Deceptively Healthy Dessert: Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake

Hello and welcome!

Today's Deceptively Healthy Dessert is a take off of my grandmother's classic Pumpkin Bread. (Don't tell my brother ;) )

The Recipe: (Makes one 1lb loaf cake)

• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Salt
• 2 tbsp cinnamon

The Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
2. Mix the pumpkin, egg, applesauce, and vegetable oil in a bowl.
3. Add the sugar and honey and mix. 
4. Add the flour and mix.
5. Add the baking powder and cinnamon and mix. 
6. Pour into greased pan. 
7. Bake for about 1 hour. 
8. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes. 
9. Enjoy! 

The Calories:

Pumpkin- 80 calories

Egg- 70 calories

Applesauce- 50 calories

Sugar- 773 calories

Honey- 128 calories

Vegetable oil- 1927 calories

Flour- 796 calories

Baking Powder- 0 calories

Salt- 0 calories

Cinnamon- 38 calories

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TOTAL: 3889 calories

What went right: 

          It tastes wonderful and is very rich and filling! 

What went wrong:

          Entirely too addictive ;) 

What I would do next time: 

          Add cinnamon whipped cream or cinnamon ice cream. It would definitely add to it. Kirby also suggested putting the cake in the fridge near the end, which made it taste completely different but very good! 

Overall, a great cake warm or cold! 

Raw, Vegan "Sushi"

Welcome!

For the sake of clarity, I am neither vegan, nor vegetarian. That being said, this recipe looked too good to not try!

The Recipe:  Raw, Vegan "Sushi"

• 1 cup Cashews (or just use some cashew butter)
• 1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 1 Zucchini
• 1/4 Cucumber
• 10 Baby Carrots
• 3 small slices Celery

The Process:

• Soak Cashews in water overnight (I soaked mine for a couple days because I didn't have time to make this for a while after)
• Use Magic Bullet to mix the cashews and rice vinegar into a dip-like paste (it tastes pretty good on crackers too ;D
• Clean the vegetables
• Cut the ends off the Zucchini and cut it in half. Slice as many thin pieces as you would like to eat. Chop the rest into thinner pieces. (If you don't like Zucchini, you may accomplish this with cucumber)
• Chop the carrots in half
• Chop the cucumber into thin pieces as well (You may elect to only use the seeds of the cucumber, given their differing texture from the rest of the vegetables. 
• Chop the celery into thin pieces as well
• Spread the cashew dip onto the Zucchini strips
• At one end, place a few of your thin strips of varied vegetables
• Roll the end with the veggies into the rest of the Zucchini, forming a "Sushi" roll
• Enjoy!

The Calories:

Cashews: 755 calories

Rice Vinegar: 25 calories

Zucchini: 31 calories

Cucumber: 45 calories

Carrots: 41 calories

Celery: Negative Calories 

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TOTAL: 897 Calories

Before you freak out, the amount of the recipe that I used was about 1/6 the Cashews, 3/4 the zucchini, 1/2 the carrots, all the celery, and 1/4 the cucumber. So let's recalculate a little bit! 

Cashews: 126 calories

Rice Vinegar: 25 calories

Zucchini: 24 calories

Cucumber: 12 calories

Carrots: 21 calories

Celery: Negative Calories

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TOTAL: 208 calories

Now we get to divide by 13, since I made 13 rolls from what I did use. This makes each roll contain 16 calories. Doesn't that sound better to you?

What went right:

         They are super tasty, guilt free, and completely vegan. The only issue I have is with the cashew soaking, and even that isn't so big a deal...good things come to those who wait...especially since the cashew dip lasts for subsequent meals. 

What went wrong: 

         The cashew dip could use a little something so I'm probably going to be experimenting to see just what that is! 

What I would do next time:

         I might try some different nuts as the dip, or else add some spices to the cashews. I also might try adding some leaves to it, like kale or lettuce. I might also try making the dip with beans, chickpeas, or maybe even tofu. 

Will I do this in college?: 

         Oh yeah. This is a wonderful treat I hope to be making for a long time! Even beyond college, they would make fantastic appetizers.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this recipe and look forward to making (and eating) it again!

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

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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!

Peanut Butter Nutella Cake

Happy Summer!!

Congratulations to the Emory graduating class of 2014 :)

It's bittersweet to have already finished a year of school. With so many wonderful experiences with friends and challenging courses behind me, I decided the only thing my last day in Turman Hall needed was a cake! Having won a jar of Nutella because my Italian group did such a great job on our video, I was starting to become addicted to the smooth mixture of chocolate and hazelnut. It was time to finish it once and for all!

The Recipe: Peanut Butter Nutella Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp peanut butter
• 5 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 jar Nutella (1/2 jar in cake, 1/2 jar to frost)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

The Process:  

1. In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients (be sure to leave 1/2 the jar of Nutella for frosting!!) 
2. Assess your mixture: if it's too dry, add a little milk and re-mix. If it's too wet, add a little flour and re-mix. Continue until it is about as fluid as pancake mix. 
3. I ended up putting the batter in the fridge for about an hour because my floormates wanted to go to lunch and I'm not okay with leaving cakes in the oven without supervision, but cake batters are not typically refrigerated before baking so if you don't have time, don't worry about it! 
4. Pour into springform cake pan (or pan of your choice). 
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, watching carefully as this is dependent on your oven. 
6. Allow to cool for at least 1 hour before frosting (use your best judgement, the Nutella will very easily break your warm cake). 
7. Frost with Nutella (be careful!!! potentially apply it to the cake before spreading with an icing bag to avoid cake destruction)
8. Send pictures to friends trapped in airports and other states ;) 
9. Enjoy and share! 
   
   
   

The Calories: 

Sugar- 1546 calories

Flour- 910 calories

Baking Soda- 0 calories

Baking Powder- 0 calories

Eggs- 140 calories

Salt- 0 calories

Vanilla extract- 24 calories 

Milk- 103 calories

Water- 0 calories

Cocoa- 98 calories

Peanut Butter- 188 calories

Butter- 510 calories

Vegetable Oil- 964 calories

Nutella- 1425 calories

Chocolate chips- 359 calories

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TOTAL:  6267 calories

Yes, it's a dense cake. But it was cut into at least 12 pieces, making each piece about 522 calories. Oops... :) 

But really, this was a great cake. More than worth it. In fact. while it was baking, three separate maintenance guys came in the kitchen and asked if I was making something. I told them I had a cake in the oven. They asked if I made it. (Duh....) I said yes. They asked if it was from a box. (I could rant for hours about box cakes.) I said no. And then there were some comments I found somewhat sexist regarding some man being very happy with me someday because of my desserts. (I only bake and cook for my family and friends...you know, people who care about me before there's chocolate involved? And of course for myself!) 

What went right: 

          The cake was FANTASTIC. Potentially one of the best cakes I have ever made. 

What went wrong: 

           I completely forgot that my friend Emma doesn't like peanut butter or nutella, so was unable to share it with her :( Also the smell was overwhelmingly seductive while I was trying to pack my room. 

What I would do next time: 

          Nothing in terms of the cake itself. It might be nice to add some chocolate dipped strawberries on top or do it in two layers with raspberry in the middle. Something to add some citrus. 

Overall, it was a great cake and eating it was my prize for creating such a thing of beauty! 

As noted by my friend Jordan, the cake is quite photogenic: