about some sweetening options.

200g beetroot 3 eggs separated 150g dark chocolate 200g butter (85% or sugar free stuff) 3 tbs xylitol 1 tbsp grated ginger Heaped tsp ground Icing cardamom 100g mascarpone 125g buckwheat flour 200g cream cheese (or 100g buckwheat 1 tbsp xylitol whizzed to flour + 25g coconut icing sugar consistency flour) 1 heaped tsp ginger 1½ tsp baking powder puree Pinch salt Orange ————————————————————-

The things that set this luscious, delectable little cake apart, - Boil the beetroot until tender. (About an hour). Remove skin and are the sexy colour and the cheeky addition of ginger and chop and puree. cardamom. It’s a one way ticket to Cake Heaven…….dark - Put the chocolate and beetroot puree in a warm oven until the chocolate, mascarpone icing and beetroot. chocolate has melted. - Mix in ginger and cardamon. Allow to cool. ……..beetroot??? - Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. - Whisk egg yolks, butter and xylitol until creamy. Who’d have thought? - Whisk egg whites until consistency. - Fold yolk into the flour then add egg whites slowly. Get yer cake tin out and bake this bad boy. - Stir in choc and beet mix. - Pour mixture into 23 cm cake tin lined with baking paper. - Cook at Gas mark 4 for 50 minutes.

Wait until the cake is completely cool to add icing. Spiced Carrot, Coconut 3 eggs 100g chopped pistachios 3 tbsp xylitol Chopped * inca berries (or and Cake 2 tsp vanilla essence sultanas) 2 heaped tsp cinnamon Pinch of salt 200g ground almond 100g dessicated coconut Optional for topping: 2 shredded large carrots 2 tbsp ground pistachio 2 tbsp ground rose petals 150g of melted butter

———————————————————— - Whizz eggs, vanilla and xylitol together until creamy and bubbly. - Add almond flour and dessicated coconut and cinnamon. - Mix melted butter in well. - Add grated carrot and nuts and chopped inca berries. - Cover a 23cm cake tin in baking paper and spread the batter in it evenly. - Cook at Gas mark 3 for around 1 hour – check after 45 mins). - Leave in the tin to cool overnight (if its possible to resist it) The cake I love this cake and I want to marry it. It’s so moist and soft becomes moister. and yum-tious. The nuts and coconut give the cake texture. The cinnamon sweetness and warmth. - If you would like to add the topping, whizz the pistachios and the rose petals in a blender and add to the cake around 40 minutes into the And - even more good news, it’s dead easy to make. baking.

* Inca berries, (also called golden berries) are a better option than raisins and sultanas as they have a low sugar content and help balance blood sugar. They have a lovely rich, citrusy flavour too. 160ml almond milk 100g ground almond Coconut Brownies 3 tbsp milled chia seeds 2tsp baking powder 225 dark choc (use 85% or Pinch of salt sugar-free dark choc made A few drops of caramel with stevia or xylitol) essence 200g creamed coconut 50g walnuts 3 eggs 25g chopped *inca berries (or 2½ tbsp coconut sugar sultanas)

———————————————————— - Mix the milled chia seeds with almond milk and leave to soak for 20 minutes. - Melt the creamed coconut and 200g of the chocolate in a bowl, in a pan of simmering water. - In a large bowl beat the eggs and coconut sugar together until If you want to be brought to your knees in cake rapture, frothy. this brownie recipe is the badger. It tastes illicit and sinful. - Stir in the ground and baking powder. - Chop up the remaining chocolate and add to the mix with Surely these brownies can’t really be healthy and chopped walnuts and chopped inca berries. nutritious? Oh but they are! Good stuff’s crammed in ‘em - Add the chia and almond milk combo and mix well. – chia seeds, coconut cream, almonds – everything you - Pour into a 23cm tin, lined with baking paper. need to make you big, strong and cuddly. It scores highly on the Brownie squidge factor too. - Bake at Gas mark 4 for 30 minutes. - Cool in the tin. Why stop at one piece? Go on, have another….. * Inca berries, (also called golden berries) are a better option than raisins and sultanas as they have a low sugar content and help balance blood sugar. They have a lovely rich, citrusy flavour too. Cranberry Crunch Seed 50g sunflower seeds 10 drops caramel essence 50g pumpkin seeds Pinch of salt 50g sesame seeds 4 tbsp yacon syrup 30g hemp seeds 3 tbsp coconut oil 30g cacao nibs 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter 20g dried cranberries cut into (try tahini if you want to keep pieces the bar nut free) 2 heaped tbsp Peruvian carob 1heaped tsp baobab powder

