Deceptively Healthy Dessert: Gluten, Dairy, and Grain Free Chocolate Loaf Cake

Hello health food fans, vegans, and gluten free folks!

This recipe was suggested to me by my little brother, Kirby. I know, shocking, right?! Turns out he saw the picture of the original trending on buzzfeed. He didn't know what was in it and I changed the recipe anyway when the consistency wasn't what I wanted. Reading the recipe, I was a little skeptical, but it was better than I expected!

The Recipe: 

Cake:

• 1/2 cup plus 7 tsp pumpkin puree
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp applesauce
• 1 egg (***Dairy free by using 1/2 cup applesauce instead of egg)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp cashew butter (almond butter or peanut butter would work as well!)
• 1 1/2 tsp nutella

Glaze: 

• 2 tbsp almond milk
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp powdered sugar

The Process: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix the salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and ground flaxseed in a small bowl. 
3. Whisk the pumpkin, almond milk, applesauce, egg, nutella, vanilla, and cashew butter in a larger bowl using a fork.
4. Add the dry to the wet bowl and mix. 
5. Grease a 1 lb loaf pan. 
6. Add batter to pan. 
7. Push chocolate chips into batter. 
8. Bake for 30 minutes. 
9. Mix glaze in a small bowl. 
10. Apply to cake while hot. 
11. Allow cake to cool. 
12. Enjoy! 

The Calories: 

Pumpkin: 53 calories

Applesauce: 2 calories

Cashew Butter: 150 calories

Egg: 70 calories (dairy free substitution has 30 calories)

Salt: 0 calories

Baking Powder: 0 calories

Baking Soda: 0 calories

Cocoa Powder: 98 calories

Vanilla Extract: 12 calories

Honey: 384 calories

Flaxseed: 365 calories

Chocolate Chips: 201 calories

Almond Milk: 10 calories

Nutella: 33 calories

Powdered Sugar: 20 calories

__________________________________________

TOTAL: 1398 calories

This genuinely surprised me! The cake was about 9 slices, which means each slice was only 155 calories of mostly healthy ingredients. The dairy free version contains 150 calories per slice, though applesauce is less protein than eggs. 

What went right:

          The cake tasted great and was gone in one night! Kirby ate three slices and my parents really liked it too. It was rich and moist with the bitterness of dark chocolate and nicely satisfying. It came out of the pan very easily and displayed well. 

What went wrong: 

          Once Kirby was told what was in the cake, he decided he was no longer a fan. We've decided he's no longer allowed to know what's in food. I think I'll make it again and tell him it's different (shhh! ;) )

What I would do next time: 

           While shopping for almond milk, I noted that there is such a thing as dark chocolate almond milk. That is something I definitely want to try, as well as adding more glaze so it covers the entire cake. I would also like to try using half as much cocoa powder and a square of melted baking chocolate (like in brownies). It would also be interesting to use almond butter or peanut butter instead of cashew butter; the consistency of using almond might make the taste more consistent. Additionally, adding pecans or walnuts on top would add some much needed texture. Finally, I would like to serve this with a frozen yogurt, sorbet, or ice cream. Something cold and fruity would go very well with this cake. 

Overall, an amazing and simple cake that I can't wait to play with!

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Hello Cupcake Lovers!!

This recipe is one of three adaptations of the Chocolate Buttercream M&M Cupcakes from New Years Eve, made on New Years Day for a dinner party with some of our close family friends, Jana, Andy, Alexander, and Larissa! 

If you have any fun cupcake-related experiences, please share them in the comments at the bottom of the page, or send me an email or google+ comment! 

The Recipe: Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Cupcakes (Total Recipe makes 12 cupcakes and 6 mini cupcakes, but only 6 became this flavor and the others had additions to their filling and frosting). 

The Cake: 

• 1 cup flour
• 7/8 cup sugar
• 3/8 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2.5 tbsp shortening (aka Crisco)
• 1.5 mashed bananas
• 1.5 eggs
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

The Filling/Icing: 

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• Raspberry Preserves

The Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176.6 degrees C). 
2. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
3. Cut shortening into small pieces to make it easier to mix with dry ingredients. 
4. Mash banana into another, smaller bowl. (Don't tell the kids there's banana in their cupcakes!!)
5. Add one egg to the bowl with the banana. 
6. Break other egg into a small cup or bowl and whisk so that it becomes relatively homogeneous. Pour half of this into the bowl with the banana.
7. Mix oil, milk, and vanilla extract into bowl with banana. 
8. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and beat. 
9. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners (or butter and flour the sides of the pan). 
10. Fill cupcake liners about halfway with batter. 
11. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer (or toothpick) can poke the center and come out with some moist crumbs. You will be able to see the cupcakes rise and smell when they are done. Use the pictures as a guide as each oven is different. 
12. Allow to cool with paper towel covering. 
13. Blend ingredients for icing. 
14. Use cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with 1 tsp raspberry preserves and replace its center.
15. Fill an icing press with raspberry icing.          
16. Press into desired pattern. 
17. Sprinkle red sugar on top. 
18. Enjoy! :) 

The Calories:

Flour:  455 calories

Sugar: 665 calories

Cocoa: 70 calories

Baking Powder: 0 calories

Baking Soda: 0 calories

Salt: 0 calories

Shortening: 260 calories

Banana: 150 calories

Egg: 115 calories

Oil: 482 calories

Milk: 30 calories

Vanilla: 12 calories

Raspberry Preserves: 67 calories

____________________________________

TOTAL: 2274 calories 

Granted, this recipe was for about 12.5 cupcakes. So each cupcake really only had about 182 calories :) 

What went right: 
          They were very delicious and looked prettier than the first batch. 

