Zesty Smart Cake

Last summer, when flying back to Amsterdam from Minneapolis, I bought an issue of Woman & Home magazine. What caught my eye was the "101 gluten & dairy free recipes & ideas" and the picture of the mouthwatering cake on the cover.

The cake in question, 'Lemon polenta cake with honey drizzle' is indeed gluten-free but not dairy-free. Among the suggested ingredients: 'baking margarine', 'caster sugar' and 'milk'. What a disappointment. Not very smart eating at all, according to my book!


Besides, the fact that cornmeal is 'gluten-free', the latest research tells us this doesn't make it healthy nor a 'smart pick'.


It was very easy to make the original 'Lemon polenta cake with a honey drizzle, an acceptable choice. I used my Meskouta cake recipe as a base. It is simple and fits the bill perfectly.


You need
•parchment paper
•a round 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan
•hand mixer
•blender

Ingredients
•2 well cleaned oranges
•2,5 cups (250 g) almond meal
•6 eggs
•1 tsp baking powder
•1/2 cup (120 ml) + 6 tbsp of agave nectar
•juice of 2 lemons
•150 g of raspberries
•150 g of blackberries
•mint sprigs for decoration


Baking the cake
•boil the (whole) oranges in water for two hours. Then allow them cool down completely. This might take quite a while. Preferably, let them sit in the empty pan overnight after boiling and disposing of the water.
•preheat the oven to 356F (180C)
•grease the pan and line bottom and sides with parchment paper (cut a round circle for the bottom and then a strip to cover the side. The grease will make the paper stick to the pan).
•whisk the eggs and once they are fluffy start pouring the agave into the mix, while you keep the blender running
•add the oranges and puree them with a blender till they have become one with the egg/orange mixture
•add the baking powder to the almond meal
•add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend well
•pour into the spring form
•bake for approximately 45 min (or until you insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean)
•take it out of the oven and allow it to cool down for about 15 min. Then take it out of the spring form, put it on a wire rack.

Lemon syrup
•in a saucepan, put the lemon juice and 6 tbsp of agave nectar; warm up and stir till well combined
•spoon half of the syrup over the cake, while the cake and the syrup are still warm
•once the cake has cooled down, scatter the fruit on top and around the cake
•reheat the rest of the syrup and pour it over the the fruit
•just before serving, decorate with mint leaves

Tips & remarks
•I bake in an electric oven where the heat spreads very evenly. I have baked in a gas oven before and notice that for some reason, there is some 'heat loss'. So I have had to increase the heat in a gas oven by 5C/41F
•I strongly suggest you use organic fruit and mint and that you wash it well before applying it to your cake
•I used the bottom of the cake as the top. The texture is a slightly more grainy texture that soaks up all the zesty syrup more easily.



 

Caveman's Truffles

My most popular posts are those that involve baking and sweets. I understand why. Usually, these recipes are at the top of all black lists -no matter which diet you choose to follow!

The beauty of whole, healthy 'primal' products, is that if you have a bit of imagination and you dare to be adventurous, you can treat yourself to built-free bakes, cakes and yes...truffles! At least once in a while!

What you need
•a food processor

Ingredients
(makes 45 truffles)
•50 g of coconut shreds (unsweetened and pure);
•140 g of raw macadamia nuts
•170 g of raw almonds
•2 tbs of flaxseed
•2 tbs of chia seeds
•1 tbsp of cinnamon
•1 cup of fresh orange juice
•zest of 2 oranges
•2 tbsp of agave nectar (or maple syrup)
•2 tbsp of cacao nibs
•6 tbsp of cacao powder for coating
•8 (Medjool) dates or 10 'regular' dates, unpinned

What you do
•put the coconut, macadamia nuts, almonds, linseed, chia seeds, cinnamon, orange zest, agave nectar, cacao nibs and dates in your food processor and blitz the ingredients till their finely ground
•add the fresh orange juice bit by bit, till the mixture turns into a sticky (but not too wet) paste;
•take the gooey paste into your hands and roll small balls (bite size)
•put them on a flat surface and into the fridge for approx. 1 hour
•coat them with cacao powder and serve

Notes
I haven't tried it yet but I am pretty sure it is possible to freeze the balls (uncoated).







Zucchini Bread

One of the most difficult things for health conscious newbies is to say goodbye to bread. I never really had much bread before I changed my diet... So I have not missed bread with the meals as much as I thought I would.

But we are all different and if you have been programmed to have bread on a daily basis, it is difficult -at least in the beginning- to live without it.

So for those in bread-withdrawal (and for those that are not), here is a amazing alternative. The perfect (savoury) zucchini bread that you can use the same way you would use any 'regular' loaf of bread. You can even toast it! 

There are quite a few recipes on internet for zucchini bread. I tried out many and didn't like a single one. But maybe it is just me... Most of them have banana in it, cinnamon? raisins? No. I definitely did not like the mix of zucchini with sweet ingredients.

So here is my own concoction. I hope you like it as much and my friends and my family members do!

What you need
•a bread pan 27 cm long, 11,5 cm wide and 8 cm high

Ingredients
•200 g of almond meal
•270 g of grated unpeeled zucchini (previously washed and dried)
•3 medium sized eggs
•1 tsp Himalayan salt
•1/2 tsp baking soda
•1/3 cup melted coconut oil
•1 tbs herbes de provence
•50 g pine nuts (previously roasted)

What you do
•preheat the oven to 190°C
•grease your baking pan or otherwise line it with parchment paper
•combine all the ingredients and blend well
•pour the mixture into your baking pan and bake for about 45 min. (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean);
•cool (almost completely) and slice

Notes
•you will be able to get approximately 8-10 slices out of this loaf
•you could freeze it, but there is nothing like biting into the freshly made bread!
•if you decide not to freeze it, you could put it in the fridge and keep it a few days...