Cutter Paul - Healthy Baking: Cakes, Cookies + Raw

I love baking. Its been a part of my life from when I was very young, baking gorgeous cakes with my great Polish Aunt (Ciocia) and seeing peoples faces light up when they savoured her food.

The recipes in this book are designed for pleasure, as well as to nourish the body and soul. To be honest, I dont have much of a sweet tooth so all my recipes are low in sugar, allowing the natural flavours and organic essence of all the wholefoods I use to shine through.

Healthy Baking Cakes, Cookies + Raw is the most comprehensive healthy baking and dessert book Ive ever written. Its all about going back to basics, keeping things simple and using quality ingredients that are good for health and wellbeing.

The ingredients are made from pure honest wholefoods, much like what Ciocia used to do. Ive always been inspired by her simple, fuss free approach to cooking, and I aim to carry on her tradition for wholefood cooking that tastes truly amazing.

Baking, however, wasnt always a fairytale romance. I recall many occasions where I would be experimenting in mums kitchen while she was at work and making such a mess. In those early days, I never really followed recipes or measurements, I just estimated quantities of ingredients like Ciocia did sometimes it worked and sometimes it was a disaster! At the end of the day, those disasters made me a better chef.

During my apprenticeship in 5 star hotels, I was fortunate to work with some extremely talented pastry chefs. What I loved was that everything was made from scratch - the puff pastry and shortcrust, the brioche, cakes and desserts were all made with skilful hands. We used real milk from the dairy farm, free-range eggs and the best quality ingredients to create the most amazing masterpieces.

I learnt very early on during my training that baking and creating desserts needed precise measurements and weighing of ingredients. Its a chemistry that combines fats, flours, liquids and sugars to make works of art.

When I started my Healthy Caf, The Healthy Chef, healthy baking was the heart and soul of the caf. People would gather, socialise and enjoy wholesome and nourishing food. In order to bake you need to be happy, in a good place mentally and physically. The good energy you give out will flow into the food you make, creating happiness and enjoyment for others. Listening to French music while baking helps me with this. It has a beauty and sophistication that I love, helping me focus while Im in my element.

I really hope you enjoy this book. Ive shared many of my secret recipes because I want you all to enjoy the essence of baking your own delicious food at home. Cook with your kids, pass on the tradition of cooking wholefoods from scratch, and your body, and those around you, will thank you for it.

From deliciously wholesome breads to delectable desserts, stocking your kitchen with the right equipment will help you produce the best results for your baking treats.

+ HIGH-SPEED BLENDER - A quality high-speed blender is essential in any kitchen. Its great for making nut milks, nut paste, ice-creams and raw desserts.

+ STAND MIXER - If you want your cake layers light and airy and your frosting silky and smooth, a heavy-duty stand mixer will beat your batter into perfection.

+ ROLLING PIN - For foolproof pie dough or perfect gingerbread men, you need a good old-fashioned wooden rolling pin. I like to roll my dough between two sheets of baking paper for a really smooth and even dough.

+ FINE STRAINER/NUT MILK BAG - To make your homemade nut and seed milks silky smooth, use a fine mesh strainer or a nut milk bag for straining. Nut milk bags can be made from materials such as nylon or cotton. Wash and dry after each use.

+ GRATER - Graters are best to use when youre making vegetable style cakes such as carrot cake, zucchini bread or beetroot cake. Dont grate them too fine a wholesome and rustic coarse grate is best.

+ MICROPLANE - These wonders create a very fine and soft zest from citrus fruits. I prefer a flat stainless steel blade, as theyre incredibly sharp and produce the most amazing aroma.

+ GLASS STORAGE JARS - Glass jars, such as mason jars, are great for storing, preserving and serving delectable desserts and treats.

+ SPATULA - A spatula is my most prized possession when spreading icing on a cake. It offers a beautiful smooth finish and works well with any cream cheese, Greek style yoghurt or coconut yoghurt type of frosting.

+ KNIVES - Its important to invest in a set of good quality steel knives as they should last you a lifetime and are an absolute kitchen staple. So far Ive had mine for more than 20 years, since the start of my chef apprenticeship.

+ MEASURING CUPS, SPOONS AND SCALES - Baking uses exact measurements so its important you have a good selection of measuring cups and spoons as well as digital scales for accuracy.

+ WOODEN SPOON - I love using wooden spoons as theyre strong, have a high heat tolerance and wont scratch your cookware.

+ BAKING TINS - My most used baking tins are loaf-baking tins, muffin tins and round cake tins. I normally line my baked goods with baking paper so its easy to remove them afterwards.

+ BAKING TRAYS - I use a flat baking tray for baked goods that are perfect for cookies.

+ OVEN - I use a fan-forced oven for most of my recipes, which is why my temperatures are mostly 160C. If you have a conventional oven with no fan, turn up the heat to 180C.

+ BAKING PAPER - Baking paper or greaseproof paper not only keeps your baked goods from sticking to their baking tin, but they make transporting baked goods to counters or platters a breeze.

+ COOLING RACK - While it can be tempting to eat a loaf of bread or muffin straight from the oven, a cooling rack creates a perfect place to cool down your baked goods evenly and quickly. Over-baking can occur when you leave your baked goods in the pan because of the residual heat.

+ WIRE WHISK - I love using my stainless steel balloon whisk, which is made from a series of flexible wires. Theyre great for vigorously whisking air into eggs or making the perfect yoghurt frosting.