"Healthier" Cakes

OK so cake isn't exactly high up on the nutrition stats, but I am someone who likes treats! And I thought I'd try out some recipes of healthier versions of cake to see if they still taste good...

Beetroot Brownies
I've decided this is the only way I will eat beetroot from now on. Joking! But seriously, I am not a fan of beetroot and I really love this recipe. I've tried it three times now. The first time, I didn't grate the beetroot. That was a mistake! So don't be tempted to skip the grating. It's not a massively healthy recipe (it was originally in Sainsburys magazine), but I replaced the butter with vegetable oil to lower the amount of saturated fat, and the beetroot's got to be one of your 5-a-day right?
Ingredients
150ml vegetable oil
200g dark chocolate
3 eggs
225g dark brown sugar (like molasses style)
2 tsp vanilla extract
50g plain flour
50g self raising flour
100g grated cooked beetroot (from the vacuum packed stuff but not in vinegar)

Method
Preheat oven to 190 degrees.
Break the chocolate into squares and melt it down in the microwave in a large bowl, taking out to stir frequently.
Pour in the oil then add the three eggs and beat together.
Add in the vanilla extract and the sugar. Beat and mix together.
Fold in the flour (I used half self-raising because I found it tended to sink in the middle otherwise).
Stir in the grated beetroot, transfer to a baking tin, and bake for approx 35 minutes. A skewer should come out with moist crumbs on after this time. Leave the brownies to cool in the tin.

Dairy free Chocolate Cake

From the Co-operative Food magazine
It says dairy-free but it does still use eggs!

Ingredients
200g light soft brown sugar
150ml olive oil
3 eggs
50g cocoa powder
200g self-raising flour
100ml unsweetened soya milk, warmed
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method
Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
Beat the sugar and oil then gradually add the eggs with a little of the cocoa powder.
Fold in the remaining cocoa powder and half of the flour.
Mix the soya milk and bicarb together in a jug, then pour in. Fold in the rest of the flour.
Pour into a round tin and bake for 40-50 mins.

Verdict: It doesn't taste too different from my normal chocolate cake, but I felt it went dry pretty quickly, after just a day. Perhaps would need a chocolate sauce with it. The recipe had a chocolate icing element which I didn't do, for the sake of trying to be a bit healthier, but it does mean you perhaps need a squirt of cream or creme fraiche when serving.

Banana and almond cake

From Sainsburys magazine, with some adaptations
No sugar (except natural sugars) or wheat (though I did use some flour)

Ingredients
75g melted butter (I used soya milk, just because I wanted to use more of the ingredient up as I bought it for the other cake!)
4 mashed up bananas
4 large eggs
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
200g ground almonds (I only had 150g, so I used plain flour to make up the rest)
1 tsp cinammon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the icing:
100g soft cheese
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
A dash of lemon juice

Method
So you may well say I've already butchered up this recipe by using soya milk. Well when it comes to the method the magazine said to blend everything in a food processor and I thought 'no way!' So whether this cake actually resembles anything like its original version is up to you to decide!
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Mix the mashed up bananas with the melted butter / soya milk and the eggs. Add the syrup and the dry ingredients.
Pour into a cake tin -don't use a springform or loose-bottomed one.
Bake for 45-55 mins until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool completely before icing.

Verdict: The cake works, which is perhaps impressive given the lack of ordinary ingredients like flour and sugar and butter (if using soya milk like me!). But it is definitely more on the pudding consistency than cake - a bit moist for me. It tastes good, the banana isn't too strong. Nice subtle flavour.

Chocolate fridge cake

Ingredients
250g biscuits
100g butter
150g dark chocolate (pref 70% cocoa solids)
4 tbsp golden syrup
100g mixed dried fruit
50g rice krispies

Method
Place the biscuits (I used shortbread but digestives work well) in a sandwich bag, seal, then use a rolling pin to crush them. I usually keep some chunks in there so it's only 50% fine crumbs. Pour out into the cake tin. Add the dried fruit and the rice krispies.
Melt the butter, chocolate and syrup in a small pan, then pour over your biscuit mix inside the tin. Use a metal spoon to stir it in thoroughly and give an even coat.
Place in the fridge to set (probably takes about an hour).

Double chocolate muffins

Preheat oven to 190.
Sift 375g self raising flour, 25g cocoa powder and 1 tsp baking powder into a large bowl. Mix in 100g choc chunks and 175g caster sugar.
Lightly whisk 2 large eggs, 175ml sunflower oil and 175ml milk in a large jug, then pour this in and mix briefly with a metal spoon.
Divide mixture in cake cases, bake for 25 mins, then leave to cool in the tray before removing.

Variation: use 400g flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder, no cocoa, and use white choc chunks and 100g raspberries.
OR use 375g flour and no cocoa, and use 2 mashed bananas and 100g mini fudge chunks
OR Use 250g plain flour, 25g cocoa powder and 4 tsp baking powder with 150g sugar, 175ml milk, 100ml olive oil and 75g choc chunks

Chocolate cake

Great as a birthday cake! Use a loaf tin or a round cake tin.

Stir 75g cocoa powder with 275ml boiling water until smooth.
Cream 115g butter and 275g sugar.
Beat in 3 eggs.
Stir in 220g plain flour, 1/2 tsp bicarb soda and 1/2 tsp baking powder.
Add cocoa mixture and stir well.
Bake at 180 for 40 mins. Cover with foil and bake for a further 20-25mins.
Cool in tin 10 mins before turning out.

Variation- I had some lovely Hotel Chocolat hot chocolate flakes which were flavoured with orange and spice, so I used 35g cocoa powder and 35g of the hot chocolate flakes. Gave a really good edge!

You can decorate this cake in a number of ways- try melting a bar of chocolate, adding some icing sugar, then pouring it over and garnishing with white chocolate buttons or maltesers. Or you could mix cocoa powder with icing sugar and butter to make a tasty buttercream to spread over the top. In the pictured cake, I made a small amount of icing with a tsp of cocoa powder, spread it over the top of the cake, then pressed in some chocolate buttons. Keep it in the fridge if you think it will last for a few days. It's lovely heated in the microwave and served with vanilla ice cream or custard.

NB Try to mix in the bicarb of soda really well, otherwise you get pockets of white which taste really salty!

Chocca Mocca Cake

This is a long-standing favourite of mine, but I have no idea where I originally found this recipe! The version pictured is my birthday-cake version, which is just decorated with icing sugar made up with cocoa powder and water to give it a chocolate flavour, and chocolate buttons.
Cream 175g butter and 175g brown sugar (unrefined if poss; I used molasses here as it gives such a lovely dark colour and rich flavour).
Beat in 2 eggs, 2 tbsp golden syrup, and 4 tbsp milk.
Make a paste in a mug of 2 tsp coffee and 2 tbsp cocoa with just enough hot water to mix it thoroughly (between 2-4 tbsp). Add this to the bowl and mix in.
Fold in 200g self raising flour.
Bake at 160 degrees for around an hour. I like a round tin for this one.
Use the clean skewer test to see when it's done, and put foil on top if it starts crusting and burning.