Devil’s Food Cake: Cupcake Recipe

It’s hard to get that picky eater to suck down a couple carrots, but offer up a devil’s food cake cupcake and the full stomach suddenly has “just enough room”.

I know that trick. No… I’ve done that trick.

With this devil food cake recipe, you won’t have to worry about being unhealthy. While, there is still sugar and such, you may find that this chocolate cake isn’t too much of a diet-buster.

Using unsweetened cocoa powder, low-fat yogurt and wheat flour, are all great ways to make this devil’s food cake a little less of a guilty pleasure so go ahead… have two cupcakes instead of just one.

Yield: Two 9-inch or three 8-inch rounds, 16 servings each,
2 dozen cupcakes or one 9 x 13-inch sheet cake, 24 servings

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (7-1/2 ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (5-1/4 ounces) superfine or granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups (5 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup (4-1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (3 ounces) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (8 ounces) plain low-fat or whole-milk yogurt
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the pan or pans of your choice or line with parchment paper. For cupcakes, lightly grease two muffin tins or line with papers and coat the papers with non-stick spray.

2) Cream together the butter, sugars and salt in a large mixing bowl till fluffy and light, at least five minutes. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once during that time. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa and baking soda. If lumps remain, sift or strain the mixture.

3) Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well (at least a full minute) after each addition, and stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding the next egg. Mix in the vanilla. Add half the flour mixture and mix until evenly combined. Add the yogurt and water, and mix again. Add the remaining flour, mix, and stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once more, to make sure the batter is evenly moistened. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

4) Bake the cakes; 30-35 for layered cakes and 35-40 for a sheet cake… even less for cupcakes! The cake is done when it begins to pull away from the side of the pan, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Place on a rack to cool completely before frosting.

These tasty devil’s food cupcakes are great for parties, or any other occasion really. For a frosting, I love to top these delicious cupcakes with a smooth cream cheese frosting. For an added twist, try torting your cupcakes. (That means to put a dollop of cream cheese frosting in the middle of your cupcake!) No matter how you ice it, this devil’s food cake recipe is devilishly delicious!

Easy Heart Healthy Fudge Recipe

Fudge is a decedent dessert and if you’re trying to eat healthy, then you can’t eat any.

Come on! Get real! I love fudge too much to cut it out of my life completely. With this recipe you don’t have to and in addition to the low calorie and fat count, this recipe also tackles another situation in nutrition—heart health.

I recently stumbled across an interesting health related site called The Health Hub and I found it extremely enlightening. There’s information on a ton of different topics, but the one I found most staggering was heart disease.

Heart disease is the nation’s number one killer and kills one person every 30 seconds, in the Unites States alone. There are things we can do to prevent it thought. Don’t be a statistic… because you don’t have to be.

Yield: 64 candies

Ingredients:

• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
• 1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, if desired
• 1 ½ cups chopped nuts, if desired (almonds and walnuts are especially good)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1) Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with butter.

2) In 2-quart saucepan, heat milk, chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth; remove from heat.

3) Quickly stir in nuts and vanilla. Spread in pan. Refrigerate for about 90 minutes or until firm. Cut into 1-inch squares. Enjoy!

This recipe is great for parties, gatherings, or just a night at home. The best part about this fudge is that your heart really, truly is benefitting from it. In the top ten heart healthy foods are almonds and walnuts. By adding these plant omega-3 fatty acids, you will be on the right path to better heart health.

Nutritional Value:

In Each Serving (1 piece)…
Calories: 55 (Calories from fat: 20)
Fat: 2g (Saturated Fat: 1g)
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 10mg
Carbs: 8g (Fiber: 0g)
Protein: 1g

Percent Daily Value…
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0%
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 0%

Lemonade Sorbet Recipe

This recipe for lemon sorbet is just so tasty! It reminds me of the frozen lemonades at the baseball games or the homemade lemonade right from my kitchen. It’s light… it’s refreshing… it’s healthy!

Who would have guessed that a dessert which is so healthy… can be so good too! I make this recipe so much in the summer and all of my friends can hardly tell it’s not filled with sugar. All they know is that they’d like to see about seconds… and I can’t agree with them more!

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Freeze Time: 4 hours

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1 cup frozen lemonade concentrate; thawed
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• Lemon Slices (garnish optional)
• Blueberries (garnish optional)

Directions:

1) In blender or food processor, place water, lemonade concrete and honey. Cover and blend on low speed until smooth. Pour into 8-inch square glass baking dish.

2) Freeze for about 4 hours (until firm), stirring several times to keep mixture smooth. Garnish with lemon slices and blueberries.

This recipe is a new twist on the classic glass of lemonade. Yum! What a deliciously chilly dessert! Want a fun substitute? Try using limeade concentrate instead of lemonade! It’s equally as fresh and tasty! Dig in and cool off from the summer heat with this healthy treat! Below is the nutritional value. See for yourself!

Nutritional Value:

In Each Serving…
Calories: 185 (Calories from fat: 0)
Fat: 0g (Saturated Fat: 0g)
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 5mg
Carbs: 47g (Fiber: 0g)
Protein: 0g

Percent Daily Value:
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 22%
Calcium: 0%
Iron: 2%

Chocolate Chip Cookie Lowers Cholesterol

Believe it folks, I speculated too. The reality is that now on the market there is a new cookie! These “Right Direction Cookies” have been proven to lower cholesterol and improve lipid subfraction profile, decreasing the risk of heart disease, according to a published study in The Journal of Nutrition (October).

The chocolate chip cookies, made with a combination of psyllium and plant sterols, are a tasty all-natural approach to reducing cardiovascular risk associated with cholesterol.

Here, check it out!

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/53430.php

Who would have guessed that there was a healthy alternative to my love for cookies! It certainly won’t replace our favorite cookie recipes, but it is a step in the “Right Direction” towards better health and wellness.