So picture the joint look of confusion and, dare I say, anguish when Si and J trundled to the cake cupboard (yes people it is that much of an obsession in our house we do actually have an entire cupboard to house just cake) after dinner to find it bare. It was heart breaking. They both had to share a KitKat and some melon. Needless to say I was made to feel a right villain! Si muttering that he did not understand why there was nothing there and J asking confusedly "No cake? But why?".
The reason is simple, the onslaught of my fab new bakey life is taking its toll on the old waist line!!! Not great! As a result evasive action is needing to be taken, so I am putting the family on a diet for a couple of weeks. Not so much J but definitely me, and if I have to go through it, Si too! There is no reason why I should have to suffer on my own now is there?
So I have done some research and have come up with a couple of bakes that I have amended in order to make them a little more waist friendly, but still delicious. As I have explained we are dedicated followers of cake, so a fortnight of no puddings or cake would be too much like torture.
The first cake that I have amended is a carrot cake (my personal favourite).
275g self raising flour (if you want to be über healthy you could use 225g wholemeal flour and 50g self raising flour which is just as delicious. The only reason I don't use it here is that a lot of wholemeal in a diet is not great for J and he gets enough elsewhere)
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
140g soft light brown sugar
50g walnut pieces
1 1/2tsp ground cinnamon
225g carrot coarsley grated
425g crushed pineapple pieces, drained
3tbsp sunflower oil
3 medium eggs
I generally omit the walnuts and replace these with raisins or sultanas due to J and personal taste.
If you MUST have cream cheese frosting, I have come across a slightly healthier alternative from an old magazine I got from my mum.
200g extra light cream cheese
70g icing sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a 20cm square tin.
Sift the flour and bicarb in a bowl. Add the sugar and mix well to break up any lumps.
Add the walnuts/raisins, cinnamon, pineapple, and grated carrot.
In another bowl mix the oil and eggs together and add to the flour mixture.
Stir until blended.
Pour into the cake tin and place in the oven for around half an hour/40mind. Test with a skewer to see if cooked.
Leave to cool for 5 mins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
If you are having the cream cheese frosting, beat the frosting until it is smooth and soft and add the icing sugar and zest. Mix. Be careful not to over mix it. If it appears to be runny, pop it in the fridge to help to thicken it up.
Leave the cake to cool completely and spread the frosting over the top.
A great tip for people who bake a lot of cake and always seem to be trying to "eat up" before the cake goes stale, is to cut the cake into the recommended serving suggestion, so with this cake it would be 12, and keep a couple of slices to one side. Wrap the remaining un-frosted cake in individual portions in cling and foil and label. Pop it in the freezer for up to 3 months and whenever you have a craving for something a little bit cakey, remove from the freezer and allow to defrost. That way you will only ever have cake portioned up ready to go and will also not be tempted to finish the entire cake so "it doesn't go off"!
One thing that I did manage to do was to make some cupcakes with the excess batter. I managed to get a total of 13 cupcakes, a true bakers dozen, out of the excess. It is always a bonus to get extra cake!!
Hopefully Swiss family Bakey will not notice too much of a change in taste and fabulosity in our love of all things puddingy! If this cake is anything to go by, I might actually enjoy this dieting malarkey!
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