Carrot Cake..

Now that Easter is over, I'm sure you're all sick of chocolate... No?? Didn't think so... but for today, I thought it would be nice to have a change from the chocolate-fest that has been GLBTK recipes lately and go with something a little different. (There'll be plenty of chocolate treats coming soon so don't panic!)

Carrot cake seems to be like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. I LOVE it... aside from the fact that it tastes awesome, the ingredients in my carrot cake are unbelievably healthy! The benefits range from Omega 3 packed walnuts to immune system boosting cinnamon to the skin loving beta carotene in the carrots...

As I keep highlighting, yes this is cake, it tastes great and is loaded with incredible ingredients with lots of health benefits BUT it's not a 'health food' and doesn't become ok to eat on a daily basis just because the ingredients fit in with your nutrition goals. Cake is for a treat.... don't forget that!

For the cake:

• 4 tbsp Irish honey
• 125ml walnut oil
• 60g Greek yoghurt
• 3 eggs
• zest of 1 large orange (reserve 1 tsp zest for the icing)
• 225g ground almonds 
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ginger
• 3 medium carrots, coarsely grated
• 100g walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 160d (fan). Line an 8" round cake tin with baking parchment. 

Whisk the honey, oil, yoghurt, eggs and zest together until smooth.

Stir in the remaining ingredients until well combined.

Pour into prepared tin & bake for 40 minutes. (Since nut flours burn easier than wheat flour & oven temperature vary hugely, keep an eye on the cake to ensure it is not over-browning. If needed, place a sheet of parchment paper loosely over the top of the tin).

Once baked (slide a cake tester/or skewer into the centre of the cake to ensure that it comes out clean without any cake mixture), remove from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the icing: 

150g mascarpone
30g butter, softened to room temperature
1 tsp orange zest
3 tbsp orange juice

Mix the ingredients until smooth. Do not over-mix or the icing will become too runny.

Spread an even layer over the cake and top with chopped walnuts.

Chocolate Hazelnut Mud Cake

Easter commands chocolate, so true to form, GLBTK is here to help you keep on track by sharing delicious recipes for healthier treats... 

This mud cake really delivers... It tastes like Ferrero Rocher chocolates, and for all you Nutella fans, this will really hit the spot! It's incredible... chocolatey, rich & fudgy with a sweet chocolate icing... You'll never believe this cake isn't full of sugar or grains...

I chose to use mainly ground hazelnuts in this cake instead of my usual 'flour' of choice almond flour. I'm pretty sure you can't buy ground hazelnuts in Ireland (feel free to correct me), so you'll need to grind them yourself. Don't let this put you off though, it's really simple and quick. It just requires you tossing the hazelnuts into a food processor/blender and pulsing them until you have a fine ground powder. Don't worry if there are slightly larger lumps of hazelnuts.... it will simply give the cake an amazing texture.

For the cake: 

• 3 eggs
• 275ml buttermilk
• 60g coconut oil, melted
• 60ml walnut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp Irish honey
• 150g ground hazelnuts
• 80g ground almonds 
• 100g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp GF baking powder
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 160d (fan). Grease and line 2 8" round sandwich tins. 

Start by whisking eggs, buttermilk, oils, vanilla and honey together until well combined. 

Add all the dry ingredients.

Mix well to ensure there are no lumps in the mixture. 

Divide between the lined tins. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and firm. (Nut flours have tendency to burn faster than wheat flour, so keep an eye on the cakes. If the cake is browning too quickly, place a sheet of parchment paper over the cake to protect it. 

Once the cake is baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tins. Turn out onto a sheet of parchment paper on a wire rack and allow to cool fully. 

While the cake is cooling, you can make a start on the icing. This icing is INCREDIBLE! Trust me... I've made a lot of chocolate icing, and this tastes as chocolatey and fudgy as any of the traditional icings I've had. Sorry for the lack of photos of the icing, it was very experimental and didn't expect it to be as amazing! No doubt I'll be making it again, so will update this post then :) 

For the icing: 

• 200g cooked sweet potato 
• 60g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 15g coconut oil 
• coconut milk/full fat cows milk

Peel, chop & boil the sweet potato until softened. 

Add the warm sweet potato, cocoa, vanilla and coconut oil to a food processor and pulse until smooth. 

You may need to add some coconut milk/cows milk to thin out the icing if you find it's too thick. 

Spread an even layer of icing over the base of the cake.

Sandwich the layers together and top the cake with the remaining icing. 

At this point, you can decorate the cake with hazelnuts and it will look incredible.... or like me, you just have to go one step further!! 

This chocolate ganache is really quick and easy to make, and makes the cake a little bit extra special. 

• 50g dark chocolate (85% cocoa solids)
• 30g coconut oil 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the ingredients over a low heat, stirring constantly. 

Set aside to cool and thicken slightly. 

Pour over the cake and allow to drizzle down the sides of the cake. 

Decorate with whole hazelnuts. 

Dairy free pesto

As much as I try not to over-think my nutrition (it's easy to obsess), I'm always mindful of little things that may be hindering my progress, or potentially damaging my health. Store bought condiments can contain all sorts of ingredients we wouldn't expect to find in them, and since I do my best to avoid sugar and artificial preservatives, I usually make my own... just to be sure... (this isn't obsessing alright??!!)

I've said before that I've nothing really against dairy, but I don't make a habit of including it in my diet simply because I feel better without it. I don't think pesto lacks flavour by omitting it, so I always go dairy free. I've raved about the benefits of spinach before, so won't bore you again!

I use walnuts instead of pine nuts since they have so many excellent health benefits. They're a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, making them a brilliant anti inflammatory food. If you have any sort of autoimmune disorder like eczema, psoriasis, arthritis or multiple sclerosis, you should be including walnuts in your diet....even if you don't, include them anyway because they're great for heart, hair and skin health :)  

You could use a mortar and pestle for this, but honestly a food processor is the way to go here. 

• 100g baby leaf spinach
• 4 garlic cloves
• 75g walnuts
• 1 tsp almond butter
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• pinch of sea salt
• 75ml walnut oil 

Add all ingredients except walnut oil to food processor and blitz until well combined. 

Drizzle walnut oil in slowly with the processor still running. Don't add all the oil in one go, or it won't mix evenly and you'll be left with a green oily mess. Be patient and just add a little at a time. 

Once you have added all the oil, your pesto is ready to use. 

If you don't use a lot of pesto in cooking, you can freeze it in an ice cube tray and just pop out a cube whenever you need some fresh pesto. It will taste far superior to store bought pesto, and only takes 5 minutes to prepare. 

In general, it's not the little things like condiments that are wrecking our progress, but still it's good to know exactly what you're eating so I do like to make it myself. 

Out of curiosity, and pure nerdiness (that is totally a word!) I took a look at the ingredient list for Sacla Classic Basil Pesto which seems to be stocked in most supermarkets.  And we have...glucose, 'flavourings'... what sort of flavourings? Not sure I want to be eating unidentified 'flavourings' to be honest... oh and we have potato flakes...that's not one I'd have guessed was in there. My point is, we can go to all the effort of omitting dairy, wheat or sugar etc from our diets, but they can creep in where we least expect it. It's not the end of the world, and no it's not likely to kill you... but if you're concerned about where your food comes from, you might want to think again before buying condiments.