Sugar & Gluten Free Apple & Almond Cake

The husband was diagnosed with diabetes just over two years ago, and since then he's cut down on biscuits and other sweet things, lost some weight and taken more exercise. His sugar levels then went back to normal for a while, but he started to get a little complacent, and whilst he didn't turn back to the custard creams completely, he perhaps ate more of the sweet stuff than he should, which ultimately led to a rise in his sugar levels. Being the good wife that I am, I experimented with recipes that use natural sweeteners rather than added sugar and came up with a cake that's sweetened with dates and Bramley apples. I also decided to use ground almonds instead of flour, which also makes this suitable for those following a gluten free or Paleo diet too.

The almonds and fruit make this a very moist cake, and whilst it's not as 'cakey' as one made with flour, it is very moreish.

Sugar & Gluten Free Apple & Almond Cake

100g dates

1 medium Bramley apple, peeled, cored & chopped

100ml water

juice of 1 lemon

175g butter, softened

3 eggs

185g ground almonds

tbsp. cinnamon

a few flaked almonds for topping

• Place the dates, apple, lemon juice and water in a pan
• Cook over a medium heat until the apples have softened completely
• Remove from heat and beat until as smooth as possible
• Place the butter into a bowl and beat in the apple/date mixture until well combined
• Beat in the eggs one at a time
• Beat in the ground almonds and cinnamon until combined
• Grease & line a loaf tin & pour in the batter
• Smooth the batter over & scatter with flaked almonds
• Bake in a 180°C oven for 30-35 minutes, until the top is browned & when a skewer is inserted it comes out clean
• Remove from the tin and allow to cool fully on a wire rack

Diabetic Toffee & Chocolate Cake

Last January I was asked by a friend if I could make a Ferrero Rocher chocolate cake for her daughter's 10th birthday. This year she asked me again to make a chocolate cake, but this time it would be a different kind of chocolate cake as her daughter was now a newly diagnosed diabetic.

I searched the Internet to see if I could find a cake that would be suitable that didn't just have sweeteners in it instead of sugar as they can often have an after taste.

I came across this one on Pinterest and thought it would be just the job. Instead of a buttercream frosting I decided to use my usual cream cheese frosting, but instead of adding chocolate spread to the cream cheese I added diabetic chocolate for the topping and diabetic toffee for the filling. The cake would also be suitable for those needing egg free and dairy free recipes (without my addition of the yoghurt and cream cheese frosting). 

Diabetic Toffee & Chocolate Cake

400g chopped dates

120g rolled oats, ground

6 ripe bananas

250ml rapeseed oil

100g cocoa powder

100g rye flour

150g plain flour

6 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

150g Greek yoghurt

• Place the chopped dates into a bowl and pour on boiling water until they are just covered - leave for an hour or so
• Blend the dates with the oats, bananas and oil until smooth
• Mix the cocoa powder with 200ml boiling water to form a smooth paste
• Beat the cocoa, flour, bicarbonate of soda and yoghurt into the blended dates, oats & banana
• Grease and line 2 x 8" cake tins (I actually used 3 so that we could have a sampler cake)
• Divide the mixture between the tins & smooth the tops
• Place in a preheated 160C oven for 50-60 minutes (cooking time will depend on the size of the tins used & the thickness of the batter), until a skewer comes out clean when inserted
• Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely

Frosting & Filling

300g full fat cream cheese

100g Thorntons diabetic vanilla toffee

75g Thorntons dark diabetic chocolate

• Add the toffee to a microwaveable bowl with 2 tbsp water
• Microwave on short bursts, stirring regularly, until the toffee has melted 
• Beat the toffee together with half of the cream cheese and sandwich between 2 sponges
• Add the chocolate to a microwaveable bowl and heat in short stirring regularly, until the chocolate has melted 
• Beat the chocolate together with the remaining half of the cream cheese and spread over the top of the cake

We really enjoyed our sample cake and it was delicious with a little of the toffee filling spread over it. Unfortunately we didn't get to try a slice of the birthday cake but I would be happy to make this again as all of my children liked it, especially with a little ice cream. Unfortunately the birthday girl wasn't as keen (but I'm not supposed to know that as she told my daughter not to tell me, shhhh). It's definitely not a cake for someone with a massive sweet tooth but for someone that needs to cut down on their sugar intake it is a very good compromise.

The texture of the cake is kind of like a brownie and quite nutty, and would be perfect with a spoonful of clotted cream!

Sugar Free Banana & Blueberry Muffins with Truvia

This week we seem to have rather a lot of bananas that need eating up. I've no idea why we have more left than usual but I don't think anyone is complaining as over-ripe bananas mean cake. I decided to use some Truvia, calorie free sugar replacement, that I'd been sent in these muffins, and no-one noticed any difference, polishing them off in under 24 hours.

Sugar Free Banana & Blueberry Muffins - makes 12

175g Self Raising Flour

25g Ground Almonds

1 tsp Baking Powder

25g Truvia (or 50g caster sugar)

200g Mashed Banana (2 medium bananas)

2 Eggs, beaten

75ml Sunflower Oil

150 ml Milk

100g Fresh or frozen Blueberries
Sprinkling of Cinnamon

• Mix the flour, almonds, baking powder & Truvia together
• Mix the banana, eggs, oil & milk together, stir in the blueberries
• Add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients - do not over mix, it should be lumpy
• Divide mixture between muffin cases 
• Sprinkle the tops with a little cinnamon
• Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 18-20 minutes
• Cool on a wire rack

I was sent some Truvia for use in my baking

Sugar Free Raspberry Muffins

I felt a bit guilty after I'd made muffins with my husband's favourite chocolate so I thought I would make him something nice to make up for it. The very same day I received some Total Sweet* sugar alternative in the post so decided to give it a go in muffins.

Sugar Free Raspberry Muffins - Makes 10-12

175g Self Raising Flour

25g Ground Almonds

1 tsp Baking Powder

50g Total Sweet

150g Mashed Banana (2 small bananas)

2 Eggs, beaten

75ml Sunflower Oil

150 ml Milk

100g Frozen Raspberries

• Mix the flour, almonds, baking powder & Total Sweet together
• Mix the banana, eggs, oil & milk into the dry ingredients - do not over mix, it should be lumpy
• Break the raspberries up and stir gently into the mixture - just a couple of mixes
• Divide mixture between muffin cases 
• Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 18-20 minutes
• Cool on a wire rack

The husband thought these were THE best muffins, and I must admit they do seem to be improving every time I make a batch. He now has a sweet treat that he can enjoy without worrying about having too much sugar. My regular muffins only have 50g of sugar in (per 12) anyway and considering your average low fat yoghurt has around 17g of sugar in, one of my muffins surely has to be better for you!

* some of the benefits of Total Sweet - low GI value, non artificial, aspartame free, suitable for diabetics, 40% less calories than sugar. Excessive consumption may have a laxative effect, especially in children, so eat sparingly

I was sent some Total Sweet to try out in my recipes