Stay healthy, eat cake!

Well, why not? I know how keeping in shape is important. As a nurse, I cannot emphasize enough the benefits of staying healthy to my patients, my friends and family. Health is wealth, right? Aside from eating healthy foods, I jog every day. I urge them to do the same.

But, sometimes after a few weeks of the same routine, things will get a little boring! You can change the place or the meal, but that might be a little challenging or time-consuming. So, the real secret is balancing! I make sure I do all healthy stuff, but at the same time I give in to my ‘vices’. Yes! I am talking about Cheat day or what I call “Sweet goodies Day”! (Sorry, they control me sometimes!)

Chocolate, that’s my kryptonite! Moist, fluffy and tasty chocolate cakes, muffins or brownies are the best!  I love baking them, but best of all I love eating and sharing them. My patients and co-workers love these days too. They can’t wait to try out my discoveries in the chocolate wonderland. I know what you are thinking – fat and calories! Guess what, I know a little secret and women ‘Chocoholic’ like me will love it!

Have you ever tried Low-fat cake recipes? To be honest, you won’t know the difference between ‘regular’ cakes and low-fat cakes. They are also delicious, but for lesser calories!

Let me share three Easy-to-do low-fat recipes got from Good Food Magazine. For sure, you can bake them yourself. All with chocolates too!

1. Chocolate Muffin with hot chocolate custard – It will only take you about twenty minutes to make them and each muffin with chocolate custard will only have 215 calories! My families and friends can’t get enough of these lovely treats! The call it the ‘Blockbuster’ Muffin!

All you need are the following:

For the chocolate muffin

Cocoa powder (1 tbsp) ; Self-raising flour (100g) ; Bicarbonate of soda (1/2 tsp) ; Golden caster sugar (50 g) ; Skimmed milk (100ml) ; One egg; Sunflower oil (2 tbsp)

For the custard

Low-fat custard (2x 150g pots); Dark chocolate (25g, chopped)

How to do it

Heat the oven at 160°C or 325°F. In a large bowl, sieve the cocoa and add the other dry ingredients. Stir them together and set aside. In a jug, mix the milk, oil and egg and add it to the dry mixture. Make a smooth batter. Prepare your muffin tin by brushing a small amount of oil on each cup. Scoop some of the batter mixture in the muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes. Heat up the custard and slowly add the chopped chocolate; stir until smooth. When the muffins are done, put them on a plate and pour the chocolate custard slowly. Serve while warm.

2. Chocolate Mocha Cake – I wanted a little twist chocolate cakes and I found one that is just perfect. Special ingredient? Coffee! If you have an hour to spare today, why not go for it too? Let’s do some cake!

For the cake mixture, you will need:

A small amount of butter for greasing ; Eggs (3 large) ; Caster sugar (85g); Flour (70g, plain) ; Cornflour (1 tbsp) ; Baking powder ( ½ tsp)

For Icing and filling:

Dark chocolate (25g, chopped); Black coffee (1 tbsp, strong); Soft cheese (100 g); Greek yogurt (100g); Icing sugar (2 tbsp)

For the decoration:

Dark chocolate (15g, chopped)

How to do it

Heat the oven at 180°C or 350°F.  Put some butter grease on a 2x18cm baking pan with baking paper. Mix eggs and sugar; whisk until fluffy. Sift and combine all the dry ingredients and fold them in the mixture. Divide equally on the two baking pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. When cakes are done, leave in the pan for five minutes before placing on a rack.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and coffee together for 20 to 30 seconds in a microwave; stir and cool. Beat until smooth the yoghurt, soft cheese and icing sugar then stir in the melted chocolate-coffee mixture. On a serving plate, place the first cake and spread yogurt chocolate mixture all over. Put the second cake on top and place the rest of the mixture.

For decoration, melt the chocolate in a microwave Medium setting for about 20 seconds. Drizzle melted chocolate on top of the cake.

3. Heavenly Chocolate brownies – Who doesn’t love brownies?! Baking won’t be the same without these little cute, bite-size nuggets! Easy to make, 191 calories only and you can freeze them to last longer. Kids from 1 to 100 will surely love them!

What you will need are the following: 

Dark chocolate (85 g, chopped) ; Flour (85 g) ; Bicarbonate of soda (1/4 tsp.) ; Caster sugar (100 g) ; Light muscovado sugar (50g)  ; cocoa powder (25g); coffee granules (1/2 tsp.) ; Vanilla extract (1 tsp.); Buttermilk (2 tbsp.) ; one egg : mayonnaise (100mg)

How to do it

Heat the oven at 180°C or 350°F. In a small pan, boil some water (1/3 of the pan) and remove from heat. Place chopped chocolate in a bowl that will fit inside the heated pan with water. Makes sure the bowl will not touch the water. Let the chocolate melt, stirring once in a while. Once melted, let the chocolate cool a bit.

Put a little oil in a cake pan (19cmx5cm deep) with baking paper and set aside. Combine the cocoa, flour, and bicarbonate of soda, set aside. Add the caster and muscovado sugars, coffee, buttermilk and vanilla in the chilled chocolate. Add 1 tbsp. warm water in the mixture followed by the egg and mayonnaise. Beat mixture until smooth. Sift slowly in the mixture the combined dry ingredients and fold (do not over mix!).

Put mixture in the greased pan and bake for thirty minutes. When done, let the brownies cool in the pan completely. Use a knife to loosen sides. Turn the brownies and remove the paper. Cut into pieces.

Let’s face it! You have to be a person of steel to say No to chocolate goodies. If you are a chocolate lover then there is only one thing to do – Balance! Stay fit, eat healthy stuff, and then once in a while enjoy a Sweet Goodies day!

Life is here for us to enjoy, right? Let’s enjoy them with chocolates!