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- Mix the seeds, fruit, and cacao nibs with the carob powder. Add a pinch of salt. - Melt the coconut oil in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. When its melted, stir in peanut butter, caramel essence and the yacon syrup. - Add more vanilla or syrup to taste if needed. - Mix with seed mixture into a lovely crunchy gloop mix. This little seed bar beauty’s a veritable superfood bomb. It - Spoon into a small container, lined with baking paper or clingfilm and was created as an alternative to the date and agave press down firmly. (A Tupperware container that has a lid is ideal). sweetened bars that although are plentifully available, are - Put in the freezer to cool for 30 minutes. Cut into squares. plentifully high in fructose too– which ain’t such good news.

It’s gooey and squidgy, its caramelly and scrummy. Its super-satisfying. And it keeps well in the fridge for 2 or 3 weeks. What’s not to like? Clementine Cake 4 – 5 Clementines – (about 1Ib) 6 large eggs 3 tbsp xylitol - (ground to icing sugar consistency) 250g ground almonds 1½ tsp baking powder

- Place whole, unpeeled clementines into a pot and cover with cold water. - Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and let cook 1 hour. - Drain, let cool, then cut each clementine in half, remove pips, and place in food processor- skins and All and whizz finely. - In a bowl, beat the eggs. - Add the xylitol, almonds, and baking powder to the eggs, mixing well. - Add the chopped clementines by hand and mix combine. - Pour batter into a 23 cm tin lined with baking When the season for clementines comes round, what paper. better, more constructive way to spend your time than - Bake at Gas Mark 5 for 40 minutes, then cover making a sugar free, healthy cake out of the little buggers, loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning. Then then wolfing it down with a fellow cake friend? CONTINUE cooking about another 10 minutes or until a knife poked into the centre comes out clean. Sugar free doesn't have to taste austere and this winner - Let cool in the pan on a wire rack overnight. couldn't be further from it. It's the cake equivalent of a soft For the icing…… winter duvet. - Whizz another clementine until well chopped, mix with 2—3 tbsp cream cheese. Add coconut nectar or ground xylitol to taste. If you want to go for moderation, this cake is light and flavoursome enough to eat on its own, but if you prefer to crank up the pleasure volume, add some clementine icing. A final word about sweeteners……..

Natural sweeteners, aren’t they just sugar by another NOT SO GOOD…. name? HONEY/MAPLE SYRUP/DATES – natural sweeteners with nutritional Some sweeteners as sugar alternatives can be almost as bad value and health benefits. But high in fructose (which strains the liver). for our health as sugar. It can be a bit of a minefield. So here Ideally to be used in moderation. are some helpful pointers, starting with ….. AGAVE SYRUP – Very high fructose content (higher than corn syrup). MY FAVORITES…. To be avoided.

XYLITOL - a safe sugar alcohol. Doesn’t stimulate blood sugar. Can Food flavourings, for example, vanilla, peppermint, or spices such as cinnamon or be used quantity for quantity for sugar in a recipe. But most cakes cardamom—although not sweet in themselves -are great ways to enhance the are sweet enough if just 3 or 4 tablespoons are used. Especially sweetness of cakes and . If combined with fruit or spices.

YACON SYRUP - from a root veg. Has a lovely caramel taste. Very low in fructose and glucose. Doesn’t spike blood sugar at all. Helps with friendly bacteria too. Expensive though.

PERUVIAN CAROB (sometimes called Mesquite or Algarroba powder) - a superfood. Helps to balance insulin levels. Has a caramel taste. Comes into its own used in biscuits and seed bars.

STEVIA - derived from a plant. No effect on blood sugar. But it’s super sweet and leaves a sweet clawing aftertaste if not used with caution. Easier to use in liquid form. Just a few drops needed. Best used in combination with another sweetener or fruit.

COCONUT SUGAR/NECTAR – from the flower sap of the Coconut palm. Some effect on blood sugar but a much better alternative than sugar. Use in moderation. [email protected]