#Foodporn, Hot Dates & Pink Ladies: My New FAV Sugar & Dairy Free Cake Recipe
/Deep down inside at the essence of my being resides a fat person. Securely buckled in behind my eyes, controlling the joysticks in my brain is a disgusting being who inhales baked goods with wild abandon (not a napkin in sight), licking their fingers clean while scarfing down generously frosted cinnamon buns, salted caramel glazed brownies and warm chocolate chunk cookies by the pan. These are forces beyond my control. Perhaps I owe it all to my mom’s daily visits to Monkland Avenue’s Patisserie Franny during her pregnancy with me for their heavenly pecan buns? Whatever the case, freshly baked, yeasty goods whipped up from sugar, eggs, flour and butter in varying proportions cast a spell over me that requires superhuman willpower to resist. A pan of freshly baked sticky buns still warm from the oven helps me understand why dogs’ food must be carefully portioned for fear of them scarfing down the whole bag until they get sick. Instincts beyond reasonable control have been known to get the best of us.
Food is sexier than ever these days, with #foodporn boasting a whopping 225 million tags on Instagram. These tasty treats spend afternoons under bright lights being shot from all angles in their favourite positions, helping us fantasise what it would be like to spend even a brief moment exploring their most tender areas in one naughty session alone. Bloggers, home bakers and food stylists seduce us with scandalous snapshots of their favourite recipes as we sit at home on lockdown scrolling through calorific captures of crusty banana bread and crackly cocoa brownies perfectly styled in their surroundings. It’s hard not to start taking mental stock of whether you have all the ingredients required to whip up a cheeky pan and destroy it before bed. If you eat it all in a day, did it ever even exist?
@bakerbynature pecan sea salt blondies. As if we stand a chance?!
@deliciouslyella picture perfect barely-baked brownies.
@lenkas_lens salted caramel brownies that seem to be constantly popping up in my feed as I scroll
Whether you’ve identified yourself as an “emotional eater” or prefer to navigate tough times with your favourite tipple, we all have our ways of stimulating the pleasure centers of our brains to overcome difficult times. Your instagram feed at the moment is probably a testament to this. Now I’m not here to judge, but as someone who is trying to see the positives during a global pandemic, I’m trying to look after my mind and my body to make sure I’m well positioned to navigate the uncertain seas ahead. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t just want to go off the rails and get messy drinking a bottle of gin with Scott and demolish a few pieces of flourless chocolate cake from a fine food store I discovered yesterday, but part of me thinks I deserve better than that feeling of disappointment when I wake up tomorrow. You do you though.
Gimme the Gin and nobody gets hurt!
There is currently a ban on the sale of alcohol here in Thailand, so that makes my decision of whether to drink or not an easy one to make. In terms of exercise, we have been going for a nightly run 6 days a week. We started over a month ago and I thought I was going to die in the 30 degree heat, sweating out more liquid than I thought was healthy (don’t I need all that?!). I’d come home from the run angry at everything. The hills, the heat, the sweat stinging my eyes, the strong wind, the lack of wind, you name it. Poor Scott couldn’t talk to me for 5-10 mins until I’d calmed down and taken a dip in the pool. I’m incredibly proud of my progress in what was once my least favourite discipline, and have established a daily fitness routine that leaves me feeling strong and healthy. Miraculously we have been shedding the ghee and naan weight we so enthusiastically packed on in India earlier this year. Our perspective has shifted as we now see packing our faces with empty calories a minor threat to the emerging tone in our midsections, so we’ve been looking for baked goods that boast a more “wholesome” list of ingredients.
Heathy & wholesome ingredients for the bulk of this light & moist cake recipe
After looking for a healthier recipe for us to make to indulge in “a little something sweet” after dinner, we stumbled upon this apple and date cake with NO ADDED SUGAR OR DAIRY. The bulk of this cake is chopped apples and dates which are then lightly bound with a cake batter mixture. It is so nice and moist, and the dates are all the sweetness you need, so nice to not be pouring cupfuls of sugar into a baking recipe for once. And no, I’m not naive to the natural sugar content of dates, but I sleep better at night knowing my cake was sweetened with them instead. I modified the recipe slightly to give it more of a gingerbread character, and I’ve also added some notes in the recipe for other ways I think you could bring this versatile recipe to life. You’ll also note I’ve invited my adorable husband and home sous-chef Scott to make this recipe with me today. A recurring them, perhaps?
Couples who bake together stay together I hear
Sugar Free, Dairy Free Apple and Date Gingerbread Cake
Makes a 13x9” cake pan, approx. 8-12 pcs
25 mins prep time, 40 mins cook time
Ingredients:
4 medium sweet apples, I used Pink Lady
250g (2c) dates, pitted and finely chopped-2c is finished, chopped measure
2 tbsp fresh ginger root, peeled & finally chopped
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.75c cake/all purpose flour, more for prepping the pan (you could try whole wheat flour here too?!)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1c boiling water
pinch of salt
1/2c coconut oil, more for prepping the pan (warmed to liquid state)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
Method:
Find and select a good playlist, and tidy your kitchen space. Wipe down counters with hot soapy water, and wash all those dishes. Always start fresh in a clean kitchen.
Pit the dates, and cut them into small pieces. The will form a kind of sticky paste on the board, but do your best to chop them finely. Place into a large mixing bowl.
Peel the apples and cut out the core. Dice the apples into a small dice. It takes time, but your patience and persistence will pay off. Enjoy the process. Add to the bowl with the dates.
Peel and finely chop the fresh ginger root. I find a spoon works well to scrape the skin off gently and it wastes less. Add this to the bowl with the dates and apples as well.
Bring the water to the boil and pour over the apples, dates and ginger. Stir.
Cover with a cling film and allow to relax somewhere warm for 15-20 mins to warm and soften.
Our cake gets the ultimate relaxation treatment poolside
Preheat oven to 350 F (175C)
Crack the egg into a bowl and lightly beat it. Add the liquid coconut oil and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour (if you have a sifter) with the salt, baking powder, baking soda, ground clove and cinnamon.
To prep the baking dish, wet a paper towel with some of the coconut oil and grease the bottom and sides of the baking dish. Sprinkle flour generously over the greased pan, and shake it all around. Once the flour has coated all the coconut oil everywhere on the pan, tap the pan upside-down over the sink or rubbish bin to remove all the excess. Take 5 and clean up the flour that surely everywhere by now.
Remove the film from the bowl of softened apples and dates, and work the mixture with a clean hand to break up any date “clumps”. It should be a soft, apple mix in a wet date slurry.
Add the egg, coconut oil and vanilla to the apple, date and ginger mix. Stir to combine.
Add the dry ingredients in 2 or 3 additions, making sure not to overwork, or leave any floury pockets.
Pour mixture into your prepared pan. Spread evenly with a palette knife if you have one, of not a spatula or spoon will work fine.
Bake for about 40 mins, checking halfway through to make sure nothing’s gone wrong. For ovens with less consistent heating, you may want to turn the cake halfway through, or change the shelf it’s on in the oven if it’s browning too fast/not fast enough. Everyone’s oven is different.
Allow the cake to cool. It will probably take 45 mins to an hour.
A single recipe of this cake will probably last you a couple days, so it can stay out at room temp. We made a double and then cut it into portions, cling filmed the portions, and froze them, so we can pull portion when we want and exercise some self-control. Do whatever you want, we won’t judge.
Chai Spice Modification:
2 tbsp loose black tea
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground allspice
Steep the dry black tea into the boiling water for 5 mins, before straining over the apple, ginger and date mixture.
Add the ground cardamom and allspice to the dry ingredients, for a more “Chai” spiced approach.
