Mia Bakes: Healthy Date Muffins

 Hey lovely readers, it has been a while since my last post! Been bogged down by work and also overseeing renovation works of my new BTO. Hopefully there will be more baking (& cooking?!) recipes up here once I've settled down into my new house!

Anyway, here's a super quick and easy recipe for a healthy, dates muffin! Well, initially I wanted to make some sticky date pudding because there's 3 boxes of deglet noor dates in the house. But after preparing the "cake" portion, I got lazy to follow up with the caramel sauce and so.... a healthy date muffin it shall be! 

So let's get over with the ingredients, so we can get started!

To get 12 muffins, you'll need:

250g pitted dates

1 tsp baking soda

250ml boiling water

40g unsalted butter

40g unsweeten applesauce

185g plain flour

30g brown sugar

30g white sugar (I used stevia)

2 eggs

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

60g pumpkin seeds + roughly chopped walnuts

(or whatever seeds/nuts you fancy)

*60g of sugar makes a rather mild-tasting (not sweet AT ALL) muffin, do add more sugar if a sweeter tasting muffin is desired

In a clean bowl, add in your pitted (and roughly chopped) dates, baking soda and boiling water. Leave to soak for 20 to 30 minutes, until it has cooled down. 

In another bowl, add your butter, sugar and applesauce. Whisk until well combined. Crack in the eggs, one at a time, whisking until each egg is well combined before adding the next. Then, fold in the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder) with a spatula until there's only a few stray pockets of flour left before folding in the dates mixture. Fold until nearly combined before folding in the pumpkin seeds until just combined; do not overmix! 

Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups and bake in the oven that's pre-heated to 180 degrees Celsius for around 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

As mentioned earlier, these muffins are not-sweet-at-all (in spite of all those dates) with a bouncy, chewy texture, and make quite a decent (healthy) breakfast muffin! 

I've actually eaten mine with some peanut butter for breakfast, YUMS!

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Mia Bakes: Healthy Cinnamon Roll Loaf Cake

 Craving for some warm, sweet, soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls, but not keen on all the time needed for kneading and dough proofing? 

How about getting one in the form of a fuss-free quickbread / loaf cake? 

And what if I'm telling you that it's a healthy, low calorie, reduced sugar one? 

So let's get over with the ingredients (for 1 standard loaf pan of 10 - 12 slices) to get started!

For the cake

250g plain yogurt 

(not greek, but not too watery)

205g plain flour

45g oat fibre 

(or replace with more flour)

80g baking stevia blend

60g vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

a pinch of salt

recipe adapted from theclevermeal

For the filling/swirl

120g applesauce

(I used homemade, but you can get store-bought)

65g brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 mixed spice (optional)

First up, make sure that your ingredients (especially yogurt and eggs) aren't too cold, if not the batter might form curds while you mix. Well, not that it's the end of the world anyway, you can still mix in the flour and bake it off, though.

In a clean bowl, add in your applesauce, brown sugar, cinnamon and mixed spice and stir to combine. Then, set this aside. 

Next, in a large clean bowl, crack in your eggs and add in the sugar, whisking until the sugar granules has dissolved. Then, add in the oil and whisk until the oil is fully incorporated before adding in the (not too cold) yogurt, vanilla and almond extracts. There may be a little curdling (especially if your yogurt is too cold) but no worries, just add in the rest of the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until everything is just combined. 

Line your loaf pan with parchment paper or spray it down with some non-stick cooking spray. Then, pour in half of the batter and level it out with your spatula. Get your bowl of applesauce-sugar mixture and spoon half (or slightly more than half) of the mixture over the top of the cake batter. Spread them out as evenly as you can. Then, pour the remaining cake batter over the top and level our the surface again with your spatula. Then, drop dollops of the remaining applesauce-sugar mixture over the surface, before swirling the dollops all over the cake to give it a marbled look. You can do so by simply sticking a butter knife right down the centre of the loaf pan and just swirling it around randomly. 

Then, bake at 160 degrees Celsius (fan setting) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

 

Allow the cake to cool off slightly in the pan before taking it out of the pan and letting it cool completely on a wire rack. 

As you can see, due to high yogurt content, this cake is ridiculously moist (hovering at the brink of being mushy, actually) and soft. I know the slices looked gummy, as if they've not risen properly, but that's actually because my knife has smoothen out the moist crumbs with my slicing motion.

Yes, it's THAT moist. 

Flavour wise, if you're a fan of cinnamon rolls or apple pies, then this is your jam! 

While the yogurt has made the cake extremely tender and moist, the applesauce-sugar filling has packed the cake with a strong punch of the tart applesauce (since I've made my own, I added some sliced of lemon to make my applesauce tart), with a lovely brown sugar and cinnamon sweetness. 

