Baking Masterclass I : Choosing Healthier Options
Let me start out by saying this: I was always the fat kid. You know, the one that had no friends, got bullied all the time. Heck, if I went back to Malaysia now, I'm still the fat lady. But the nice thing about living in Australia is that even though I'm exactly the same size, I'm classified as a petite or small here. WOOHOO for my self esteem! Anyway, my point is, I love food but like everyone else, I also have issues with my weight. So I thought I'd put together a masterclass to illustrate how you can decrease the calories in your baking without sacrificing the taste. Because admit it, it is all about the taste.
For the lesson today, I'm going to use my mom's carrot cake recipe to show you how healthy baking can easily be with a few substitutions. Here is the original recipe:
250g shredded carrot
250g sugar
250g plain flour
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
200ml corn oil
5 eggs
Looks pretty good, doesn't it?
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and baking soda.
3. Whisk sugar and eggs together.
4. Add carrots and oil to egg mixture.
5. Mix in the flour to egg mixture.
6. If baking in a pan, bake for 40 minutes. If baking in cupcake tin, bake for 15 minutes.
Now, with a few simple substitutions (highlighted in bold), I made the recipe much healthier whilst retaining the great taste.
250g shredded carrots
250g sugar
65g plain flour, 125g wholemeal flour, 60g hazelnut meal*
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
200ml applesauce + 2 tablespoon oil
5 eggs
*Note: You can use half plain and half wholemeal flour, but I had some leftover hazelnut meal that I've been itching to use up.
This is how it turned out:
Notice how the cake is studded with gorgeous little bits of hazelnut. The wholemeal flour makes the cake colour darker in general, but it still retained the same fluffiness of the "normal" cake as we kept half of the plain flour. With the substitution, we've increased the amount of good fibre in the cake by lots! (I suck at maths)
I am truly a convert of the applesauce now, the cake was still deliciously moist and you honestly can't tell the difference! And even though I suck at maths, but I'm pretty sure this makes the cake at least 98% fat free.
I hope that this has been of some help to you, and stay tuned for the next baking masterclass! In the meantime, don't be afraid to experiment with healthier options in your favourite recipes. Who knows, you might actually like the 'healthier' version better!
For the lesson today, I'm going to use my mom's carrot cake recipe to show you how healthy baking can easily be with a few substitutions. Here is the original recipe:
250g shredded carrot
250g sugar
250g plain flour
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
200ml corn oil
5 eggs
Looks pretty good, doesn't it?
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and baking soda.
3. Whisk sugar and eggs together.
4. Add carrots and oil to egg mixture.
5. Mix in the flour to egg mixture.
6. If baking in a pan, bake for 40 minutes. If baking in cupcake tin, bake for 15 minutes.
Now, with a few simple substitutions (highlighted in bold), I made the recipe much healthier whilst retaining the great taste.
250g shredded carrots
250g sugar
65g plain flour, 125g wholemeal flour, 60g hazelnut meal*
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
200ml applesauce + 2 tablespoon oil
5 eggs
*Note: You can use half plain and half wholemeal flour, but I had some leftover hazelnut meal that I've been itching to use up.
This is how it turned out:
Notice how the cake is studded with gorgeous little bits of hazelnut. The wholemeal flour makes the cake colour darker in general, but it still retained the same fluffiness of the "normal" cake as we kept half of the plain flour. With the substitution, we've increased the amount of good fibre in the cake by lots! (I suck at maths)
I am truly a convert of the applesauce now, the cake was still deliciously moist and you honestly can't tell the difference! And even though I suck at maths, but I'm pretty sure this makes the cake at least 98% fat free.
I hope that this has been of some help to you, and stay tuned for the next baking masterclass! In the meantime, don't be afraid to experiment with healthier options in your favourite recipes. Who knows, you might actually like the 'healthier' version better!