Transform a Basic Cake into Many Healthy Delights

Hello and blessings, dear sisters,

In my last article, I mentioned the importance of a nutritious breakfast, and as a bonus, I shared an amazing chocolate cake recipe that is great from a nutritional standpoint as a breakfast option.

Some of you might find the idea of cake – especially chocolate cake – for breakfast a bit strange.
 But that's the whole point...
 This cake is perfect for starting the day.
 It's full of nutrients, sits well in the stomach, and the sugar is absorbed gradually, so by the time it's snack time at school or kindergarten – your child feels comfortable, relaxed, and mainly alert.
 I've yet to meet a child who tried this specific cake and didn't love it.
 Usually, everyone asks for more.
 And if you're in a hurry – you can place it in a small paper cup to take on-the-go.

I highly suggest that anyone who gives their child a cup of chocolate milk before school stops doing so.
 Chocolate milk is loaded with sugar, the milk contains lactose – milk sugar, and since it's drunk rather than chewed, the sugar absorption in the blood is quicker and more extreme.
 As I mentioned before – food should be eaten, not drunk.

I want to thank everyone, the readers, for the feedback and responses.
 Several questions were asked in the comments, and I'll try to answer as many as possible later on, but in the meantime:

• Regarding Stevia – it's a plant with sweet leaves. The plant itself is natural, but not all sweeteners derived from it are natural. I personally buy natural dried stevia leaves at a spice shop, keep them in an airtight container, and add a bit to tea.
   Natural stevia (not the kind that the food industry grinds, mixes with chemicals) has many great benefits.
   
• Erythritol – It's a sugar-alcohol sweetener, but unlike other sugar alcohols, it has fewer side effects.
   Some naturopaths recommend it, claiming it has health benefits as a sweetener, while others advise avoiding it because they claim it increases sugar intolerance.
   Since I'm not an expert on sweeteners, I reached out to my guru – Noa Oliel, an exceptional naturopath, to get her take on the subject – she's the one I trust most.
   Noa explained to me that erythritol is different from other sugar-alcohol sweeteners in that the body doesn't recognize it at all, so it leaves the body as it entered.
   Erythritol has almost no side effects – if any.
   
   As for artificial sweeteners, it's worth noting that they negatively affect gut flora and can lead to digestive issues.
   

In this article, I want to continue discussing nutritious breakfasts and carbohydrates, and provide you with a successful base cake recipe that can be turned into endless kinds of simple cakes, as your imagination desires.

• You can bake it in a regular square pan or in 3 loaf pans.
• You can bake it in a round pan, cut it in the middle, cover it with cream inside and out, and have a fancy birthday cake.
• You can use its batter to fill muffin pans about 2/3 full, getting delightful muffins to take on the go.
• You can even freeze it, and then simply let it rest at room temperature to fully thaw when ready.

Ready?

Let's go...

Ingredients:

• 5 separated eggs
   In the previous article, we discussed how important it is to use free-range organic eggs enriched with omega-3 – for so many reasons.
   For an airy and quality cake, the eggs should be at room temperature.
   Not sure how it is for you, but I always got confused about which is the white and which is the yolk. A good way to remember: "Yolk like a lemon" – the yolk is yellow.
   
• 1 cup sugar
   You can definitely replace some of the sugar with coconut sugar.
   Coconut sugar is rich in several nutritional components; vitamins, minerals, amino acids.
   Both sweet and healthy, what a joy.
   
• A pinch of salt
   To emphasize the sweet flavor of the sugar. Salt also helps stabilize the egg foam.
   
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   And I mean real, pure vanilla extract, not the kind containing E150, as mentioned in one of the previous articles.
   
• 1 cup oil
   
• 2 cups water
   
• 2 small packets of baking powder
   
• 1/2 cup oats
   I need to dedicate an entire article to oats and how important it is to include them in the daily diet.
   B'ezrat Hashem, I'll do it in the future.
   Meanwhile, I'll just reiterate that it's rich in nutrients vital for body function, especially the brain and nervous system, that it's excellent for digestion and leads to slow sugar absorption, preventing sharp fluctuations.
   Important!
   Because of the concern for insects, it's important to buy oats with strict kosher certification that comes in vacuum-sealed packagingorin a hermetically sealed round tin.
   After opening, store the oats in the freezer to prevent infestation.
   