What went wrong:
          This batch was less moist than the last batch. Not sure why, but might have been a minute or two over cooked, comparatively.

What I would do next time:

         Technically, this batch was basically the same as the M&M batch, and the changes were made in the other cupcakes you see below (coming soon! ;) ) 

Would I do this in college: 

          Totally! In fact, I'm working on reducing this recipe for single serving cupcakes without waste so that I can easily make a quick cupcake for a friend's birthday without having to make an entire batch. One of my least favorite things about baking is that the amounts can be so arbitrary because they depend on your specific baking equipment. One of my goals for this page is to be able to have a mix for every common number of cupcakes desired. Recipes can always be doubled, but the hard part is reducing and keeping the consistency of the original. Keep watching for single serving cupcakes :) 

Overall, a wonderful party treat and a great time in the kitchen. It took much longer than I planned to make all three different types of cupcakes, but they turned out fantastic so I don't even care. Everyone enjoyed and I had a blast baking them and honing my icing skills. 

Having a cupcake for 182 calories is actually quite good! A plain bagel has 260-280 calories, and a scone or muffin can have 350-430 calories. However, it's not particularly healthy, so if you'd like to ensure you wake up with your toned body in tact, be sure you've done any of the below before you indulge...

1. Run 1.5 miles
2. Walk 2 miles
3. Dance for 40 minutes
4. Rearrange furniture for 30 minutes
5. Play darts for 70 minutes
6. Play badminton for 40 minutes

Any of the above will burn about 200 calories, making your cupcake guilt-free ;)                                                            

Chocolate Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes

Hello friends!! 

                                                  

This recipe is one of three adaptations of the Chocolate Buttercream M&M Cupcakes from New Years Eve, made on New Years Day for a dinner party with some of our close family friends, Jana, Andy, Alexander, and Larissa! 

If you have any fun cupcake-related experiences, please share them in the comments at the bottom of the page, or send me an email or google+ comment! 

The Recipe: Chocolate Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes (Total Recipe makes 12 cupcakes and 6 mini cupcakes, but only 3 full and the 6 minis became this flavor and the others had additions to their filling and frosting). 

The Cake: 

• 1 cup flour
• 7/8 cup sugar
• 3/8 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2.5 tbsp shortening (aka Crisco)
• 1.5 mashed bananas
• 1.5 eggs
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 strip bacon, crisp and roasted

The Filling/Icing: 

• 3 stick butter, softened
• 1.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

The Process:

1. Broil a strip of bacon on high until it is crispy. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176.6 degrees C). 
3. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
4. Cut shortening into small pieces to make it easier to mix with dry ingredients. 
5. Mash banana into another, smaller bowl. (Don't tell the kids there's banana in their cupcakes!!)
6. Add one egg to the bowl with the banana. 
7. Break other egg into a small cup or bowl and whisk so that it becomes relatively homogeneous. Pour half of this into the bowl with the banana.
8. Mix oil, milk, and vanilla extract into bowl with banana. 
9. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and beat. 
10. Mix in crumbled strip of bacon.
11. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners (or butter and flour the sides of the pan). 
12. Fill cupcake liners about halfway with batter. 
13. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer (or toothpick) can poke the center and come out with some moist crumbs. You will be able to see the cupcakes rise and smell when they are done. Use the pictures as a guide as each oven is different. 
14. Allow to cool with paper towel covering. 
15. Blend ingredients for filling/icing.       
16. Use cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake and replace its center.
17. Fill an icing press with remaining icing.          
18. Press into desired pattern. 
19. Enjoy! :) 

The Calories:

Flour:  455 calories

Sugar: 665 calories

Cocoa: 70 calories

Baking Powder: 0 calories

Baking Soda: 0 calories

Salt: 0 calories

Shortening: 260 calories

Banana: 150 calories

Egg: 115 calories

Oil: 482 calories

Milk: 30 calories

Vanilla: 12 calories

1 strip of Bacon: 50 calories

____________________________________

TOTAL: 2324 calories 

Granted, this recipe was for about 12.5 cupcakes. So each cupcake really only had about 186 calories :) 

What went right: 

          They were very delicious and looked prettier than the first batch. 

What went wrong:

          This batch was less moist than the last batch. Not sure why, but might have been a minute or two over cooked, comparatively.

