My daughter is turning three this week. As any mother can attest, I just can’t understand where the time has gone. She’s smart, sassy, full of song, and has been waiting for her birthday for months. With no prompting she has provided constant reminders of her wish for birthday hats, balloons (one of each color), and a cake (with fire on top) for months. I was happy to finally oblige with all three this weekend.
The cake, of course, is the centerpiece of any birthday party. But I’m also that mom and sugar is a rare treat in our house – birthdays being a reasonable exception. Still, I didn’t want to overload her, myself, or our guests with a sugar bomb topped with more fat and sugar in the frosting. So, I shared my vision for a fresh, homemade, but easier-on-the-sugar cake with our assistant editor and resident baker extradordinaire, Dana.
This Strawberry Lemonade Cake was a hit! It was rich and dense like a restaurant or bakery cake, but felt clean, light, and perfectly sweet. That’s because we didn’t use any butter and went light on the sugar, but made up for it with honey and fresh strawberries.
Read Full Post >
For some, indulging in King Cake on Mardi Gras is well-worth the calories, particularly if sweets are something one is giving up for Lent. However, there are some creative ways to save on calories that are in keeping with the festive spirit of the holiday. Below are some ideas and lower-cal recipes to consider before you bake a cake with 250 to 500 calories per serving.
Calorie Saving Swaps
Former Biggest Loser contestant Heba Salama suggests having a healthier Fat Tuesday by making your King Cake with an angel food cake and frozen low-calorie whipped topping. “To make it a layered cake simply slice the cake in half, spread whipped topping down the middle, re-stack and keep cool until ready to serve,” she recommends. You can use food coloring to add the right colors without adding more sugar.
If King Cake just isn’t right to you without puff pastry and cream cheese, use these healthy swaps in any King Cake recipe. “You could replace nonfat Greek Yogurt for the sour cream and use four egg whites instead of the two eggs and use skim milk in the icing,” says Alison Lewis, cookbook author and president of Ingredients, Inc. “If a recipe calls for cream cheese, the light one-third less fat cream cheese is a great substitute.”
Read Full Post >
The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of wedding season as couples across the country take advantage of the warmer weather and higher likelihood of sunshine to tie the knot. While the onslaught of summer weddings might tickle your inner romantic, they can create a hefty dilemma for dieters. The food served at weddings is typically high in calories and fat – and that’s even before you consider the cake.
According to Frost Magazine, a piece of wedding cake can set you back approximately 650 calories – which certainly won’t help you snap into shape for the summer swimsuit season. If you’re attending a wedding as a guest it can be hard to say no to cake on someone’s special day. If you’re the bride or the groom, choosing the cake can be no easy feat: you want one that looks gorgeous, fits your wedding theme and tastes delicious. The quest for the perfect cake can be even more difficult when you want to find something figure-friendly, too.
Luckily, some clever couples have moved away from traditional wedding cake and are choosing to serve figure-friendlier desserts that will still satisfy the sweetest sweet tooth.
Read Full Post >
It seems the whole world is anxiously waiting for the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. If you are one of the many planning a royal wedding watch party for your friends and family to witness the sure to be beautiful ceremony, make sure you have everything you need to throw the perfect royal wedding bash.
Thankfully, we have compiled a list of all the ingredients for a perfect royal wedding watch party that might get you talked about more than the wedding itself.
First off: the food. You can’t celebrate a royal English wedding without traditional English food. Check out our delicious list of Healthier Royal Wedding Watch Party Recipes for main dishes, side dishes and desserts that make you feel like you hopped the pond- without breaking your calorie bank.
Read Full Post >
Royal Chef Darren McGrady
Princess Diana’s personal chef Darren McGrady has announced that he holds the key to Prince William’s Royal Wedding cake recipe. When many are speculating about the ingredients of Chocolate Biscuit Cake, McGrady offers the true recipe in his cookbook Eating Royally that’s published by Thomas Nelson.
“I was thrilled to learn that Prince William had chosen the Chocolate Biscuit Cake recipe from my book Eating Royally: Recipes and Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen, for his wedding cake because it is also his grandmother’s favorite cake,” says McGrady. “I used to prepare it for both of them when they had tea together. The Queen would request the cake in the menu book for Sunday tea when she knew her grandson William would be joining her from Eton.”
Read Full Post >
