Madeira Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Technically this recipe does have sugar in it in the form of dextrose (powdered glucose). Dextrose is not the addictive part of sugar but will still give you a spike in blood sugar. It has a texture similar to sherbet & I wanted to try it in icing instead of icing sugar. These cupcakes are best suited to be kept in the fridge which I normally don't recommend. The absence of sugar leaves cake prone to being crumbly but if refrigerated will help to hold together. All ingredients should be at room temperature before beginning.

Cupcakes - makes 15

180g     unsalted butter
100g     xylitol
70g       dextrose
1           orange, zest
165g     plain flour
2 tsp     baking powder
1 Tbsp  orange juice

- heat oven to 160, line 15 muffin holes with cupcake papers
- beat the butter, xylitol, dextrose & orange zest in a mixer until pale & fluffy (about 10 minutes)
- add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated
- sift in the baking powder & flour & fold in gently either on low in the mixer or by hand
- then add the juice
- put mix into papers then bake for approximately 15-20 mins or until a skewer comes out clean

Cream Cheese Icing

125g     cream cheese
70g       unsalted butter
3/4C     dextrose
3 Tbsp  xylitol
1           orange, zest

- beat cream cheese, butter & zest in mixer until pale & creamy
- add the dextrose & xylitol & beat until combined
- if the icing is too soft add a bit more dextrose to help thicken
- ice your cupcakes!!

Biscotti

This is a great, versatile recipe that has become a staple in my pantry. A crunchy biscuit that's great with coffee or tea or just for a snack. Feel free to change the flavour combination! It is a little time consuming as biscotti is baked twice but I think it's worth it.

145g   plain flour
1t        baking powder
80g     xylitol
45g     almond meal
115g   almonds
1t        orange flower water
1         orange zest
1tbsp  orange juice
2         eggs

- mix the eggs, zest, juice & orange flower water together
- in a mixing bowl put the flour, baking powder, xylitol & almond meal & mix until combined with the paddle attachment. (If you don't have a mixer it's just as easy to do this by hand.)
- while the mixer is on low slowly pour in the egg mix until just combined.
- turn the mixer off & mix in the nuts by hand

- turn the dough onto a floured surface & bring it together to form a ball, separate into two pieces
- roll into two long log shapes then transfer to a lined baking tray
- brush with milk & bake at 160C for about 25 minutes & golden brown

- once the logs are cool slice into thin biscuits on an angle & stack together on the tray
-turn the oven down to 120C & put back in to dry out. We don't want to add colour at this point so if the biscotti starts to darken turn the temperature down.
- it may take an hour or more to dry out, you can easily test it by eating one or snapping it to see if it is crunchy.

 

 

YUM!

 



Country Apple Cake

This cake has a spongy pudding like texture due to the apple puree that is used as the sweetening agent. It's best served warm on the day that it's made with some cream or custard.

Country Apple Cake

Apple Puree
     - 500g Granny Smith apples, peeled & diced
     - 30g xylitol

Put apples & xylitol in a saucepan with a tablespoon of water, cook on a medium heat until stewed (about 15 minutes) puree & strain through a sieve.

Apple Cake
     - 1 quantity apple puree (above)
     - 125g butter, melted
     - 2 eggs, beaten
     - 2 t cinnamon
     - 125g almond meal
     - 200g self raising flour
     - 4 tbsp xylitol
     - extra apple, peeled & sliced thinly
     - handful of sultanas

Mix cinnamon, almond meal, flour & xylitol in a bowl. Add the apple puree, melted butter & the eggs, mix well with a whisk to combine.
Pour mix into a 20cm cake tin that has been greased & lined with baking paper. Arrange apple slices around the cake, sprinkle with sultanas & a little extra cinnamon.
Bake at 160 for approximately 30 minutes or until springs back to the touch.
Cool completely before removing from the tin.

Alternatively you could put some Medjool dates in your apple puree for a deeper flavour. Or if your not into xylitol so much & don't mind a little sugar coconut sugar would be fine.

Enjoy!

Hello!

So here I am writing a blog, something I NEVER thought I'd do. But I feel that what I have to offer in regards to sugar free baking may be thoroughly enjoyed by some. I have been experimenting for quite a while with 'normal' recipes trying to make them sugar free without having to eliminate fats & flours. I love fats & carbs & luckily for me I do not need to restrict these in my diet. I had become frustrated at the sugar free recipes that I would find online feeling too healthy & feeling like I was eating health food & not really enjoying it. Sounds crazy I know, I want to have my cake & eat it too & still eliminate sugar from my diet.

I just wanted to begin with a note on ingredients. Some of the recipes I have created are standard dessert or baked goods recipes that are hardly changed from their original format ie. they still involve dairy, eggs, flour etc. Other recipes are created more from a 'health' perspective such as using super foods, raw foods or different types of dishes such as smoothies. A few examples of foods that I commonly use in my cooking are xylitol, raw cacao & 100% chocolate. These ingredients are definitely not cheap! But my aim here is to provide you with a good recipe & personally I don't mind spending the money. I am still experimenting with stevia & dextrose as alternative sweeteners.

A note on xylitol. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is found in some sugar free chewing gums as it is proven to kill bacteria in the mouth (whereas sugar encourages it). It does not have the same chemical structure as sugars even though it is derived from fruits, vegetables & tree bark. Therefore the body does not treat it like a sugar. As far as I'm aware, in small quantities xylitol is completely safe to eat. I find many sugar free cook books although they acknowledge xylitol, don't use this product. I can only assume it is because of the price.

As of today I have only been off sugar for a week, still early days I know but this is not the first time I have gone sugar free! I do plan to include some natural sugars (such as raw honey, coconut nectar, coconut sugar & rice bran syrup) at a later date.

So please join me on this blog! And please be patient while I learn to navigate & use this site. I will try to post at least once a week but forgive me if I don't as life is sometimes fairly demanding!