8 Healthy & Sugar-Free Baking Recipes

8 Healthy & Sugar-Free Baking Recipes

If you’re trying to cut back on sugar this year, there are plenty of tasty treats you can make at home that don’t include quite as much. From healthy traybakes to sugar-free cakes the whole family will love, here are eight recipes to try…
Photography: COOKT

Blackberry Brownies: Berry Gardens

Serves
8
Difficulty
Easy
Total Time
40 Minutes
Ingredients
100g of dark chocolate
70g of almond butter
80g of maple syrup
2 eggs
30g of cocoa powder
60g of oat flour
100g of Driscoll’s Victoria Sweet Blackberries (plus extra for topping)
Method
Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/Gas Mark 4. Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie. Once melted, add the almond butter to a bowl and stir in the chocolate.

Step 2

Add in the maple syrup and slowly whisk in the eggs to prevent curdling.

Step 3

Whisk in the cocoa powder and oat flour. When well combined, stir in the blackberries and pour the brownie mix into a lined tray and top with some extra blackberries.

Step 4

Bake for 15-18 minutes and allow to cool before serving.

Barleygrass Muffins With Sundried Tomato And Wild Garlic: Naturya

Serves
12
Total Time
30 Minutes
Ingredients
210g of gluten-free self-raising flour
1 tsp of baking powder
100g of oats
Pinch of sea salt
2 tsp of Naturya barleygrass powder
1 tsp of paprika
3 tbsp of sunflower seeds
100g of vegan cheese, grated
5-10 wild garlic leaves or basil, sliced
100g of coconut oil
3 tbsp of chia seeds
360ml of oat milk
Method
Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180℃/Gas Mark 4. Combine the flour, baking powder, oats and salt in a large bowl.

Step 2

Add the barleygrass powder, paprika and sunflower seeds

Step 3

In a separate bowl, mix the coconut oil with the grated vegan cheese, tomatoes and wild garlic.

Step 4

Place the chia seeds in another bowl, then gradually add the oat milk to form a ‘chia egg’ mix.

Step 5

Add the chia mix to the dry ingredients, then fold in the cheese and tomato mix until fully combined.

Step 6

Divide the mixture between 8 muffin cases, sprinkle with more chia and sunflower seeds, then bake for 15-20 minutes.

Sugar-Free Carrot Cake: Cookt

Serves
8
Total Time
1 Hour 15 Minutes
Ingredients
For The Flax Egg
1 tbsp of ground flaxseed
3 tbsp of warm water
Dry Ingredients
280g of self-raising flour, sifted
150g of coconut sugar
1 tsp each of bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and arrowroot, sifted
Pinch of Himalayan salt
¼ tsp of vanilla powder
2 tsp of ground cinnamon
¼ tsp of freshly grated nutmeg
50g of walnuts, roughly chopped
80g of sultanas
Wet Ingredients
290ml of carrot juice
150ml of sunflower oil
¼ tsp of rice wine vinegar
1 orange, zested
140g of carrot, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
For The Buttercream Frosting
150g of cashews, soaked in water overnight
100ml of tinned coconut milk, shaken well before opening
40ml of coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp of maple syrup
1 tsp of vanilla extract or paste
¼ tsp of lemon zest
Pinch of Himalayan salt
To Finish
40g of walnut halves
1 orange, zested
Method
Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease two 20cm sandwich tins with sunflower oil. Line the bases with parchment paper.

Step 2

Combine the flaxseed with the warm water to make your flax egg then set aside for 10 minutes to thicken.

Step 3

In an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients.

Step 4

In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients including the flax egg. Then add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes to ensure they are well incorporated.

Step 5

Divide the cake mixture evenly between each prepared tin. Place them onto a baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean.

Step 6

Leave them to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before gently turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 7

For the buttercream frosting, drain and rinse the cashews, discarding the soaking water. Place them into the blender with all the other ingredients and blitz until the frosting is creamy and smooth.

Step 8

Spread the frosting on top of the first cake, then place the second cake on top like a sandwich and cover the top with the remaining frosting.

Step 9

Decorate your cake with the walnut halves dotted around the edge and orange zest liberally sprinkled over the top.

Maple Walnut Loaf: Maple From Canada

Serves
10
Total Time
1 Hour 20 Minutes
Ingredients
315g of gluten-free flou
93g of tapioca flour
80g of potato starch
4 tsp of baking soda
1 tbsp of baking powder
1 ½ tsp of xanthan gum
1 ½ of tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp of salt
80ml of Canadian maple syrup
80ml of buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs
115g of unsalted butter, softened
85g of walnuts, chopped
Method
Step 1

Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. In a large bowl, combine the flour, starch, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon and salt.

Step 2

Heat the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter turns a nut-brown colour, then remove from the heat and set aside.

Step 3

In a large bowl, combine the maple syrup, buttermilk and eggs, then stir in the browned butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.

Step 4

Stir in the walnuts, then pour the mixture into a well-greased 9in x 5in loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes until risen.

Step 5

Check the loaf is cooked through by inserting a skewer, then leave to cool on a wire rack before removing from the loaf tin.