• 2 cups quality flour (as discussed in previous articles)
   You can start with 100% whole/rye/spelt flour.
   You can also do everything gradually and bake the cake with half quality flour and half white flour.
   You can even buy flour that's 70% whole instead of 100%.
   Everyone at their own pace and of their household.
   The thing about flour is that as soon as it's wet from the other batter ingredients – the gluten starts to work, the dough components bind together, which impedes rising.
   Therefore, the secret to tall and soft cakes is to add the flour at the very end (as well as the baking powder), give it a quick mix, and immediately pour into the pan and place in the oven.
   Even if a few flour lumps remain unmixed, it's okay; don't linger on them and waste time, during baking they will merge with the rest of the batter.
   Thus, b'ezrat Hashem, we'll get a tall and beautiful cake.

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius – it's important that the oven is hot when you place the pan with the cake batter inside.
    
2. Whip the egg whites (in a dry and clean bowl, otherwise it won't whip well) to a stable texture, which will give the cake its airy texture at the end of baking.

1. Gradually add sugar to the whipping and finally the salt.
    
2. In folding movements (preferably with a silicone spatula) add the remaining ingredients in the following order:
    Yolks, vanilla, oil, water, oats, and finally the flour and baking powder.
    
3. Quick mix – and pour the batter into a baking pan lightly greased with a bit of spray oil.
    
4. Bake for about 50 minutes at 150 degrees, depending on the type of oven.
    The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted comes out with a few dry crumbs around it.

And now for the upgrades

For Chocolate Cake
 Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa or carob powder (or both) to the batter, and you'll get a moist and rich chocolate cake that kids love.

For Marble Cake
 Pour 2/3 of the mixture into the pan. Add a tablespoon of cocoa/carob powder to the remaining batter in the bowl.
 Spoon the chocolate batter over the batter in the pan unevenly.
 Bake as usual.
 You get a beautiful cake.

For Fruit Cake
 After pouring the batter into the pan, sprinkle chopped fruits suitable for baking such as bananas, pears, and apples on top. It's a good idea to coat the fruits with a bit of flour before sprinkling over the batter.
 Instead of a cup of water, you can use a cup of natural juice, to your choice.
 You can also add a hint of fragrant cinnamon powder or even nutmeg – a great cake for Shabbat lunch.

For a Health Cake
 Sprinkle granola over the batter in the pan.
 In general – all hard additions to the cake (granola, fruits, or chocolate chips) – shouldn't be mixed into the batter but rather sprinkled on top of the pan after pouring it – this way they won't sink to the bottom of the pan.
 Also, note – nuts and seeds are not suitable for children under the age of 6.

For Honey Cake
 Replace the sugar with flowing honey or even silan.
 A hit during Rosh Hashanah.

For Orange Cake
 My favorite – instead of water, add a cup of natural orange juice and a bit of orange peel zest to the batter.
 The result is a light yet incredibly juicy cake.

For Lemon Cake
 Instead of a cup of water, add a cup of sweet lemonade and lemon zest.
 A wonderful and refreshing lemony cake.

For Chocolate Chip Cake
 Choose a pack of chocolate chips with strict kosher certification, of course, read the ingredients and choose the wisest option, as we've learned.
 Sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips over the batter in the pan.
 You get a cake that's both enticing to the eye and delicious. 

For Coffee Cake
 Add an aromatic cup of quality espresso to the batter, creating a rich and stimulating cake.

Do you have any more upgrade ideas?
 Write them in the comments – I love learning from experienced bakers.

In the next article, b'ezrat Hashem, we'll talk a bit about school sandwiches, what to spread and what bread to use.
 In my opinion, it will be the article that concludes the carbohydrate + what to eat during the first part of the day topic – and then, with Hashem's help, we'll move on to the next series of articles on proteins + lunches – how exciting.

So until then, wishing you lots of health

Chen Tovi