Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

1 cinnamon stick

1 x 2.5cm (1in) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

thinly pared zest of 1 orange

290 ml (10fl oz) Muscat wine

juice of ½ lemon

4 firm, ripe pears

8 cloves

1 Start by making the pears. Put 150ml (5fl oz) water, the sugar and honey into a large heavy saucepan and mix together over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Bring to the boil, then add the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, ginger and orange zest and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered, or until slightly thickened and syrupy.

2 Allow the syrup to cool slightly, then mix in the wine and lemon juice.

3 Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact and stud each pear with 2 cloves. Immediately submerge the pears into the syrup to prevent discolouring. Bring slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the pears to cool completely in the syrup. Refrigerate overnight.

4 The next day, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

5 Grease a 23cm (9in) cake tin with low-fat spread and line the base with a disc of greaseproof paper. Dust lightly with the 1 tablespoon sugar and then the 1 tablespoon flour, tapping out the excess.

6 Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl isn’t touching the water, and stir continuously until the chocolate has melted, then remove from the heat.

7 In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with all but 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar until pale and creamy. Mix the cornflour into the egg yolk mixture, then pour in the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly.

8 Using a free-standing electric mixer, whisk the egg whites with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar until shiny and stiff. Using a large metal spoon, fold the egg whites into the egg and chocolate mixture and pour into the prepared tin.

9 Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for 20–25 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

10 Lightly dust the cake with icing sugar just before serving with the well-chilled pears and a scoop of low-fat crème fraîche.

Beetroot & Chocolate Cake

Chocolate and beetroot are an unusual combination but one that works well. Using light olive oil instead of butter and taking into account the antioxidants and potassium contained in the beetroot and dark chocolate, this cake is perfect for the most health-conscious, sweet teeth around.

SERVES 12

low-fat spread, for greasing

50g (1¾oz) cocoa powder

175g (6oz) plain flour

1½ tsp baking powder

200g (7oz) caster sugar

250g (9oz) cooked beetroot in juice

3 eggs

200ml (7fl oz) light olive oil

100g (3½oz) good-quality plain dark chocolate, finely chopped

170g (6oz) icing sugar

low-fat crème fraîche, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

2 Grease a 23cm (9in) loose-bottomed cake tin with a little low-fat spread and line the base with baking parchment.

3 Sift the cocoa, flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and mix with a wooden spoon to combine.

4 Drain the beetroot, reserving the juice, then put the beetroot in a food processor along with the eggs and the olive oil and blitz until smooth.

5 Now, make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, beat in the beetroot mixture, a bit at a time to form a smooth batter.

6 Next, add the chopped chocolate and combine well. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40–45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool.

7 To make the icing, simply mix the icing sugar with a little of the reserved beetroot juice to make a deep purple pourable icing. Drizzle the icing over the cake and serve with a dollop of low-fat crème fraîche.

TIP

Remember that it is important to include some low-fat dairy into your diet to support your bones and circulatory system, so a dollop of low-fat crème fraîche is a perfect accompaniment to a small slice of cake.

Fat-free Chocolate Fudge Brownies

You can enjoy these brownies guilt-free. I have substituted the butter with apple sauce. You can make your own apple sauce, of course, or you can buy it in some health food shops. A friend of mine uses baby apple sauce, which makes sense because this is completely natural with no added sugar.

SERVES 9

low-fat spread, for greasing

3 egg whites

175g (6oz) self-raising flour

85g (3oz) cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting

225g (8oz) caster sugar

55g (2oz) chopped walnuts or pecan nuts

1 tsp vanilla extract