Category Archives: Recipes – Dessert

Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake

Posted on July 2, 2012 by | 6 comments

As I write my latest post, SensitiveHusband and I are roasting kohlrabi to have alongside tonight’s entree. “Kohlrabi?” you might ask…which is just what I thought last week when I found it in our farm share box. This variety looks like a purple turnip. I’ll write more once we taste it…

Now I’ll talk about the lovely cake featured in the photo. It’s a blueberry-lemon bundt cake! I was inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe, and knew that FIL* would like the lemony, pound cake-like creation. Since we were going to MIL^ and FIL’s house for dinner, I decided to treat them with this dessert.

I substituted the sugar with agave nectar – I thought the neutral taste of the agave would work well with the light lemon and blueberry flavors. The original recipe called for two sticks of butter, so I lightened up the recipe by using one stick of butter and 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce. And instead of 1 cup of sour cream (not my favorite), I used what was in my fridge – 1 cup of plain yogurt (much better). The dusting of confectioners’ sugar as a finishing touch can be simulated with coconut palm sugar in order to have no refined sugars in this recipe.

The cake was a hit – everyone around the table enjoyed the dessert, including FIL and my littlest nephew! They shared two pieces, although I think my nephew may have eaten all the blueberry-filled pieces that my FIL had! This is a great dessert that could also be eaten for breakfast since it’s not too sweet, and it would go nicely at a summer picnic. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 teaspoon for blueberries and zest
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/3 cup agave nectar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
Coconut palm sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk 2 1/2 cups flour with baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and agave nectar on high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of yogurt. Mix until fully incorporated.

In a bowl, toss blueberries and zest with remaining teaspoon flour; gently fold into batter. Coat a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan (or two loaf pans) with cooking spray or a light coat of butter. Spread batter in prepared pan(s).

Bake cake on bottom rack of oven until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes. Invert onto a rack; cool completely, top side up. Dust with coconut palm sugar before serving, if desired (sure!).

Key
*FIL = father-in-law
^MIL = mother-in-law

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Something Swanky and Food Trip Friday.

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Naturally Sweetened Nut Butter Cookies

Posted on June 18, 2012 by | 4 comments

Peanut butter cookies are tasty, especially ones that combine a satisfying crunch with chewiness. You may ask, “how can that be done?” Well, my friends, you can have a chewy cookie with a satisfying crunch if you add toasted oats and nuts to a cookie batter. I was inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe for Nutty Butter Cookies. I decided to reduce the amount of butter used, so I substituted with some unsweetened applesauce. I also substituted the refined sugar with a combination of maple syrup and honey. For my nut butter, I selected peanut, although I think almond butter would work really well too. Fortunately this recipe does not call for much nut butter, since the prices of nut butters have increased substantially during the first half of this year. I hope that you enjoy this recipe! And if you have not yet done so, please visit my home page to vote for your favorite dessert flavor. Are you a chocoholic? Or do you prefer plain vanilla? Perhaps a refreshing mint or zesty lemon? Just click the button for your choice and click “vote” – and then you will see the results so far. Thanks for participating! Enjoy your day, and your cookies.

Ingredients
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Coarse salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup honey
1 large egg
1/2 cup nut butter
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions
Melt 1/2 stick butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oats and cook, stirring, until toasted, 5 to 7 minutes. Spread oat mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet; let cool.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt. Beat together remaining 1/2 stick butter, applesauce, maple syrup and honey with a mixer on medium-high speed until fully combined. Add egg and beat until combined. Add nut butter, and beat on medium speed until well combined.

Add oat mixture and chopped nuts, and beat on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined.

Place cookies, about a teaspoonful each, 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

I am sharing my recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Food Trip Friday, Cybele Pascal Allergen-Free Cooking and Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

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He Can Enjoy His Flourless Chocolate Cake and I Can Eat it Too!

Posted on June 10, 2012 by | 8 comments

This past week we enjoyed celebrating SensitiveHusband’s birthday. We had a wonderful time going out to dinner with family, taking a day off from work, giving gifts, and making a special birthday cake. My husband enjoys cakes that ooze with gooey, fudgy, chocolatey goodness – and I decided that creating a flourless chocolate cake would meet all of his favorite criteria (plus, I would really like it too). I started with a recipe that was originally developed by Gourment Magazine in November 1997 and revised by the Baking Bites blog last year. I liked this recipe because it only required six ingredients that already resided in my pantry and a double boiler was not needed. It looked like it would be relatively simple to remove the cane sugar. In fact, this cake was relatively easy to create. Top with fresh whipped cream and fruit, or just eat plain. It is delicious cold, at room temperature, and warmed, and it also freezes well. SensitiveHusband noted, “it was rich, delicious and decadent – it was a wonderful birthday cake.” Goal accomplished – he had his birthday cake and I enjoyed it too!