Best of all, due to the reduced sugar and reduced oil recipe, 1 decent slice of the cake is only barely 170 kcals, and packs a decent amount of protein and fibre! 

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Mia Bakes: Cottage Cheese Torte (Low Calorie Baked Cheesecake)

 Previously, I've posted a recipe for Ricotta Burnt Cheesecake and was so glad to have found a lower calorie, diet-friendly and yet equally yummy cheesecake. 
And now, I found cottage cheese!

Do you know, 100g of cream cheese packs 342 kcals, while ricotta holds 174 kcal and cottage cheese has barely 100 kcals? And if they're all going to end up tasting equally good, why waste that 3x calories for the same enjoyment, right? 

Goodbye, cream cheese. I won't see you to the door.

Anyway, let's get over with the ingredients, so we can get started!

For a (roughly) 20 x 10 cm loaf pan, you'll need:

For the filling:

200g cottage cheese

2 eggs, separated.

12g plain flour

75g baking sugar replacement

(you can replace with castor sugar in 1:1 ratio)

90g cooking (or heavy) cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

(you may add in grated peel of the whole lemon if you wish)

a pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp cream of tartar (optional, for meringue)

For the crust (optional):

70g (or more, if you like a thick crust) biscuit of your choice.

(I've used Britannia Good Day Cashew Cookies, but you can use digestives or even lotus biscuits) 

1 tbsp butter (or more, depending on your biscuit)

recipe adapted from The Farmer's Wife Cookie Cookbook

First up, place all your cookies and 1 tbsp of soften (or melted) butter into a small food processor and process until everything has come together and the consistency resembles wet sand. If the crumbs are unable to hold its shape when pressed together, add a little more butter (or you may replace with lower-fat options like greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce) until you get to a malleable texture. If you do not have a small food processor, feel free to do this step in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin instead.

Pour the buttered crumbs into your loaf pan, lined with parchment paper and pat it down firmly to form the crust base. Pop it into the oven to bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes for the base to somewhat firm up before removing the pan from the oven to cool down slightly while preparing the rest of the ingredients. 

In a large clean bowl, add your separated egg whites and give it a quick whisk with your handheld mixer (or stand mixer, if you have one) to loosen it up. Using a clean spoon (no traces of oil here, as it'll prevent your whites from getting whisked up into meringue), take out a small spoonful (I'll say about half a tablespoonful will suffice) of the whites in a small dish and set everything aside. In another clean bowl, add in your cottage cheese and give it a good beating mixing with your handheld mixer (or balloon whisk, if you're up for spending some elbow grease) until the big curds have more of less broken down into tiny pieces. Then, add in the cream and continue mixing until the mixture has turned considerably smoother. It'll be impossible to beat them into cream cheese consistency, just make sure that there's no more huge lumps of cheese floating around in the mixture and you'll be fine. Then, add in the egg yolks, 1/4 of the sugar, lemon juice (and grated peel), vanilla extract and salt. Whisk until well combined before adding in the flour. Mix until there's no more dry pockets of flour and set the mixture aside. Wash your handheld mixer whisks CLEAN before proceeding. 

Check if your crust base has cooled down before brushing on the 1/2 tbsp of beaten egg whites over the top of the base with a pastry brush lightly. Then, set the pan back into the oven to bake for another 5 minutes (or until you start smelling a nice buttery fragrance from the baked base). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down. Turn the oven temperature down to 175 degrees Celsius. 

Then, with CLEAN whisk attachments on your handheld mixer, whisk the remaining of your egg whites until frothy before adding in the cream of tartar (optional) and 1/3 of the remaining sugar. Continue whisking and adding rest of the sugar in another 2 additions, whisking thoroughly after each additions. Continue beating the egg whites until stiff peaks formed. 

With a spatula, scoop 1/3 of the meringue and fold it into the cheese-yolk mixture. Then, pour the mixture back into the rest of the meringue and fold lightly (either with a spatula or you can also use a balloon whisk, but mix with a FOLDING technique) until just combined. Do not overmix, or you'll risk deflating your meringue. Pour the fluffy mixture into the loaf pan, over your pre-baked crust and bake at 175 degrees Celsius (reduce by 10 degrees if on fan) for around 25 minutes, or until the top of the torte is evenly browned, and the top springs back slightly when tapped lightly with a finger and the centre jiggles slightly when shaken. If you'll prefer a "fairer" cheesecake (I personally like how the charred/caramelised flavour of the browned top cuts into the otherwise cloying heaviness of a cheesecake) with a sinful creamy mouthfeel, feel free to lower your temperature to 160 degrees Celsius and bake the torte in a hot water bath for much longer (35 to 40 minutes)

After the torte is done, leave it in the oven, door closed, for another 15 minutes before leaving the oven door slightly ajar and allowing the torte to cool down in the oven for at least another 30 minutes. When the torte has cooled down to room temperature (or just slightly warm to touch), cover the top of the torte with clingwrap and pop the entire thing (parchment paper, loaf pan and all) into the fridge for at least 4 to 6 hours before serving. 

