Guest Post: Have Your Cake and Eat it: Four Sweet Treats That Can Be Surprisingly Good For You!

by Lily Robinson

 

Are you a secret chocolate eater? Do you beat yourself up about having that extra slice of cake or picking the most calorific desert on the menu? Well fear not – extensive scientific research is proving that cakes, chocolate and deserts can actually be surprisingly good for your health and wellbeing. Here are some of your favourite treats and the way in which they can benefit you.

Chocolate

Photo Credit: Diana Loutfy

Chocolate gets a hard time. Although it dates back to the time of the Aztecs, the inclusion of sugar and cream to the cocoa beans has seen it become the ultimate guilty pleasure for many women (and men, but mostly women!) over the years. But despite its high calorie content, research has shown that there are in fact several benefits to enjoying a moderate amount of chocolate in your diet.
Chocolate is essentially made from plants, which means that it contains many of the same compounds as dark vegetables. In particular, cocoa beans and chocolate are full of antioxidants which help protect the body from the effects of aging (such as thinning hair and clogged arteries) and also neutralises any harmful chemical reactions happening within the body during metabolism. Dark chocolate contains twice the amount of these antioxidants as milk chocolate and Healthspan say that studies indicate even 100g of dark chocolate in your daily diet can dramatically reduce the risk of high blood pressure which in turn reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke by 21%.
And because we all love eating chocolate so much, it is a well known mood enhancer. This isn’t just because of the yummy taste but because it contains chemicals that help increase the brain chemical serotonin – the happy hormone. This is why chocolate can often perk you up if you’re feeling irritable or tired and is a good example of it being beneficial for both mental and physical wellbeing.

Cake

Cakes come in all shapes, sizes and varieties so it’s hard to pinpoint the nutritional value of ‘cake’ in general. Like chocolate, cakes are not renowned for being particularly healthy, what with the sugar, hydrogenated oil and bleached flour not to mention calorific, creamy fillings. However the majority of cakes do contain some useful vitamins and minerals such as protein and calcium which can be found in binding agents like egg and milk. Calming carbohydrates can also be found in the flour, sugar and oils which can give the body a boost of energy and maintain a healthy body heat, making a slab of cake the ultimate comfort food during the winter months.
The beauty of homemade cakes is that you dictate what goes in. Admittedly, many shop bought cakes do contain additives and preservatives used to increase shelf life which are both unhealthy and unnecessary. If you choose to make your own cake you can use wholegrain flour to increase fibre, omit any buttery frostings and include a variety of fruits and nuts to make your cake extra healthy.

Ice Cream

Everybody loves a good ice cream on a hot day but who’d have thought that a sensible variety and amount of ice cream can actually help you lose weight?! Because ice cream is made from milk it is very high in calcium which is one of the most important compounds needed for fat metabolism. Experts also think that ice cream can oppress the appetite and satisfy the cravings for other sweet foods, hence results in less unhealthy snacking. Frozen yoghurts and iced fruit lollies are also healthy summer treats.

Sweets

Studies have shown that certain sweets can help both prevent and alleviate symptoms of some serious diseases. In an article published in The Atlantic experts suggest that root liquorice (the root ingredient of the popular sweet) has anti-diabetic properties and can help reduce blood sugar as well as having anti-inflammatory properties. In fact, liquorice has been known to treat a variety of ailments throughout history from eczema to heartburn.
Similarly, hard boiled sweets, particularly lemon drops and sour candies, are though to help prevent oral infections and taste disorders by encouraging the mouth the produce more saliva. Saliva is important to oral health because it keeps the mouth well lubricated and doesn’t allow for an dry environment in which anaerobic bacteria can grow. Sucking hard candies is more beneficial than simply using water to hydrate the mouth because that can just flush natural saliva away.
So next time your sweet tooth flares up and you find yourself heading guiltily for the confectionary aisle, remind yourself that, providing you’re eating it in moderation, you could actually be keeping your mind and body healthy.

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Spain Birthday Cake

This cake is so sweet on the eyes as well as on the mouth. Chocolate cake on the inside and an explosion of red and yellow on the outside.

I made stripes of red and yellow on the sides of the cake to resemble the colors of the flag of spain and wrote a simple Feliz Cumpleaños on the top.

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Ombre Rainbow Ruffle Cake

It seems I'm either not baking at all or cramming 2 big (cake) projects in one day!

I've wanted to do this rainbow layer cake ever since I first saw it, I thought it to be such a fun creative (and simple) idea that would bring a smile to any face.

I ALSO had my eye on the new trend of ombre cakes. I've been seeing a lot of this design on Pinterest and thought that I just had to try it. Ombre is a type of design that has shades of a certain color from top to bottom. The cake itself is usually also the same shades of the color however for my cake I chose to stick to the rainbow layer cake I've always wanted to try.

Ok first of all, I made 2 recipes of vanilla cake. I wanted my cake to be tall and regal-looking (the friend I'm making this cake for like royalty and princesses etc. Oh and she's the one I made the princess cake for a couple of years ago..one of my first cakes.)
Then I separated the batter into 6 bowls and colored them all =)

Aren't they just so pretty and colorful??

