Monday, April 6, 2009

Really That Old...

So, I'm officially allowed to complain about my grey hairs and wrinkles now, right?

Well, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! Not only did I get my hair all cut and dressed by my favourite stylist, but we went out bowling in the afternoon (where I had an awesome score even though I couldn't beat Andrew!) and I had my grandparents come to dinner with us at a sushi restaurant of all places! AND they both ordered rolls! Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks, eh?

Even though we were all full of rice, tea, (in the older farts' case, warm sake *wretch*) and assorted gifts from the sea, we still managed to clear enough room in our gullets for slabs of my delicious birthday cake! This was the best rendition of my infamous beet cake so far, in my opinion, and no doubt it will become a regular treat on my table - at least for celebrations!


I actually made a fair number of changes from last year's recipe, and now I don't know if I would change a thing more! One of the major swaps was nixing the Splenda for a new product that was graciously sent to me called Just Like Sugar. It's still a diabetic-friendly, calorie-free and low-GI sweetener that measures 1:1 to sugar (by weight, not volume), but JLS is all-natural and a whopping source of fibre: in 100g of the powder, there are 96 g of the good stuff!

The only things in the product (and they offer both a baking version - which I was sent - and a tabletop shaker) are vitamin C, chicory root, calcium, and orange peel, and for those of you observing Passover, it's kosher too! I know I sound like a total ad here, but honestly, if you can find it in your area (it's apparently an international product line), give it a shot in baking. I don't really reccommend it for table-sugar replacement unless you like the slightly bitter herbal taste of Stevia, but it seems to disappear once baked into stuff. The bonus with JLS in baking is that it stays hygroscopic like sugar - no dried out muffins or cake!

I'm hoarding my supply for now, even though you can PayPal order it online in the absence of a physical store... luckily enough I was generously given a full pound of the baking version, enough for four birthday cakes! Thanks so much, JLS - you made my (birth)day!

But enough of the product placement lauding, right? Here's the tasty goodness that was my 21st birthday cake, enjoyed by everyone who managed to snag a piece - and I took 2!

A Very Veggie Birthday Cake
Serves 12
398 mL canned sliced beets, drained
1/4 cup beet liquid
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
2.5 oz low-fat silken tofu
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp liquid honey
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 oz "Just Like Sugar" natural baking sweetener
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
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1 (3-oz) package Fat-Free Jell-O Cheesecake Pudding mix
1 cup cold water
1/2 tbsp skim milk powder
1 cup Cool Whip Free, softened
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly spray one 9 x 13" cake pan with PAM.
  2. Put the drained beets into the food processor with beet liquid, water, pumpkin, tofu, vanilla, vinegar and honey. Process until very smooth.
  3. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
  4. Pour in the beet mixture and stir until well-combined.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake!!
  6. Cool on a rack 1 hour before frosting.
----Frosting----
  1. Whisk together cold water and skim milk powder in a bowl.
  2. Add pudding mix and beat until smooth. Let sit 5 minutes.
  3. Add Cool Whip, folding in until incorporated.
  4. Chill 20 minutes before frosting cake.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 101.0
Total Fat: 0.8 g
Cholesterol: 0.1 mg
Sodium: 126.0 mg
Total Carbs: 31.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 13.0 g
Protein: 3.1 g

Aww, look at us! Going on 4 years, and still stronger than ever! Andrew must have read my mind for this birthday too - we're going to see Great Big Sea this summer!!! I can't wait!! Love you hon, and thanks to EVERYONE for their well wishes!

7 comments :

  1. Gorgeous cake! Happy 21st :)

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  2. Happy birthday, congratulations, and all that. :)

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  3. Welcome to the land of grey hair and wrinkles--ha ha! (Sorry, but you've got a LONG way to go!). Glad it was a great B-Day! :)

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  4. Thank you everyone!

    Ricki - I live that commercial haha. I do have the whole "risk for osteoperosis" thing though! Break out the Caltrate!

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  5. Happy Birthday! The cake looks great and Just Like Sugar sounds very interesting.

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  6. ah, happy belated bday :) sounds like you had a good time! and cake!!

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  7. Your beet cake recipe looks great. However, I am allergic to tofu so do you know what I could substitute for it?

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Thanks for the feedback!