I made this for my moms birthday this past weekend. Turned out very yummy. and its def a one serving dessert. The top photo is the middle of the two layers. The bottom photo is the finished cake. Not bad for not making a cake in 5 years....

Lemon Raspberry Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 cup cake flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 quinoa flour

1/3 amaranth flour

1/3 cup wheat germ

1/3 Textured Vegetarian Protein

1/3 wheat gluten

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 ¼ cup sour cream, non fat

2tsp lemon zest

1 ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (1.5-2 lemons)

1 tbsp vanilla extract

½ cup safflower oil

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

1 ¾ cup granulated sugar

7.5 tsp vegetarian egg replacer (equals 5 large eggs)

Red food coloring*

Filling:

1 ¼ cup fresh (or frozen) raspberries, plus extras for decoration

2 tbsp cornstarch

Filtered or boiled water

Icing: (2 cups)

3 tbsp milk, rice milk, or soy milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tsp lemon juice

1 ½ tsp lemon zest

1 cup butter

1 ½ cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Cake:

Position the oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350˚F. Lightly coat two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper and dust with flour.

Sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla and set aside.

Beat, on high, the safflower oil and the butter with an electric mixer until well combined and smooth. Lower the speed and gradually add the sugar in 2-3 additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition.

Continue to beat until fluffy and light colored. Scrape down the sides and beat in the lemon zest.

Prepare the egg replacer according to package directions. Add in 5 equal additions, beating during each addition and scraping down the bowl in between.

On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with 2 additions of the sour cream mixture, allow full incorporation of the ingredients before the next addition. Scrape bowl down as needed.

Mix on low for an additional 15 seconds after the last addition.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Lightly tap the pans on the counter to remove air bubbles.

Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Turn out on to the cooling rack and cool completely.

Filling:

Wash the fresh raspberries and place in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Place berries in a saucepan and heat until boiling, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with a small amount of water. Add to the berries and cook 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Icing:

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and zest.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and mix on low until incorporated. Raise the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the milk mixture in 3 batches, waiting for each batch to be fully incorporated before adding the next (scrape the bowl down occasionally). Raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy.

To finish:

Place one cake on a plate. Spread with filling in a smooth and even layer.

Place the second cake on top. Spread icing starting with the sides, followed by the top, in an even layer. Use the extra raspberries to garnish the top and sides of the cake or as desired.

Miller Blueberry Scones

Heres what I made for breakfast this morning. I used vegetarian egg replacer instead of eggs, because I can't keep eggs, I just don't use them that much. I also used sour cream, but if you have plain yogurt, you can use that instead. They are pretty much interchangeable in recipes, but remember that sour cream is well just that sour cream and can contain a lot of fat so opt for the lighter versions. I have only been able to find one variety of fat free sour cream worth eating. Dried blueberries have a higher nutritional value then the fresh variety. Quite a few fruits are like that, so be sure to use the dried in this version. You can add 1 tbsp of water if you like to make them plump up before using them.

Millet Blueberry Scones

Ingredients:

½ cup white flour

½ cup whole wheat

1 cup millet flour

2 tbsp rolled oats

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

3 tbsp sugar

¼ cup safflower oil

¼ applesauce

4 eggs or egg replacer

¼ cup sour cream (or yogurt)

¾ cup dried blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly.

Whisk the oil, eggs, oil, applesauce, and sour cream in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth and all incorporated.

Add the oil mixture to the dry and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated. Dust hands with flour and knead lightly to make the dough form a 6-8 inch circle.

Lightly spray cooking spray on a cookie sheet and transfer the dough to the sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges.

Bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Apple Smoothie

Ok this smoothie kinda reminds me of fall, but its yummy and if your not used to these flavors, may take a second cup to get used too it. Eating healthy sometimes is an acquired taste....

Apple Smoothie
2 apples, chopped
2 pears, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger
6 ounces Sprite/7-Up/other citrus flavored drink
1/2-1 cup ice (as needed)

Put everything in a blender and pulse until smooth.

Chocolate Mini Brownies

I'm not a HUGE fan of brownies or desserts in general, so to see a dessert recipe here is going to be a rare occurrence and chances are its b/c I made it as a gift. These are an exception b/c I wanted chocolate which is insanely rare for me. So this recipe represents how I eat dessert: in little amounts. I also have been know to eat these with peanut butter for breakfast.....

Chocolate Mini Brownies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup millet flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp coffee, room temp (optional)
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300F
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together to blend.
3. Using a mixer, add eggs, coffee, and vanilla and beat until mixed.
4. Spray a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray and fill 2/3 full.
5. Bake at 300F for 10-15 minutes until crispy on top. Let stand in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack & cool. Eat warm or cool.

Amaranth, Millet, Wheat, & Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I had been hunting for amaranth flour for a while and finally found it and the first thing I wanted to make with it was PANCAKES! But when I try a new grain, I like to blend it in with other grains I know I like, so pancakes fit the bill. Millet has a natural sweet flavor so it helps cut back on the amount of sugar you need in the pancakes. Yay, less simple carbs! I'm not so into the "low carb" diet because it doesn't work, our bodies NEED carbohydrates its the choices we make that have the impact on our health. Foods high in simple carbs = BAD, foods high in COMPLEX carbs = good. Course the "nutritional facts" on the back of our food products don't list complex, they list fiber (also needed in higher amounts) and sugars (simple sugars). The total carb grams should always be much higher then the simple sugar grams. Consider this carb lecture #1. :) Enjoy the panacakes and use organic grains and ingredients where ever possible!!

Ingredients

1/4 cup white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup millet flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 tbsp Safflower oil
1/2 - 1 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
dash salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 Chocolate Chips per pancake

Directions
Mix all dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add the vanilla extract, water, and the safflower oil, mix together.
Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients.
Heat a medium to large pan over medium high heat. Make panacakes using a 1/4 cup at a time and adding 3-4 chocolate chips per pancake.
Makes 10.

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my blog! I was recruited by a friend (lokiskitchen.blogspot.com) to create a blog here. I'm slighty nuts (no pun intended) over different grains other then wheat and nutty about eating and staying healthy in general. I think she just wanted free recipes. ;P
Stay tuned as I post more and more of my yummy creations.