Ingredients:
4-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (Endangered Species has a brand that is gluten and cane sugar free)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup agave nectar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375F. Line an 8-inch cake pan with parchment paper and lightly grease.

In a small saucepan, melt together chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until very smooth.
Pour warm chocolate mixture into a medium mixing bowl with agave nectar. Whisk to combine. Beat in eggs one at a time, waiting until each has been fully incorporated to add the next, then mix in vanilla extract. Add cocoa powder into the bowl and whisk until well-combined.

Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

Allow cake to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto a serving platter. Dust with cocoa powder, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 8-10.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Food Trip Friday, Cybele Pascal Allergen Free Cuisine, Simple Living with Diane Balch and Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

Thank you, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, for featuring my recipe!

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Breaking News: Dessert Poll Results, Bite Taken out of Cookie Price Index, Favorite Flavor Survey

Posted on June 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Happy June everyone! Or perhaps not so happy after yesterday’s unexpected jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor. Analysts were disappointed to see that only 69,000 jobs were created nationwide in the month of May and the unemployment rate rose to 8.2%. This information shows that the nation’s economy continues to recover ever so slowly from the recession that ended more than two years ago.

However, there is a glimmer of hope, particularly for economists who also like to bake cookies. I just calculated the 2012 Q2 SensitiveEconomist Cookie Price Index, which shows a drop of 17% from the previous quarter. Thanks to decreases in the prices for organic whole wheat flour, agave nectar, and grain sweetened chocolate chips, the price to bake a batch of my chocolate chip cookies declined from $13.37 to $11.40. The only ingredient that saw an increase in price (of 4%) was the local honey.

This price index result is running contrary to the latest U.S. consumer price food index, which saw a 0.2% increase in March. However, if we take a deeper look at the components of the U.S. index, there are similarities. The U.S. index saw prices for fruits and vegetables, cereals, nonalcoholic beverages, meats and eggs, and other miscellaneous items all increase – yet those foods (except for the eggs) are not included in the recipe for the chocolate chip cookies. The U.S. food index component that saw a decrease was dairy – which is included in my recipe as butter. The U.S. index does not track the prices of many organic or natural ingredients like agave nectar – so that is why the indices diverge.

Speaking of cookies…thanks to everyone who participated in my dessert poll, either at the CTVegFest or online. I tallied the 54 responses and have declared that Ice Cream is the favored dessert of the respondents, garnering 25% of the votes. This was followed by Cookies with 19%, Brownies with 15%, and Pie with 13%. For all of you ice cream lovers, there are two good recipes on this blog: one that requires an ice cream maker (Peach Ice Cream) and one that does not (Banana Chocolate “Ice Cream”). These are great to try as summer gets into full swing.

Now it is time for a new survey question: what is your favorite dessert flavor? Please participate by visiting my blog’s home page, clicking on your favorite dessert flavor, and clicking “vote.” Is chocolate really the king of dessert flavors? Or will strawberry, mint, or another fine flavor win in the end? I look forward to seeing what emerges from the data.

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Posted in Economics, Organic on a Budget, Recipes - Dessert

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Lemon Cake with Fresh Raspberry Filling and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Posted on May 28, 2012 by | 1 comment

Good Memorial Day to you! I hope that you have been enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend.
In a break from a regular story-telling tradition I will start with the happy ending of the story. I created this cake for the guests at a picnic, which also marked the celebration of my mother in-law's birthday. There were a lot of oohs and aahs when everyone saw the cake, and lots of happy noises as people enjoyed it.

The surprise to everyone was that the cake did not contain one bit of refined sugar. It tasted just as sweet and satisfying as a proper cake should without that pesky cane product.

Since I have a food sensitivity to cane sugar, I am motivated to find work-around solutions because I have a large sweet tooth. I have learned, through trial and error, that one can still bake cakes (and cookies and breads) and eat them too! And as an economist by trade, I am a big fan of spreadsheets. I have created a natural sweetener conversion chart in case you want to modify some of your own recipes. My favorite natural sweeteners are agave nectar, honey and maple syrup. Whether you are sensitive or not, try a few substitutions and see what you think about the finished products.

