Not so guilty pleasures
We hope you’re not hungry while you’re reading this because in this blog post we’re talking all about cakes. So, if you’re trying to resist that extra piece of post roast apple crumble, or are simply craving a slice of something sweet we suggest you look away now, as we’re about to provide your taste buds with a lot of temptation.
That said though the sweet treats we’re talking about here certainly aren’t guilty pleasure. If you’ve been to see us at the Deans Court café you’ll know we’re absolutely committed to using as much of the produce from our own kitchen garden in our food as possible. Our savoury options are based on whatever seasonal, fresh vegetables are available, but more unusually, so are a lot of our cakes.
Cakes that use vegetables to replace butter or fat, or treats that are sweetened with natural ingredients, such as dates or bananas, have ballooned in popularity recently mainly thanks to health conscious food bloggers and more awareness of certain ingredient allergies or intolerances. From vegan carrot cakes to banana bread to courgette and walnut loaf our healthier options are some of our best sellers, and our Deliciously Ella date and oat bars in particular fly off the counter. The dates, oats and a hint of Deans Court honey are enough to provide a delicious sweet gooey goodness that doesn’t need any help from refined sugar.
We’ve tried lots of different variations and recipes since opening 18 months ago and in our experience the best vegetables to use in cakes are those that are naturally sweet, so courgettes, beetroot, parsnips and carrots work really well. Courgettes in particular give a fantastically moist, light texture to a sponge. It’s also important to consider how you pair the ingredients, for example beetroot and chocolate work wonderfully together while carrot, pumpkin and squash complement spiced cakes well, including anything that uses ginger or cardamom.
The internet, and a lot of the cookbooks we sell in the shop are full of fantastic sugar-free, sweet recipes and we’re constantly scouring them for inspiration. Our favourite blogs to look at include Deliciously Ella, Green Kitchen Stories, My New Roots and Our Food Stories.
And from these here are some links to fail safe, delicious healthy cake recipes we bake time and time again:
Vegan Parsnip, Apple and Pecan Cake
Courgette, Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake
Deliciously Ella Date and Oat Bars
My New Roots Chocolate, Orange Cake with Date Frosting - the best chocolate cake you will ever eat!
We’re always looking for new ideas so please share any of your recommendations in the comments below. Happy healthy baking.
