Agave nectar Chocolate cake

How to make a healthy ( well healthier) with no sugar chocolate dish ?  that's this months challenge for We should Cocoa  - January 2013, so here goes, substituting agave nectar for sugar is allowed.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup of light agave nectar
• 1 cup of  plain wholemeal flour 
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Good pinch of salt
• 1 egg free range please
• 1/2 cup skimmed milk
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1/2 cup boiling water

Method

• Preheat oven to 180c
• Oil spray and base line approx 8" round cake tin
• Sieve flour, cocoa and all other dry ingredients into mixer bowl
• Add all other ingredients except the boiling water
• Mix throughly for a couple of minutes
• Now stir in the boiling water, this is to activate the baking soda
• Quickly pour your mixture into the prepared pan
• Bake for approx 35 -40 minutes until tests done with a skewer
• Cool in the tin for about 10 minutes and then on a wire rack
• Serve when full cooled with creme fraiche or vanilla yoghurt.

                                                        

Chocolate courgette spelt cake

Regular readers of my blog will note that I  feature more than my fair share of courgette recipes, I like a nice courgette cake recipe, that unassuming vegetable that adds moisture to your cake recipe and cake is a great way of using up a glut when they are in season. This recipe using spelt (one of my favourite flours) and agave nectar to give a more healthy cake, the result is a nutty chocolate cake, not overly sweet.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 eggs 
• 3/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups grate courgette

Method 

• Preheat oven to 180c
• Oil and line a 2lb loaf tin
• Sift all the dry ingrients into a bowl
• Add all the well ingredients and mix well
• Pour your batter into your prepared tin
• Bake for approx 45 mins until well risen and tested as cooked with a skewer
• Cool on a wire rack
• Cake is better after being kept a couple of days wrapped in a tin.

Agave nectar baking - cookies

I have an interest in more unusual ingredients (you may have noticed) and also slightly more healthy recipes ( I know how can cake be healthy !), so I thought I would give Agave nectar a go. This a natural sweetner extract from the mexican wild agave cactus. You need to adapt your standard recipes but there are plenty on the internet for you to try.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup spelt, whole wheat flour
• 1 cup ground almonds
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup agave nectar
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ tsp. vanilla paste

Method

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, preheat oven to 180c, place small balls on dough on a oiled baking sheet, press down well, bake for approx 10-15 minutes, cool slightly and then transfer to a wire cooling rack until fully cool.