No-Bake Millionaire's Shortbread: Maryanne Hall, Viva’s Vegan Recipe Club

Serves
12
Total Time
25 Minutes
Ingredients
For The Base
150g of raw cashew nuts (cashew pieces work fine and are cheaper than whole nuts)
50g of porridge oats
4 medjool dates, pitted
50g of coconut oil, melted
For The Filling
350g of medjool dates, pitted
125ml of unsweetened plant milk
150ml of coconut oil
1 tsp of vanilla extract
½-1 tsp of salt. Start with ½ tsp, taste and add more if necessary
For The Topping
300g of vegan dark chocolate (use raw chocolate if you want to keep it completely refined sugar-free)
2 tbsp of coconut oil
Method
Step 1

Grease and line a 20cm/8-inch square cake tin.

Step 2

Blitz the nuts and oats to crumbs. Add the dates and melted coconut oil and blend again. Spoon into the tin and use the spatula or back of the spoon to flatten down the mixture evenly and cover the entire base. Chill in the freezer while you make the filling.

Step 3

To make the filling, add the pitted dates, plant milk, syrup and coconut oil to a saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Step 4

Cook for 2-3 minutes until the dates are very soft then add the salt and vanilla extract. Blend the mixture until smooth. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Step 5

Spoon this mixture over the base, making sure that the entire tin is covered. Use the spatula or spoon to create as smooth a layer as possible. Place in the freezer while you prepare the topping.

Step 6

To make the topping, melt the coconut oil and chocolate together using a bain-marie (a glass or ceramic bowl that fits on a saucepan of simmering water but doesn’t touch the bottom) and then pour over the filling.

Step 7

Return it to the fridge or freezer to set. Using the freezer speeds up the setting time but only leave it in there for 20 minutes and then transfer to the fridge. If using fridge only, it will take 2-3 hours to set.

Step 8

Cut into squares. It will keep in the fridge for about a week.

Berrylicious Chocolate Cake: Nexba

Serves
10
Difficulty
Easy
Total Time
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Ingredients
For the filling
200g of plain flour
30g of cocoa powder
2 tsp of baking powder
2 eggs, whisked
200g of Nexba Mixed Berry Kombucha
30g of olive oil
30g of cup rice malt syrup (optional)
80g of melted sugar-free dark chocolate
1 cup of frozen raspberries
For the frosting
30g of coconut oil
60g of chocolate-peanut butter spread
30g of fresh raspberries to top
Method
Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/Gas Mark 4.

Step 2

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon to mix until well combined.

Step 3

Create a well in the centre. Gradually add in the Nexba Mixed Berry Kombucha, whisked eggs and olive oil, stirring continuously. Add the rice malt syrup if you want extra sweetness.

Step 4

Stir in the melted chocolate and raspberries. Grease and line a 17cm spring-form cake.

Step 5

Spoon the cake batter into the tin and bake for 45 minutes. Check the cake using a metal skewer to see if it’s cooked – the skewer should come out clean.

Step 6

To make the frosting, melt coconut oil and chocolate-peanut butter spread together in a saucepan over a low heat.

Step 7

Leave to cool in the tin for 25-30 minutes. Once cooled, spread the chocolate-peanut frosting on top of the cake and top with fresh raspberries.

Visit Nexba.com

Blondie Brownies: Flora

Serves
12
Difficulty
Easy
Total Time
1 Hour 10 Minutes
Ingredients
250g of almonds
150g of light brown sugar
125g of plain flour
100g of Flora Plant B+tter Spreadable
240ml of almond milk
2 tsp of baking powder
3 drops of almond extract
For the topping
100g of vegan cherry jam or raspberry jam
30g of flaked almonds
12 fresh cherries, stoned and halved
Icing sugar to dust
Method
Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/Gas Mark 4. Line a 9-inch square baking tin with parchment paper.

Step 2

Put the almonds, light brown sugar, plain flour, Flora Plant B+tter Spreadable, almond milk, baking powder and almond extract in a food processor and blitz. When the texture is smooth pour half the mixture into the prepared tin and level out with a spoon.

Step 3

Swirl the cherry/raspberry jam over the mixture. Carefully spread the remaining mixture over the top being careful not to spread the jam too much.

Step 4

Sprinkle on the almond flakes and then arrange the fresh cherries on the top.

Step 5

Bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool and then dust with icing sugar and divide into 12.

Spiced Fruity Tea Loaf: Flora

Serves
12
Difficulty
Easy
Total Time
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Ingredients
250g of self-raising flour
120g of Flora ProActiv Light
50ml of semi-skimmed milk
1 large egg, beaten
300ml of chai tea (2 tea bags in 300ml of hot water)
100g of raisins
100g of sultanas
50g of cranberries
50g of chopped apricots
Zest of one orange
150g of light soft brown sugar
1 tsp of mixed spice
Method
Step 1

Add your chai tea bags to hot water and leave to brew for 5 minutes.

Step 2

Add the fruit to a mixing bowl along with the orange zest, and when the tea is brewed pour it over.

Step 3

Leave in the fridge overnight for the fruit to soak up the tea flavours.

Step 4

Heat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3. Add the sugar, mixed spice, egg and milk to the fruit mixture and stir together.

Step 5

Add the flour and stir until all the ingredients are combined.

Step 6

Spoon into a loaf tin and bake for around 90 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

Step 7

Leave to cool slightly, slice, and spread with some extra Flora ProActiv.

Visit Flora.com

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