guilt free carrot cake bites

I had a undeniable craving for carrot cake but as if I was about to bake up a double layer cake with rich cream cheese frosting and pretend to "give most of it away". The real story would be that I would have baked a cake, my husband would have had a sliver of it, and then for 5 or 6 consecutive days after (for breakfast and dinner), I would likely pick at it until very little was left, and then I would have put it in the garbage, disgusted in myself. Many would admit to retrieving cake out of the garbage but that's just going too far (even for me). So, I decided to bake up these little guilt free carrot cake bites which are just...scrumptious. They smell and taste like carrot cake without the guilt and you could totally make a little glaze to pour on top of them if you're absolutely nuts.

I adapted from this recipe by one of my favourite healthy blogs (not for the indulgent): Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies. The only change I made was to use spelt flour for the whole wheat and it worked totally great. You can smell the maple syrup and coconut oil as the cookie balls are baking - enjoy!

d'you want smore?

Inviting friends over for dinner is basically telling myself it's okay to bake a really out of this world cupcake. No diet, no low fat, no chia seeds, just a heaping cup of dough, creamy icing and topping of choice. This weekend was no exception. I dreamt up this cupcake about a year ago and have made it a few times - every time I try my first bite, I wonder why I don't make them more often.....then I put on jeans, and then I remember why. Doh.

This is a delicious winter smores cupcake which is totally perfect to end any meal. My favourite chocolate cupcake recipe which isn't too sweet at all, but moist and spongy. I top it with my favourite buttercream frosting which I have mixed with graham cracker crumbs. Finally, I toast some big marshmallows (don't try this with the small ones...nightmare) under the broiler or with a kitchen torch and press them into the icing. And there you have it, a campfire worthy smore cupcake.

Chocolate Cupcake (i've used this recipe for cake too which is great)

makes 12 cupcakes

4 T unsalted butter

1/4 C vegetable oil

1/2 C water

1 C all purpose flour

1 C granulated sugar

1/4 C plus 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 t baking soda

1/8 t salt

1 large egg

1/4 cup buttermilk (or you can substitute regular milk with 1 t lemon juice in it - let stand 5 mins)

1 t pure vanilla extract

preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the vegetable oil over low heat. In a large bowl, sift the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt. Add the melted butter mixture and beat with a handheld mixer at low speed until smooth. Add the egg and beat until incorporated, then add the buttermilk and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour the batter into the muffin tins, filling about 3/4 full. Bake until springy and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean about 20 - 25 mins. Do not overbake! Transfer to a rack and cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream with a graham surprise!

makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

6 T unsalted butter, softened

2 C icing sugar, sifted

1/2 t pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2 T milk or heavy cream

1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (or chocolate oreo crumbs if you prefer!)

in a medium bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar, vanilla extract and salt and beat the mixture at low speed just until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until smooth. Add the milk or cream and beat until light and fluffy (important!) about 2 full minutes. The frosting will change to a more white colour and be easier to spread.

Top with 3 or 4 large marshmallows that have been broiled (watch them closely!) in the oven or by kitchen torch. Enjoy as much as a cottage campfire!

Ultimate Granola for '11

I know, i've been M.I.A. I assure you though, I'm alive and kicking. I am totally holiday-ed out. No more lindt chocolates, no more cookies in shapes of...whatever and please no more holiday music in the mall!

I am back fresh with a killer quinoa granola recipe. I cannot take credit for locating this delicious piece of scrumptiousness - my good friend Talia stumbled across this and made it last week and I just had to whip up my own batch.

Did she say quinoa in granola? Sure did. I was feeling even more wild this week after I whipped up a batch of this granola that I made some greek yogurt to have with it. Very easily, I put regular plain 2% yogurt in a paper coffee filter and sat it on top of a bowl. Almost immediately about 1/4 cup of water drained from it and after about an hour, the yogurt was delicious and thick. I enjoyed it with my granola and a few dark chocolate chips on top. Practically Guiltless!

It made a big batch which I assumed would last about 6 years but unfortunately it's only lasted a few days. Doh.

Here is the granola recipe which was adapted from the cookbook: Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood

Ultimate Granola

2.5 cups oats (I used Old Fashioned but you could use Quick Oats)

3/4 cup whole unsalted almonds

1/2 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sesame seeds (I found brown ones! Eureka!)

1/3 quinoa uncooked (yes, uncooked)

1/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup walnut pieces

1 cup maple syrup (I cut this down to ½ Cup and it still tasted sweet)

1 t vanilla extract

2 t cinnamon

1/3 cup dried cranberries (I used a mixture of dried cranberries & dried cherries – my favourite)

1/3 chopped dried apples

 Measure the oats, almonds,  pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, quinoa, coconut and walnuts in a large bowl.  Mix well.

 Combine the maple syrup and vanilla in other bowl.  Add the syrup mixture to the oat mixture and stir. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the mixture and blend well.

 Spread on a baking sheet (I did mine on 2 baking sheets) and bake at 225 degrees for an hour.

 Remove and toss in dried cranberries/cherries and dried apples.