Crunchy Christmas Nutty Cake

Christmas is here. There will be Christmas carols and the snowy yet vibrant celebration all around in a few days. Hope you liked my blog Low-calorie Christmas Muffins. I was listening to the song, Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake and then decided to prepare a crunchy cake. Crunchy cake? Yes, a nutty cake. This cake would be filled with goodness and richness of Brazil nuts, walnuts, pec-pec pecans, almonds and mild flavor of vanilla. Everyone is gonna love it. The best part is that it can be made before hand. Your family can munch it throughout the Christmas holidays.

Ingredients:-

4 Eggs,

125 grams Flour,

3/4 teaspoon Salt,

450 grams Brazil nuts,

200 grams caster sugar,

225 grams  walnut halves,

225 grams  pecan halves,

1 teaspoon baking powder,

2 teaspoons vanilla essence,

675 grams blanched whole almonds.

Preparation Method:-

1. Preheat oven to 140 D. C. Line a large round cake tin with baking parchment and lightly grease.

2. Combine the almonds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine with nut mixture and mix well.

3. Beat eggs and vanilla, add to nut and flour mixture and mix well. Add into cake tin and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check with the knife.

4. Set aside for 5 minutes and remove from tins. Garnish with nuts for the Christmas treat.

Enjoy the Yummy Cake

Gala with Gluten-free Chocolate Christmas Muffins

Christmas is here and as I promised, I have something for everyone, so here are special muffins for the people allergic to gluten. Hope you liked my Strawberry Marshmallow Cake. I’m trying something out with cherry now. Cherries are wonderfully delicious and a full fledged package of health nutrients and unique antioxidants. These are low in calories and ultra rich source of vitamins and minerals. Cherries heal fibromyalgia (painful muscle condition), gout arthritis and sports injuries. Isn’t it wonderful?

A person on paleo diet prefers lean proteins that support strong muscles, healthy bones and improves immune function. Quinoa flour, coconut flour, amaranth flour, teff flour and chia flour are very friendly for paleo diet. These flours can be used in bakery products especially muffins and cake and that is what I have done here. You can also use the mixture of four flours in equal quantity. You will definitely not mind baking the bakery-worthy muffins for the people of all age group in your family. Will you?

Ingredients:-

150 ml Yogurt,

2 beaten Eggs,

1 teaspoon Soda,

100 grams melted Butter,

250 grams Gluten-free Flour,

140 grams dried sour Cherries,

100 grams chopped Dark Chocolate,

100 grams chopped White Chocolate.

Preparation Method:-

1. Heat oven to 200 D.C and place a 12 hole muffin tin, with some paper cases. Sift the flour and soda bicarb in a large bowl. Add in the thawed cherries, chocolate and sugar.

2. Then add beaten eggs, yogurt and butter. Stir to combine. Don't over-mix as the muffins will turn out tough.

3. Fill the paper cases and bake for 20 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Cool them. Garnish with chocolate and cherries as shown. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Diabetic Friendly Pecan Ice Cream

X-Men series has always been my all time favorite. Halle Berry is known for her magnificent role in X-Mean, Catwoman, Die Another Day etc. I am a huge fan of her, especially after knowing about her battle with diabetes. She says regular exercise and healthy diet are good ways of tackling with Diabetes. The first step taken by her was to consume diet that's low in fat, not processed and low in carbohydrates as well as sugar. She cut down the desserts, processed or junk food and adopted a whole new way of eating. 

Halle Berry started with lots of fresh veggies, chicken, fish and pasta. She stopped intake of red meat and eliminated consuming various fruits because of the sugar content. She loves having grilled fish and garlic mashed potato plus vinegar and salt crisps. Though Halle prefers salty to sweet, butter pecan ice cream is something she loves. Christmas is here and I have something for everyone. Let’s start with Diabetic friendly Butter Pecan Ice Cream.

Ingredients:-

3/4 cup Pecans,

3 large Egg Yolks,

½ cup low-fat Milk,

2 cups low-fat Cream,

1/8 teaspoon Sea salt,

¾ cup Sugar Free Syrup,

1/3 cup Artificial Sweetener,

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract,

1 ½ tablespoons low-fat Butter.

Preparation Method:-

1. Chop pecans. In a skillet, melt butter over moderate heat, until foam subsides. Toast pecans in butter, stir occasionally, until golden and fragrant for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt to taste.
2. Cool pecans and chill in a plastic bag. Buttered pecans may be made 3-4 days ahead and chilled.

3. In a heavy saucepan mix cream, artificial sweetener, milk, sugar free syrup, and salt. Bring just to a boil, stir occasionally.
4. In a bowl beat yolks until smooth. Add hot cream mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking, and pour into pan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly at 170 D. F.
5. Pour custard through a sieve into a clean bowl and cool. Stir in extract. Chill custard, its surface covered with plastic wrap, at least 3 hours, or until cold, and up to 1 day.
6. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer ice cream to a bowl and fold in chilled pecans. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. Ice cream may be made 1 week ahead.