There is a new kind of baking on the block that would make your grandmother drop a stitch. That new kind of baking chiefly involves using healthier alternatives in some of the old favourite baked recipes. One might surreptitiously slip pureed black beans or canned apples in chocolate brownie for example, or courgette and beetroot in chocolate cake, or replace the staples with ingredients such as rice bran oil, agave sugar, artificial sweeteners, sugar free chocolate, vegan spreads, gluten free and wheat free flours and raising agents. It’s a nutritionists dream to hear people experimenting with recipes to make them healthier, and if like me you bake regularly, it helps in the ongoing battle to stay healthy and feel amazing.
Immediately out of the oven, if you look very closely you will see a tiny halo encircling each muffin top – they are that good for you. Mashed banana, trim milk and only a dash of canola oil make these muffins truly angelic.
In saying all this, in my opinion there aren’t many things as blissful as a piece of Aunt Dulcie’s shortbread; sweet and buttery, changing her recipe to include olive oil spread or artificial sweetener would be utter blasphemy.
