Not naughty BUT NICE
I am sitting alone one Sunday morning doing nothing in particular, when an idea hits me: what if I could create a book of recipes that were lighter in fat, sugar and calories but that tasted just as good as the naughty ones? Sounds easy, I think to myself.
After hearing my idea, a friend responds with, ‘Why would anyone not want that… but can you really do it?’ At that time I didn’t know what a mammoth task I had set myself. Then again, I own an unashamedly indulgent cupcake shop in Covent Garden and we already do our best to reduce the fat and sugar in cakes, constantly making them more healthy, while retaining the flavours people love. These cakes were sources of inspiration as I embarked on developing these lighter bakes.
Lorraine Pascale’s A Lighter Way To Bake, with photography by Myles New, is published by HarperCollins, priced £20.
Makes 20 pinwheels
After splitting the mixture
Cream the butter and sugar, salt and vanilla seeds or extract together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and smoosh the mixture against the sides of the bowl to really mix it in and create a really soft dough, then split the mixture in half between two bowls. I like to weigh the whole amount and then divide it out evenly. Knead the cocoa powder through one dough piece and the extra flour through the other until well blended. Then, wrap the dough balls in cling film and put them in the fridge for a good 30 mins to 1 hour to firm up.
When you are ready to cook the pinwheels, preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
Once firm, roll each dough ball out on a piece of baking parchment to a 20cm x 12cm rectangle. The dough can be tricky to handle, as it can break up and become soft very easily, but just work slowly and carefully to get the right shape and size. I like to straighten and neaten the sides by tapping a ruler or palette knife against them. Once done, pop the chocolate rectangle directly on top of the plain one. The easiest thing to do is to pick it up on the baking parchment and flip it over on top of the plain rectangle before peeling the paper away.
Then, with the longest side facing you, roll the layers up together away from you, like a Swiss roll. Use the bottom sheet of baking parchment to help you lift and roll. Wrap the roll in the baking parchment and refrigerate once again for a good 30 mins or so until really firm.
Once set, use a sharp knife to cut the roll into 20 x 1cm-thick slices to reveal the swirl shape, and arrange them (lying down) on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins until just firm to the touch but starting to take on some colour.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool completely and firm up on the tray. I keep these in a little airtight jar for when I fancy a teeny bit of chocolate as a small, naughty snack.
Serves 8 as a starter or 4 as a main course
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
Lay the four sheets of filo out on top of each other, cut the stack in half down the length, then divide it into quarters across the width. This will give you eight stacks of about 12cm squares. Fold an edge of about 1cm wide inwards all the way around each of the stacks to create a small border. Arrange each one on the baking sheet, and then spritz with a little oil and bake in the oven for 20 mins until crisp and golden brown.
Spritz a little spray oil into a large frying pan over a medium heat and gently fry the onions for about 6 mins or until they are just going soft and a little golden brown. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further minute, before adding the butter, garlic, rosemary and seasoning, stirring around to coat the mushrooms. Continue to cook for 8-10 mins until everything is really soft. Then turn the heat up to high, pour in the sherry and allow to bubble down for 2-3 mins. Be careful, as the sherry may flame up a bit, in which case the flames will go as soon as the alcohol burns off. Taste the mushroom mixture, season if you feel it needs more, and remove from the heat.
Remove the pastry squares from the oven once they are cool enough to handle and arrange on serving plates. Divide the mushroom mixture between each square, scatter the pine nuts and rocket over, and serve.
Makes 12 cakes
You will need
For the sponge
For the frosting
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 12 paper muffin cases.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl (or food mixer set with a beater) until well combined. Then beat in the eggs, egg white and Greek yogurt. The mixture will start to look a bit curdled, but keep on beating it for a moment or two, and then add the flour, baking powder and vanilla extract or seeds. Blend the coffee granules with 1 tbsp hot water and add to the mix. Stir everything together until it is all combined. Pouring the mixture into a jug or using two spoons (I like a mechanical ice-cream scoop), divide the mixture among the 12 cases.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean and the cakes feel springy to the touch. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tray.
Meanwhile, make the frosting. Mix together the crème fraîche, icing sugar and cream liqueur in a bowl, using as few stirs as possible. Cover and put in the fridge until ready to use.
Once the cupcakes are cool, slice the top off each cake and cut the pieces in half down the centre to give two ‘wings’. Put a dollop of the frosting on top of each cake, then stick the two wings into the frosting of each one, with the centre cut placed downwards and the underneath cut outwards. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
After hearing my idea, a friend responds with, ‘Why would anyone not want that… but can you really do it?’ At that time I didn’t know what a mammoth task I had set myself. Then again, I own an unashamedly indulgent cupcake shop in Covent Garden and we already do our best to reduce the fat and sugar in cakes, constantly making them more healthy, while retaining the flavours people love. These cakes were sources of inspiration as I embarked on developing these lighter bakes.