After around 3 hours of pouring, baking, cleaning and pouring and baking and cleaning again and again (I only had 2 pans of the size I needed:( ) I was done, and 6 layers were finally ready.

Then it was time for the buttercream. I opted for a Swiss meringue buttercream which is one of the whitest buttercreams you can get. I thought it would be a nice contrast to the other intense colors.

Now..

Time for Fondant!!!

I made some marshmallow fondant, left some white and colored the rest different shades of pink.
and the ruffling started. It was surprisingly easy since the fondant ribbons did not have to be perfect. The less perfect, the more "ruffle-y"

I started with covering the top of the cake with white fondant and started layering the ribbons from white to pink to the darkest pink.

Then came the pink 21 and the garland. I am in love with this garland/banner. I also saw it on Pinterest and realized how much more I can do with my cakes. It opened up a whole new (simple but amazing) world. I think you'll get to see much more if these towering cakes in the future from me.

So, what do think?

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Chocolate Tart

Ok, so this is officially my favorite dessert! I can eat it anytime, anywhere, with anything! I just love chocolate tarts!!!




With rasberries, with caramel layers, with meringue, with whipped cream...THE JOY!

I recently came across this very delicious-looking recipe via Pinterest. I checked the recipe and thought I have to try this.

I didn't like the crust recipe so I just sticked to my foolproof buttery flaky one (Click here to see it). I love this crust, it always turns out the most falkiest, butter-iest, decadent crust ever and it can easily be adapted to suit whatever filling you want. Just change the amount of sugar, add some falvors and essences, some cocoa powder perhaps, or almond flour and voila..you have the perfect crust.

Lots and lots of butter!

Now, for the main star of the show!! The chocolate ganache. Oh my, I got goosebumps when I had my first bite. The recipe was great but I tweaked it a bit to make it more my taste.

And booy, was it good. I omitted the sugar and instead added some honey and added much much more chocolate than the recipe called for.

Then the final step was to make the chocolate ganache glaze and pour it over the tart. That's how I got this glossy look.

Ahhh, I think I might have to start working out after this tart..

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Heaven on earth

If you love chocolate, then you've come to the right place!

Fudge chocolate cake + KitKat + M&Ms = CHOCOLATE PARADISE!

What's left to say about this cake?! It's a pretty cake, that actually tastes good!

I've always wanted to try and make this cake, I've seen a lot online and in some bakeries and said: ooooo! chocolate, I want to try that!

It's both yummy and easy on the eyes, don't you think?

And it's super easy to make. Just whip up your favorite chocolate fudge cake recipe, frost it, and align around 10-12 4-finger KitKats on the sides. Now this cake is usually made with smarties (which I surprisingly couldn't find in  large quantities), so I opted to make them with colorful M&Ms.

Full of colors, isn't it?

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Hats off Everyone...time for cake!

I've always wanted to make a hat cake. Every time I drape fondant over a cake I think: "I should just keep the extra fondant and turned this into a hat!" But I'd already have other plans for the cake.

Photo Credit: Diana Loutfy

I just love red
Photo Credit: Diana Loutfy

But this time, THIS TIME: it was my aunt's birthday. And she (like me!) loves big hats! So I finally got to make one. And ofcourse, when you try and finally make something, it does not turn out the way you thought it would be. It was harder than I initially thought, but after creasing up the sides, I ended up with this awesome red hat!

Photo Credit: Diana Loutfy

I had some left over purple fondant, so I cut up a sash and put it around the cake and made a cute little purple fondant bow and placed it on the side.

Photo Credit: Diana Loutfy

Oh oh, what I like a lot about this cake is that I took a break from all those chocolate cakes and made this (new found) White velvet butter cake from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible (I love this book, there's no recipe you can't find here!). I then iced it with Almond crunch buttercream (YUM!). This is a standard neoclassic buttercream recipe mixed with almond caramel crunch (which is roasted almonds topped with caramel and crushed to a powder!). It gives the cake this delicious crunch. This cake is AMAZING! You really REALLY have to try it!

Photo Credit: Diana Loutfy

Here's the cake again:

Photo Credit: Diana Loutfy

Photo Credit: Diana Loutfy

Happy Birthday Salwa!

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A little girl's dream...

Pink, pink, pink!! That's all I was thinking about while making this cake.

It's dee-licious chocolate cake on the inside with my usual marshmallow fondant on the outside. (Note to self: I should really start working on that marshmallow fondant tutorial!)

I made two batches of fondant, each with a different shade of pink.

The cake is covered with light pink fondant and decorated with pink daisies and red hearts! (I finally got to use my daisy cutters, which were PRETTY HARD to find!)

I've also recently stumbled upon many cake designers that work on the cake board as much as the cake. So I thought I'd try covering my cake boards from now on. This one was pretty simple. I just covered it with some white fondant and a long strip of pink fondant.

Here's the Cake!

What do you think?

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