The torte will puff up slightly while baking, and the top will shrink back to flatten back out when cooled. But it shouldn't crack, and should stay relatively flat (instead of ending up with a depression in the centre) if you've allowed the torte to cool down slowly in the warm oven. 

I love how the centre of the torte remains slightly molten, yet not alarmingly runny. Due to brushing the top of the pre-baked crust with beaten egg whites, which formed a "waterproof" layer between the moist cheese filling and the baked crust, it allows the crust base to stay crisp instead of turning soggy. The overall texture of the torte, though definitely not fluffy like Japanese cotton cheesecake, is still a lot lighter and fluffier than a typical (cream cheese) baked cheesecake without beating the egg whites separately into meringue. Flavour wise, it's also much lighter (cottage cheese are supposed to be less sweet than cream cheese) and a lot less surfeiting. 

I guess, I've nailed THE recipe to follow for a baked cheesecake for myself!

Till then,

Mia Foo 

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Mia Bakes: Healthy Pumpkin Bread (with Greek Yogurt & Green Banana Flour!)

Pumpkins, anyone? 

I'm hardly a fan of pumpkin growing up. Somehow in our family, we're typically not a fan of sweet taste unless they're in the form of cakes and pastries. It was only very recently, when I changed my diet and got onto team #eatclean did I started eating pumpkins frequently. 
Yup, they're one of the most diet-friendly food, being low in calories (at only 50 kcals per cup!) and yet, nutrient-dense. However, taste wise, I'll still prefer sweet potatoes (or brown/multigrain rice) as my source of starchy carbs. I guess that's why many times my "impulse pumpkin buys" always ends up in nearly half of the unfinished pumpkin going bad in the fridge. T.T 

And so I decided, I'm not going to let anymore precious food go to waste! Left with a generous quarter cut of my pumpkin that's nearing the end of its shelf life, I decided to bake something out of it! Initially I thought of trying out the recipe for my healthy sweet potato brownies and substituting the sweet potatoes with pumpkins, but that'll leave me with too much brownies to eat alone (I'm the only person in the family who enjoys chocolatey bakes). And so I thought, why not some pumpkin quick bread instead? And similar to my previous recipe for the applesauce walnut & raisin quick bread, there's nothing "bready" about this quick bread, and they're way more like muffins. 

So much so that I even baked some in muffin form. HAHA!

So now let's get over with the ingredients, so we can get started!
To get 1 standard loaf serving (10 - 12 slices), you'll need:

150g raw pumpkin (or about 130g canned pumpkin puree)
2 eggs
55g plain greek yogurt
40g brown sugar
30g castor sugar
(or you can use 70g of either sugar)
110g plain flour
30g green banana flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 ground nutmeg
1/4 salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
60 - 70g semi-sweet chocolate chips
30 - 40g pumpkin seeds (plus a handful more as toppings, if desire)

First up, wash your pumpkin clean and remove the skin and seeds (you can roast the seeds and eat them too!). Cut them into thin slices and steam for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on how thin you slice them) until they're thoroughly cooked through and soft. Pour off the excess liquid that has drained out of the pumpkins and mash them up with a fork. Stir in the sugars until well combined and leave them aside to cool. 

When the mashed pumpkin has cooled down, add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well combined. Then, add in the greek yogurt and vanilla extract and mix well. Then, mix in the green banana flour, salt and spices until well combined. There's no gluten in green banana flour, so there's no risk of overmixing the batter at this point. 

Then, from your bowl of 110g plain flour, spoon a heaping tablespoon of it and toss it with your chocolate chips & pumpkin seeds. This trick will help them stay up in the middle of the loaf rather than sinking to the bottom during baking. Add the remaining plain flour, baking powder and baking soda into the mixture and fold lightly to combine, until there's just a few streaks of dry ingredients. At this point, add in the chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds and fold until just combined, with no more streaks of dry ingredients to be seen. 

Pour your batter into your prepared loaf pan (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and lined with parchment paper) and bake at 175 degree Celsius for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Do check on them at the 30 minute mark, and if you see that the surface has gotten too browned, you can cover the top with some aluminium foil to prevent over-browning. 

Although this is also a quick bread, its texture is totally different from the one I made with applesauce and butter (my applesauce walnut & raisin quick bread). While the applesauce-butter one is more moist and with a denser, cakier texture, this version made with greek yogurt and pumpkin puree turns out drier and a lot more chewy. 

To be honest, I think I will prefer the applesauce-butter version. HAHAHA! What's baked goods without butter, right?

Till then,

Mia Foo

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