Lorraine Pascale’s A Lighter Way To Bake, with photography by Myles New, is published by HarperCollins, priced £20.
BITE-SIZED PINWHEEL SNACKS
Makes 20 pinwheels - 75g butter, softened
- 35g caster sugar
- pinch of salt
- seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g plain flour
After splitting the mixture
- 10g cocoa powder
- 10g plain flour
Cream the butter and sugar, salt and vanilla seeds or extract together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and smoosh the mixture against the sides of the bowl to really mix it in and create a really soft dough, then split the mixture in half between two bowls. I like to weigh the whole amount and then divide it out evenly. Knead the cocoa powder through one dough piece and the extra flour through the other until well blended. Then, wrap the dough balls in cling film and put them in the fridge for a good 30 mins to 1 hour to firm up.
When you are ready to cook the pinwheels, preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
Once firm, roll each dough ball out on a piece of baking parchment to a 20cm x 12cm rectangle. The dough can be tricky to handle, as it can break up and become soft very easily, but just work slowly and carefully to get the right shape and size. I like to straighten and neaten the sides by tapping a ruler or palette knife against them. Once done, pop the chocolate rectangle directly on top of the plain one. The easiest thing to do is to pick it up on the baking parchment and flip it over on top of the plain rectangle before peeling the paper away.
Then, with the longest side facing you, roll the layers up together away from you, like a Swiss roll. Use the bottom sheet of baking parchment to help you lift and roll. Wrap the roll in the baking parchment and refrigerate once again for a good 30 mins or so until really firm.
Once set, use a sharp knife to cut the roll into 20 x 1cm-thick slices to reveal the swirl shape, and arrange them (lying down) on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins until just firm to the touch but starting to take on some colour.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool completely and firm up on the tray. I keep these in a little airtight jar for when I fancy a teeny bit of chocolate as a small, naughty snack.
WILD MUSHROOM TART WITH SHERRY AND ONIONS
Serves 8 as a starter or 4 as a main course - 4 sheets of filo pastry
- spray oil
- 2 onions, finely sliced
- 200g chestnut mushrooms, halved or quartered
- 100g oyster mushrooms, sliced
- 100g mixed exotic or wild mushrooms, sliced, halved or quartered, depending on their size and shape
- 25g unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- leaves from 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
- 100ml sherry
- 50g pine nuts, toasted
- 50g wild rocket
- salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
Lay the four sheets of filo out on top of each other, cut the stack in half down the length, then divide it into quarters across the width. This will give you eight stacks of about 12cm squares. Fold an edge of about 1cm wide inwards all the way around each of the stacks to create a small border. Arrange each one on the baking sheet, and then spritz with a little oil and bake in the oven for 20 mins until crisp and golden brown.
Spritz a little spray oil into a large frying pan over a medium heat and gently fry the onions for about 6 mins or until they are just going soft and a little golden brown. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further minute, before adding the butter, garlic, rosemary and seasoning, stirring around to coat the mushrooms. Continue to cook for 8-10 mins until everything is really soft. Then turn the heat up to high, pour in the sherry and allow to bubble down for 2-3 mins. Be careful, as the sherry may flame up a bit, in which case the flames will go as soon as the alcohol burns off. Taste the mushroom mixture, season if you feel it needs more, and remove from the heat.
Remove the pastry squares from the oven once they are cool enough to handle and arrange on serving plates. Divide the mushroom mixture between each square, scatter the pine nuts and rocket over, and serve.
SKINNY CAFFE LATTE BUTTERFLY CAKES
Makes 12 cakes You will need
- 12-hole muffin tin, muffin cases, food mixer fitted with the beater attachment or a large bowl
For the sponge
- 75g unsalted butter, softened
- 100g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg white
- 2 tbsp low-fat Greek yogurt
- 150g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp instant coffee granules
- icing sugar, for dusting
For the frosting
- 200g low-fat crème fraîche
- 50g icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tbsp Baileys Irish cream liqueur
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 12 paper muffin cases.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl (or food mixer set with a beater) until well combined. Then beat in the eggs, egg white and Greek yogurt. The mixture will start to look a bit curdled, but keep on beating it for a moment or two, and then add the flour, baking powder and vanilla extract or seeds. Blend the coffee granules with 1 tbsp hot water and add to the mix. Stir everything together until it is all combined. Pouring the mixture into a jug or using two spoons (I like a mechanical ice-cream scoop), divide the mixture among the 12 cases.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean and the cakes feel springy to the touch. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tray.
Meanwhile, make the frosting. Mix together the crème fraîche, icing sugar and cream liqueur in a bowl, using as few stirs as possible. Cover and put in the fridge until ready to use.
Once the cupcakes are cool, slice the top off each cake and cut the pieces in half down the centre to give two ‘wings’. Put a dollop of the frosting on top of each cake, then stick the two wings into the frosting of each one, with the centre cut placed downwards and the underneath cut outwards. Dust with icing sugar and serve.