So when I stumbled across a fruit and bran-laden snacking cake at the Prepared Pantry, I knew it would be a great jumping off point for an even more healthful treat to share. The original was nowhere near guilt-trip city, but I definitely knew I could improve the stats on it by throwing in some extra whole grains, lowering the sugar (thanks to the Krisda stevia I received from winning Kristine Fretwel's giveaway) and added fat, nixing the cholesterol entirely and adding in some nutrition-laden sources of healthy, flavourful oil via ground and chopped nuts. I did stick to Lydia's suggestion of grating the apples - and I highly suggest it, since it really helps distribute the moisture and flavour through the batter (or dough, as it really turned out being) and makes for a truly tender crumb. The other suggestion I would make is to go absolutely no smaller than a 9" square pan - even with the 9" I used, it took my hands and a lot of spreading and pressing to keep it all in there! The end result was incredibly rewarding, in every sense of the word - and it was amazing to get back into the baking kitchen again after massively throwing out my shoulder a few weeks ago (it's still a little sore and stiff, but it's cake - you can't argue with the need to bake cake!). One thing's for sure - if you make this cake, you will never feel "stagnant" (you know what I mean!) again.
Apple - Nut Bran Cake
Serves 16, 1 9”-square cake
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
¼ cup hot low-fat, plain soy milk
1 tbsp ener-G egg replacer
1/3 cup cold low-fat, plain soy milk
½ cup graham flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
½ cup flour
¼ cup ground almonds
¼ cup ground walnuts
1/3 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
½ tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ginger
1/3 cup vegan margarine (I used Smart Balance Light with Flax), softened
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
12 packets Krisda stevia (or ½ tsp stevia extract powder)
1 tsp maple extract
4 large, coarsely-grated apples
4 cups “twig-style” bran cereal
¼ cup chopped walnuts
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9” square pan (don’t try this with anything smaller than 9”!).
- In a small dish, whisk together flaxseed and hot soymilk. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- In another small dish, whisk together egg replacer powder and cold soymilk.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flours, ground nuts, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
- In a large bowl, cream the margarine, sugars and stevia.
- Add extract, flax and egg replacer mixtures, beating well.
- Stir in the flour mixture, followed by the apples, cereal and walnuts.
- Scrape into the pan, using your hands to smooth the top and lightly press down the mixture.
- Bake for 45 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack before unmoulding and cutting.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 369.1
Total Fat: 11.6 g Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 173.0 mg
Total Carbs: 71.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 15.5 g
Protein: 8.4 g
No comments :
Post a Comment
Thanks for the feedback!