And now I’ll end this blog with the start of the story: creating the cake. I found recipes for lemon cake and vanilla buttercream frosting, substituted the sugars with agave nectar and doubled the cake recipe to have two layers. To make the raspberry filling, I mashed one pint of raspberries with one tablespoon of agave nectar and one teaspoon of water. And I halved the frosting recipe to just cover the top of the cake. Serve with agave-sweetened ice cream or raspberry sorbet.

Lemon Cake Ingredients (one 9-inch cake):
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2/3 cup agave nectar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Cake Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter, or spray with a nonstick spray, a 9 inch circular pan and dust with flour.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat the butter and agave until light and fluffy and pale in color. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and then add to the batter along with the lemon juice. Mix only until incorporated. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake about 40 – 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Ingredients (enough to frost top and sides of a two-layer cake):
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/3 cups agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon milk

Frosting Instructions:
After all of the ingredients are in a bowl, mix on medium-high for a few minutes until the frosting is stiff and lightened in color. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add 1 extra tablespoon of milk.

Assembling Instructions:
Spread the raspberry filling evenly between the two cake layers, and frost the top of the cake with the vanilla frosting. Decorate with your favorite fruit – I chose blueberries and strawberries.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free and Food Trip Friday.

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Happiness is Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Birthday Cake

Posted on May 21, 2012 by | 4 comments

Happy birthday indeed! I enjoyed a wonderful weekend with visits, calls and cards from my family and friends. I also was treated to a delicious dinner out with my grandmother, MIL, FIL and SensitiveHusband. After the meal we drove back to our house for dessert…that SensitiveHusband baked! Not only was the cake delicious, it was free of cane sugar, yeast, and all of my other “sensitive” ingredients. I think cake tastes even better when someone else bakes it, don’t you agree?

SensitiveHusband perused my recipes and decided on the Chocolate Agave Cake with the Honey Peanut Butter Frosting. What a delicious combination! The cake was extremely light and moist and the frosting was fluffy. Good thing I have a bit left…I look forward to having another piece.

What is your favorite dessert? There is one week left to take the poll on my home page. Simply click your favorite dessert and then click “vote.”

Chocolate Agave Cake
Ingredients:
2/3 cup agave nectar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one nine-inch round pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the agave nectar, egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Honey Peanut Butter Cream Frosting
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/8 cup peanut butter
1/2 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1/3 cup honey

Preparation:
Cream butter and peanut butter. Add the water, salt, and vanilla and cream again. Slowly add the honey and beat until creamy.

Please note: refrigerate the butter creams if either becomes too runny to use for frosting. A few minutes in the cool temperature will correct the consistency.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Food Trip Friday and Simple Living.

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Chocolate Dipped Bananas are Delicious Yet Gluten, Dairy & Cane Sugar Free

Posted on May 14, 2012 by | 3 comments

This past weekend SensitiveHusband and I enjoyed a lovely evening with some family friends. I have known these wonderful people all of my life and I feel privileged to be able to continue this extended family connection.

Each couple contributed something to the meal, and I was fortunate enough to be asked to bring a dessert. What a great experience to bake one of my favorites as well as try something new! As for the favorite, I made a chocolate agave cake and I doubled the recipe to make a layer cake with a cherry jam filling. I topped the cake with homemade whipped cream. I will definitely make this again!

My new creation involved chocolate dipped bananas. You can probably guess the two main ingredients! I had fun topping this dessert with all sorts of tasty treats as seen in the photograph above.

Chocolate Dipped Bananas (Gluten, Cane Sugar and Dairy Free)

Ingredients
2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2 inch disks
1 bar (3 oz) dark chocolate (The dark chocolate with raspberries Endangered Species brand is gluten, dairy and cane sugar free)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Assorted toppings (such as peanuts, granola, coconut, or cinnamon)

Preparation
Melt the chocolate on low heat. Stir in the vanilla extract. Dip the bananas into the melted chocolate so that about half of the banana is covered. Place bananas on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Top the bananans creatively. The close-up photo shows one dusted with cinnamon. Freeze for at least half an hour. Once frozen, you can transfer the bananas to another bowl or zip lock bag. Allow bananas to defrost for a few minutes before enjoying.

