The Dukan diet has been one of the bog diets over the past couple of years and has taken over from the Atkins diet. I was pleased to be able to comment on it for an article in the Daily Telegraph. I’d not advise anyone try out the diet as it is does not provide you with a balanced diet, but the recipes at the end of the article look like good ways to reduce your calorie intake on those days you just need a pudding!
It’s been a hard few days….I fancied cake. Being a wheat intolerance, lover of all thing healthy, dietitian type, going to the shop was not an option. So I embraced the baking love and created this beauty.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure if it would work….but it did, the big bonus, it took about 10 minutes to whip up. I really should have more faith in myself!
Recipe:
1 cup Rice flour
1 cup Gluten free blend (I used Doves Farm)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthum gum
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup rapeseed oil
3 eggs
1 handful of chocolate chips
Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the eggs and oil.
Pour into a well greased and lined loaf tin.
Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips.
Bake at Gas Mark 5 for 35 minutes.
I used frozen, defrosted bananas. Whenever I have bananas going a bit over-ripe I stick them in the freezer for baking purposes. For example we often make our famous flapjack.
Next time I’m going to stir the chocolate chips through, they were kind of an afterthought….but a pretty tasty one!
Get baking guys 🙂
I must admit I don’t have that much of a sweet tooth. It’s savoury things that get my tastebuds tingling. However with a glut of carrots eyeing me up from the vegetable rack and a frustrating day, I decided it was time to hit the kitchen and get my “bake on”. Cooking for me is one of my ways of relaxing.
I’ve never made a gluten free carrot cake, so this was a test of my brain cells, pulling apart a few other recipes and adapting things to make a healthier version. I’m all for cake, but I’m not into too much sugar or fat and prefer a moist, light texture. So I went for plenty of carrots and mixed up my flours for texture.
The result was suprisingly good (I really should expect more of my baking and not be so suprised). It’s light, it’s cakey, its moist, it cuts well, it holds together well, it’s tasty and it looks good, I really like the colour. You know what? I think I may be getting the hang of this 😉
If you like your cakes with icing and more sweetness then feel free to knock up a cream cheese frosting to go on this, I didn’t as that’s not my bag.
Recipe:
150g ground almonds
350 cornmeal
150g sugar
4 eggs
500g grated carrots
80ml rapeseed oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
Next time I’d add some raisin into this and perhaps some chopped nuts.
I’ve been meaning to try a polenta cake for AGES, finally today I got my chance. We were asked to take a dessert to our home group meeting, typically although I was given a weeks notice it was at lunchtime that I realised with a slight panic I had to knock something tasty up. Having been inspired by seeing this lemon polenta cake last night and on a high after completing the filming for my Pilates DVD, I stepped up to the challenge, here it is fresh from the oven.
You know what, it was easy, peasy, orange squeezy 😉
I’m well known for NEVER following a recipe, so here’s my adaptation, partially because I had no lemons and partially because I’m just like that. I found the red currants added a really nice zing, but you could use any berries, I just happened to have these growing in my garden (though these were last years harvest from the freezer).
Recipe:
150g margarine
150g sugar
3 eggs
75g ground almonds
1/2 tsp  baking powder (gluten free if needed)
4 oranges
75g polenta or cornmeal
150g redcurrants
1. Preheat oven to Gas Mark3/150C, grease and line a cake tin (I’m no good with sizes so I’ll just say I used a round one!).
2. Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs one at a time.
3. Add the ground almonds, baking powder and mix well.
4. Zest all 4 orange  and juice 2 oranges, add to the mixture, add the polenta.
5. Spoon half the mix into the cake tin, then sprinkle on the red currants and top with the rest of the mixture.
6. Bake for 45 minutes until golden on the top and the house smells yummy 🙂
7. Add the juice of the final 2 oranges to a pan with the 50g sugar, boil gently for 5 minutes to make a syrup.
8. Use a skewer to make holes in the cake and pour the syrup on, it will soak in.
9. Allow to cook before removing the cake from the tin.
It’s had a good reception from my taste testers. Really moist and tangy and the redcurrants looked lovely. Though certainly a treat and not low fat, I’ll certainly be making this again.
Nutritional Analysis per portion (assuming 10 slices): 290kcals, 18.3 g fat, 29.2g carbs, 23.3g sugars.
