I love a good homemade cake, eating and baking it. I don’t feel guilty when I eat cake,and neither should you. As I am a regular to cake eating though, I do as my family know, play around with the ingredients in recipes to boost the nourishment it provides. Sometimes this is with success and other times, mmmm, not so great and a friend once asked me, ‘is this cardboard slice? I may have gone a little far on that one! Some cakes and desserts though I just leave alone and enjoy as they are; vanilla slices, shortbread and my mum’s chocolate cake.What can you do to boost the nutrient density of your cakes or muffins?
1. Swapping butter or some of the butter for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). This reduces the saturated fat and increases the good monounsaturated fats for your heart health, let alone the extra antioxidants to help reduce inflammation. Even though I love butter, the EVOO gives a lighter, fluffier cake I find. Recently I tried the lemon infused EVOO you will see in the recipe below for a beautiful lemon flavour. Other times I use the light or medium flavoured variety. Always an Aussie EVOO for me.
2. Throw in some nuts or seeds for added texture and fibre. Nuts provide vitamin E along with other nutrients good for our brain health and skin. Does that mean I can now eat cake to make my skin glow?
3. Add in yoghurt or Filmjolk to boost the protein, phosphorus and calcium. Now cake is also good for my bones! Sometimes I add it in instead and reduce the butter.
4. Using half wholemeal and half white flour to boost the fibre level. Add in a little extra fluid so the cake doesn’t go dry. I am now feeding my gut bacteria and keeping my bowels regular, who would have thought by eating cake!
5. Sweeten with fruit. I still add sugar, however a little less when pumping it up with dried, canned, stewed or fresh fruit. To make the best banana cake, use really overripe bananas. Stewed apples on top of the cake with cinnamon is another favourite of mine. The sweetness makes my taste buds tingle!
Now I can have my cake and eat it to, whilst nourishing my body with nutrients a little more. Have a go with using a few of these tricks below in my new recipe:
Banana,walnut and lemon infused olive oil cake
Ingredients:
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla bean extract
3 tablespoons of lemon infused extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cup self raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda (or little less)
80ml milk or Filmjolk/other drinking yoghurt
3 over ripe mashed bananas
¼ cup crushed walnuts
Method:
Beat together the sugar, EVOO, eggs, vanilla bean extract. Add in the mashed bananas.
Add the bicarb of soda to the milk, then mix together with the flour and walnuts.
Pour into a 20 cm square cake tin and bake for 30 minutes or so on 180 degrees celcius.
Cut a nice slice and enjoy!
This makes a great afternoon or evening snack, pre or post training energy boost or even something delicious for the lunchbox.
#cake #homebaking #nutritiousanddelicious