P.S. If you have not already done so, please answer the poll on the web site just to the left of this post. It just takes two clicks of your time. The results are very close and I hope to get a large enough sample to declare a winning dessert. Thanks for your participation!

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Cybele Pascal Allergen Free Cuisine, Food Trip Friday and Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.

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Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | 2 comments

You might be thinking, “Did I read that title correctly?” You certainly did. Below is a recipe from my colleague/friend Kristi, who makes a delicious mousse that looks like a dark pudding. No one will know there is avocado in the dessert unless you tell him or her!

I love chocolate (who doesn’t), so when I started modifying my diet to include more clean foods, I was excited (and amazed, as will you) to find a wonderful chocolate mousse recipe made from…. wait for it….. avocados!! Not only is the recipe easy to make, but you will also easily fool any guests because it doesn’t look like or taste like avocados.  Enjoy!

In a food processor, blend:
4 avocados
1 cup agave
1 tablespoon vanilla (I used a homemade version from SensitiveEconomist)
1 cup raw cacao (or unsweetened cocoa powder for baking)

options: add 1 tablespoon coconut or 2 teaspoons cinnamon

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Cybele Pascal Allergen-Friendly Cooking and Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

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Continuing the Celebration with Chocolate Chip Cookie 2.0

Posted on April 1, 2012 by | 4 comments

This week I have been celebrating my blog’s one year anniversary. It has been fun to think about all of the new foods I have tried and shared, and my favorite recipes that I have revised. One year ago I posted my first recipe for chocolate chip cookies. It was a wonderful recipe that substituted the refined sugars with natural sweeteners. Since then I have made that recipe dozens of times because I like to have a steady supply of dessert in the house. There is something quite nice about kicking back at the end of the day with a homemade cookie.

At first I was only concerned with getting the refined sugars out of the cookies. Over the past year I have tinkered with the ingredients – how could I add nutrients? Reduce saturated fats? Reduce gluten? Make them fluffier? Well, I think I have managed to update last year’s version – I removed one stick of butter and added applesauce, used some oat flour to reduce the overall gluten amount, let the butter soften naturally for a lighter texture, used my own homemade vanilla extract for added flavor, and added some more chocolate chips (I really tested the last point thoroughly). I hope you enjoy this recipe. Have a nice day!

Mix Dry and Set Aside: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup oat flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt

Mix Until Creamy: 1 stick softened butter, 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup agave nectar, 1/4 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract

Add to Creamy Mixture: 2 eggs

Then Add to Creamy Mixture: the dry mix (noted above)

Then Stir In: 1 bag grain-sweetened chocolate chips plus a “few extra” (I like Sunspire brand)

Drop tablespoonfuls of batter onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-11 minutes.

Enjoy!

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free and Food Trip Friday.

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Celebrating One Year without Refined Sugars with Chocolate Mousse

Posted on March 29, 2012 by | 12 comments

One year ago today, I wrote my first post as SensitiveEconomist. What a fun year this has been – with almost 90 posts, more than 10,000 web views and hundreds of comments. Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts, insights and recipes. It’s quite rewarding to be part of a community that is interested in making foods healthier, removing “sensitive” ingredients, and talking about food in the economy.

In honor of this special day, I am sharing with you one of my favorite celebratory foods – chocolate mousse! When I see this dessert on the menu of a nice restaurant, I tend to order it. It’s a shame that I can’t order it out anymore because it is loaded with refined sugar…but that is not the case with the recipe below! I altered it from the original recipe for Eggless Chocolate Mousse that is adapted from “The French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook,” by Mireille Guiliano.

This is one delicious dessert that is sure to please. Make it for a special occasion…or just because it’s Thursday!

In the words of Lucy Van Pelt of “Peanuts” fame: “All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” Well said, Lucy!

In a small, heavy saucepan, heat 1/4 cup whipping cream to a boil; do not scorch. Meanwhile, chop 2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (70 to 80 percent); place in a large bowl (This Endangered Species dark chocolate bar is sweetened with beet sugar). Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate. Let melt 2 minutes; stir until smooth. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Cool until mixture is warm to the touch. Whip 3/4 cup chilled whipping cream until stiff peaks form; be careful not to over whip. Gently fold half the whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Mousse will be a bit soft. Spoon into 2 serving dishes; cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Serve garnished with shelled, toasted pistachios or cinnamon and more whipped cream.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Food Trip Friday, Cybele Pascal Allergen-Free Cuisine and Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

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