What I would do next time:

         Technically, this batch was basically the same as the M&M batch, and the changes were made in the other cupcakes you see below (coming soon! ;) ) 

Would I do this in college: 

          Totally! In fact, I'm working on reducing this recipe for single serving cupcakes without waste so that I can easily make a quick cupcake for a friend's birthday without having to make an entire batch. One of my least favorite things about baking is that the amounts can be so arbitrary because they depend on your specific baking equipment. One of my goals for this page is to be able to have a mix for every common number of cupcakes desired. Recipes can always be doubled, but the hard part is reducing and keeping the consistency of the original. Keep watching for single serving cupcakes :)

Overall, a wonderful party treat and a great time in the kitchen. It took much longer than I planned to make all three different types of cupcakes, but they turned out fantastic so I don't even care. Everyone enjoyed and I had a blast baking them and honing my icing skills. 

Having a cupcake for 182 calories is actually quite good! A plain bagel has 260-280 calories, and a scone or muffin can have 350-430 calories. However, it's not particularly healthy, so if you'd like to ensure you wake up with your toned body in tact, be sure you've done any of the below before you indulge...

1. Run 1.5 miles
2. Walk 2 miles
3. Dance for 40 minutes
4. Rearrange furniture for 30 minutes
5. Play darts for 70 minutes
6. Play badminton for 40 minutes

Any of the above will burn about 200 calories, making your cupcake guilt-free ;)

Lemon Chicken

Hello and welcome!

This recipe was adapted from Pinterest for Lemon Christmas...Thanks much Annie's Eats!

Lemon Christmas started with a story of Domathes passed down through the generations of my neighborhood, but became a five hour cooking spree with my Aunt Connie followed by dinner with my parents and brother, Aunt Connie, and Uncle Dick. In a single afternoon, we made Domathes, Lemon Chicken, Lemon Risotto, Lemon Broccoli, and Limoncello Cookies! It was a fantastic experience I will never forget and look forward to repeating every year with a different ingredient theme (hint hint ;) )

The only hiccup of Lemon Christmas was my wonderful little brother who absolutely will not stand for Lemon in his chicken....or so he thinks....in light of this, Lemon Chicken also contains the sister adaptation of Plain Baked Chicken for Kirby.






The Recipe: Lemon Chicken

• 2 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
•  2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp thyme leaves
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 6 chicken fillets
• 2 tbsp butter, melted

The Process: 

1. Combine the lemon zest, salt, pepper, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, and rosemary in a ziploc bag. 
2. Add fillets to the bag. 
3. Shake/rub to mix. 
4. Refrigerate for 2 hours to marinate. 
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (about 218 degrees C)
6. Put chicken fillets in an oven-safe, preferably porcelain dish to cook. Include all marinade. 
7. Brush fillets with melted butter. 
8. Bake for 50-55 minutes, watching carefully in the last 10 minutes or so based on the typical tendencies of your oven. 
9. Enjoy! 

The Picky Eater Process: 

1. Combine 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper in a ziploc bag. 
2. Add 1 chicken fillet to the bag. 
3. Shake/mix. 
4. Marinate for 2 hours. 
5. In a separate dish, place the fillet and any remaining marinade. 
6. Brush with melted butter. 
7. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 425 degrees (at the same time as the other chicken. 
8. Serve to your picky eater ;) 

The Calories: Lemon Chicken

Chicken (6 fillets): 684 calories

Lemon Zest: 3 calories

Lemon Juice: 20 calories

Rosemary: 2 calories

Thyme: 2 calories

Salt: 0 calories

Pepper: 0 calories

Butter: 204 calories

Garlic: 8 calories

___________________________

TOTAL: 923 calories

Remember, this was for 6 people. That means a single serving is only 154 calories! This might be the most healthy chicken recipe I've ever had for the taste. No replacements, all nutrients, all taste, and fewer calories than a cupcake. Wow. 

The Calories: Picky Eater Chicken

Chicken (1 fillet): 114 calories

Olive Oil: 119 calories

Salt: 0 Calories

Pepper: 0 Calories

___________________________

TOTAL: 233 calories

This assumes that all of the olive oil was actually eaten, but there was still marinade left in the dish when Kirby was done. Personally, I think the plain chicken has less flavor. All of the moisture and flavor in this version of the chicken came from the olive oil (aka fat), whereas a lot of the moisture and flavor in lemon chicken came from the lemon juice. 

What went right:

           We lucked into some MAGNIFICENT meats here. I mean, these chicken fillets were enormous and juicy, and the marinade complimented them perfectly. The herbs held enough flavor to equal that of the lemon, so the chicken was moist and thick, but not excessively lemony. The bake time was absolutely perfect. Some of our table was unable to finish even one fillet because they were that thick and meaty. Love! 

What went wrong: 

           This chicken was so good, I ate the table leftovers...oops ;) 

What I would do next time: 

            Absolutely nothing. This was utterly fantastic. Some other additions I might make in the absence of our Lemon Christmas sides are cherry tomatoes, some parmesan cheese, and some pasta shells or flat noodles. For a healthier adaptation, I might try baking it with some orzo and basil in the dish, or even wild rice (in honor of my dad's traditional Chicken and Wild Rice dish, one of my favorite meals of all time). 

Would I make this in college: 

             Possibly. It takes a while to marinate and if I were only cooking for me, I would end up buying a massive excess of herbs.

Overall, a wonderful main meat for Lemon Christmas, and a new favorite chicken of mine!