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Valentines Day Healthy Red Velvet Cake

Posted in ALL POSTS, FOODTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Happy Valentines Day! Whether you are celebrating or not, why not make cake!

Did you know that traditionally Red Velvet Cake did not use red food colouring, they had that red colouring due to the non-Dutched, anthocyanin-rich cocoa.

I couldn’t get my hands on this fancy cocoa so I’ve resorted to red food colouring, but it was still super tasty.

This cake is very moist and fluffy, and has a couple of substitutions to make it more satiating and nutritious.

You will need:

  • 1 cup spelt flour or coconut flour – these flour alternatives contain increased vitamins and minerals which help regulate metabolism and improve immunity.
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 60g olive oil
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 7ml red food colouring

Steps:

Preheat oven to 200˚C. In a small bowl place cocoa powder and red food colouring and mix. Add dribbles of water until the mixture becomes a smooth, velvet red paste.

red velvet paste.jpg

Pour/sift all remaining ingredients into a large bowl and beat until smooth and fluffy. Then stir in red velvet cocoa paste.

Then you will need to grease the cake tin with coconut oil or olive oil. I used a small tin, since its a small cake, around 10cm in diameter. Afterwards, pour the mixture into the tin.

Bake for 30 minutes on 200˚C, or take out when the cake has risen significantly and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

For the icing, you can make your own cream cheese icing, or you can cheat a little and just use Betty Crockers vanilla icing which goes perfectly with the cake as well! You could also make this from scratch!

To make cream cheese icing just beat together 70g cream cheese, 40g unsalted butter and 1/2 cup icing sugar. Then ice away. Voila!

I sliced the cake in half horizontally and added a layer of icing in the middle. Then, I coated the outside of the cake in icing, and pumped little flourishes around the base and the top. Finally, I garnished with chopped fresh strawberries and an edible flower.

final.jpg

Enjoy! Have you made Red Velvet cake before?

Healthy Mulled Wine? Recipe

Posted in ALL POSTS, CHRISTMAS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Despite being an alcoholic drink, mulled wine touts a couple of fantastic health benefits, which can be boosted if you make a couple of clever substitutions.

It’s important to note that mulled wine is never going to be as ‘clean’ as kale or broccoli, but don’t discount the powerful properties this delicious Christmas drink has.

Citrus Fruits: Citrus fruits are a powerful source of vitamin C, which is an immunity booster. Don’t waste the orange in this recipe – make sure to enjoy it after you’ve taken the rind!

The Wine: Red wine itself has several health benefits, and is recommended to be consumed to reduce ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels and provide antioxidants to the body.

Nutmeg: Nutmeg improves the cardiovascular system, which boosts heart function.

Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a wonderful anti-inflammatory spice, and it has also been shown to reduce sugar cravings.

You will need:

  • 1 bottle of red table wine
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 grated nutmeg
  • Rind of 1 orange
  • 1 chunk of ginger

Method:

Bring water, raisins, cloves, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, orange rind and ginger to the boil in a saucepan. Then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the red wine and simmer for another 10 minutes. Strain the mulled wine and serve immediately. I like to put little orange peel curls or cinnamon sticks in each glass for decoration and extra flavour.

Merry Christmas Eve!

xx