Smart Cakes
Healthy and Delicious
Light and Veg Recipes
60+ Recipes
Claudia Boni
nemos
Series Health & Well-being
First edition november 2020
2019 nemos idee editoriali
All rights reserved
Cover and graphics: 22puntoZero
Photo credits: Shutterstock
Editorial coordination: Daniela Cisi
www.anemos-idee-editoriali.it
FB page:
Anemos.idee.editoriali
Smartcakes.dolci.amici
Disclaimer
All information about ingredients and nutritional facts presented within this book are provided for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other health-care professional.
SOMMARIO
Pastry Cream and Custards
Puddings and Creamy Desserts
Sorbets
Basic Doughs
Tarts
Pies
Introduction
Light and veg all-natural cakes.
Discover how to replace refined sugar, butter, eggs, milk and dairy with plant-based alternatives in traditional recipes without altering their taste and texture, thus transforming any kind of soft dessert or sweet preparation into healthy, tasty, light and veg delights.
Custards, puddings, creamy desserts, soft and fragrant tarts and pies, cookies, muffins, mousses, truffles and pralines, snacks and breakfasts: in this volume you will find a complete set of more than 60 recipes, covering the most popular cake and dessert types, clearly divided into chapters and with plenty of baking/cooking hints and tips, as well as any further suggestion you may need to adapt each recipe to your taste and needs.
The aim is to let you get familiar with natural ingredients in practice, learning how to mix them together and give rise to an almost infinite number of personal variations.
The book is specifically suitable for those who want to experience a new, healthy and tasty, way of cooking.
It is also useful for those who, due to allergies, intolerances or particular diseases, are always looking for recipes that are egg, sugar, butter or milk free.
NOTES TO THE PRESENT EDITION:
Ingredients are provided in both US and metric measures, to allow readers from any country to follow their preferred method: cups, tablespoons and teaspoons for those living in the US, UK, India or any country still used to the imperial system; grams/liters/milliliters and the like for those living elsewhere and/or more familiar with the European standards.
Strictly vegan recipes are marked as (VEG), while simply healthy and natural recipes (which may contain in some percentage eggs, dairy products or honey) are marked as (LIGHT).
To facilitate those who are affected by allergies or intolerances, milk, butter, dairy and eggs, where present, are marked in bold, together with honey, which is not used by vegans.
Celiacs should replace wheat, malt, rye and wheat with gluten free alternatives.
All ingredients are intended to be organic and, either bought in small organic food stores or big malls, they should be pesticide-free, chemicals-free and as much as possible not refined and overly processed.
Yeast is replaced with organic powder, or a mixture of cream of tartar and baking soda. As far as organic powder is concerned, when sachets are mentioned they are intended to be sachets or envelops of 16/18g-0,6oz each.
Stevia, when present, refers to any of the various stevia-based, powdered, sweetening blend nowadays in commerce, usually a mixture of stevia and erythritol since pure organic stevia is rare to be found. In case, convert the provided quantities dividing them by 100 (e.g.: 40g of commercial stevia-based blend equals to 0,4g pure stevia).
JUST TO START WITH:
THE BASICS
Here is a brief summary of the overall principles according to which this cookbook is conceived, and each recipe realized:
FLOUR
Pastry flour (AKA flour type 00 in Italy, 45 in France, 450 in Germany) is replaced with all-purpose flour (flour type 0 in Italy, 55 in France, 550 in Germany), the former being the most refined in commerce, and thus the most deprived in fibers, while the second, less refined, is yet more rich in vital enzymes and nutritional elements.
Replacing pastry flour with all-purpose flour is the first move to adapt our taste to more natural preparations and gradually step back to whole wheat and first clear flour (AKA: type 2, 110, 1050).
For this same purpose, here and there, you will also find recipes in which all-purpose flour is mixed with other different and less refined types, such as spelt, buckwheat or oat flour.
If trying yourself to vary flour type in a recipe, consider that the less refined the flour, the more liquid you need to add to the recipe, since whole wheat tend to absorb less and it is much slower in retaining moisture. Indeed, you may also consider to add a bit of starch.
As a general rule, to respect the correct proportions between liquid and dry elements, use 20% less wholemeal flour than white flour (or use a mixture of all-purpose and wholemeal flour at equal doses).
As an healthy practice, always prefer organic stone-ground flour whenever possible, and alternate different flour types instead of always using the same one. Also consider that spelt flour, rice flour, buckwheat, oat, kamut or corn flour are all excellent choice to be used in cakes and cookies. If needed, add 1/3 cornstarch to the dough to make it lighter and smooth.
SUGAR White sugar may be replaced with brown raw cane sugar, different types of malt (e.g. barley, rice and spelt malt), maple syrup, clear fruit juice (apples, pears, grapes), dried or fresh fruits, natural jellies, stevia or amasake, trying again to vary as much as possible.
BUTTER Butter is usually replaced with cold-pressed corn or sunflower seed oil, but good alternatives are also almond, hazelnut or sesame paste as well as avocado pulp. Avocado pulp nevertheless may be used only in mousses or no bake cakes and desserts, since its taste deteriorates with the heat. Ghee is an additional healthy alternative, even though not suitable for vegans.
COCOA Cocoa powder may be replaced with carob flour if intolerant to it.
YEAST Chemical yeast may be replaced with organic baking powder (usually a mixture or cream of tartar and baking soda). In case of pure cream of tartar, mix it with the same amount of baking soda before using. Baking powder is usually available in sachets or envelopes of 16/18g-0,6oz each. Note that, unlike yeast, baking powder does not require additional rise time.
EGGS If a recipe calls for no more than 1-2 eggs, you can simply try to avoid them, replacing each egg with 1 or 2 tablespoons of warm water to balance the wet ingredients. As an alternative, you may use 2 tablespoons water plus 1 tablespoon of potato (or corn) starch for each egg. If the eggs are more than 3 and have a leavening function, add also the tip of a tablespoon of baking soda and the same amount of cream of tartar for each egg. Or tablespoon baking soda and tablespoon apple cider vinegar (this latter option is great if chocolate cakes are the case).
MILK Milk, cream, yogurt and dairy can be easily replaced with soy or rice equivalents, as well as other plants-based or cereal substitutes.
SALT Do not forget to add a pinch of salt to every preparation. Its main function is to enhance flavors and aromas. Just be aware to add it after having mixed baking powder to all other ingredients, because salt, in contact with baking powder, blocks the leavening process.
