It’s been a baking kinda weekend, which means it’s been an eating kinda weekend…..As she devours her 3rd ok, 5th slice of cake. This recipe would make awesome mini muffin cakes and then you could freeze some so that you don’t eat the entire cake in one hit….. Or you I could learn some self control. Meh, whatever.
This baby packs a massive taste punch without being loaded with sugar and has a tip-top dose of good healthy fats. You can read more about The Skinny On Fat there and why I love the stuff.
2 cups hazelnut meal (or nut flour of your choice)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup coconut oil, butter or ghee
1/2 cup raw honey (rice malt syrup or maple syrup)
2 eggs
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled & chopped into small cubes
Topping-
Extra cinnamon for sprinkling
OPTIONAL- 1/2 cup coconut butter or desiccated coconut
Preheat your oven to170C. Grease & line a cake time, loaf tin or muffin tins.
Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl & mix well to combine. In a separate bowl mix the melted oil & honey together & whisking the eggs. Gently fold the wet mix into the dry to just combine. Now gently fold through the apples. Pour into the cake tin, drizzle with the coconut butter or sprinkle with desiccated coconut (if using) then sprinkle with extra cinnamon. Pop it in the oven for 30mins then allow to cool for 20mins before slicing. Eat this baby warm with a good dollop of coconut cream.
Love your blog and instagram, so many great recipes and ideas! I was hoping you can help me understand a few things that I’ve read in your Nutrition 101 post. Nuts are shown as being a protein source and also a fat source, when considering the “Golden Rule” of eating Carbs with Proteins with little or no fat does that mean that I should be avoiding eating a bliss ball made with say dates and macadamias? So if an avo is fat, what is a good way to incorporate this into my diet (I usually eat on my homemade bread made with nut flour and seeds)? Also what would you call a “refined carb” when you refer to not eating refined carbs with fat?
Sorry for all the questions just trying to get my head around it!
Hey Karen, thanks so much for following along! Great questions and as with everything, the answer is that it depends. It depends on the food & it depends on your goals. When we eat carbohydrate we cause an insulin response in our body which then primes our body to store fat (Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes is a great book that explains this in huge detail). Most types of food contains more than one macronutrient, so as you said, nuts contain protein & fat but they are predominantly a fat source. Sweet potato contains a small amount of protein but it is predominantly a carbohydrate. So focus on what is predominant in that food. With a bliss ball, I would say it’s a treat, not an everyday food so don’t panic about it. The amount of sugar in it is pretty high (carbohydrate) though natural, from the dates, will most likely give you a pretty hefty insulin spike and your body (if not using that sugar to replenish glycogen stores) will store that and the fat from the nuts as fat. If it was eaten post workout, it’s probably not going to have as big an influence. In saying that, I always whack a good blob of butter or ghee on my sweet potato but it isn’t going to elicit the same insulin response as what something sweet like dates would.
With avo I would totally spread it all over your homemade bread which sounds like it is predominantly a fat source too, you can also eat it with your brekkie with some eggs, whack it in a salad, have half an avo with some non-starchy veggies & protein at dinner….. Eat it with a spoon straight out of the skin.
A refined carbohydrate I would say is normal bread, chips, crackers, cereal, any processed food really will likely fall into that category. Any carbohydrate source that no longer resembles what it originally started out as… I mean Coco Pops do NOT have any resemblance to rice yet allegedly they are puffed rice :/
Anyway I hope that makes a bit more sense?
Hi,
Love your blog! I just saw this recipe and am keen to try it. Just wondering though if it’s possible to make it nut free? Would coconut flour work?
Thanks!
Hi Heidi, hmmmm coconut flour doesn’t seem to behave the way other flours do, it absorbs HEAPS of liquid and doesn’t bind well. You could try substituting with a rice flour or oat flour might be your best bet. I have not tried though so let me know.