The Diabetic Pastry Chef

1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 c bread flour
1 tsp baking powder
6 eggs
1 c canola butter or Smart Balance regular spread
1 1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c Splenda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 pt light sour cream

Sift together flours and baking powder and set aside. In mixing bowl with mixer, beat together sugar, Splenda and butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating for one minute after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add flours  and beat an additional minute. Turn into greased tube pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

1 1/2 c butter, softened
1 (8-oz) pkg light cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c Splenda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp lemon extract
6 eggs
1 1/2 c cake flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour, divided
2 c diced ripe mangos

Cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, cake flour and 1 1/4 c of the whole wheat pastry flour and the eggs alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup of flour with the diced mangos. Gently fold in the batter.

Grease a 12-inch tube pan, add the batter and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool in pan before removing. Dust with confectioners sugar or add a light glaze.

Peaches can be substituted for the mangoes in this recipe.

3 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c Splenda
5 eggs
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 c white bread flour
1 c diet 7 up soda

Cream butter with sugar and Splenda until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating for one minute after each addition. Add lemon and vanilla extracts. Add flours and 7 up alternately, beating well after each addition. Pour into a greased and floured large tube pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 c white flour
1 T ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 c canola oil
1 c Splenda
1 c sugar
3 eggs
3 c Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
1 c walnuts
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together dry ingredients and set aside.

In electric mixer bowl with paddle attachment, combine oil, sugar and eggs at high speed until lemon-colored.

Add the dry ingredinets just until incorporated.

Add apples, nuts and vanilla. Dough will be a bit stiff.

Pour batter into a greased 12-cup bundt pan. Bake 80 to 90 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool slightly before removing from pan. Serve with warm, sugar-free caramel sauce.

1 18.25-oz box reduced-sugar yellow cake mix
1 large (2.1-oz) pkg instant sugar-free vanilla pudding
1 15 oz can reduced-sugar chocolate frosting

Prepare cake according to package directions and bake in two round layers. Cool and remove from pans.

While cake is baking, make and refrigerate the pudding according to package directions. For a thicker pudding, use a bit less milk than package calls for.

Spread the pudding over the bottom layer of the cake, leaving approximately 1-inch of the edges clean. Place the second cake layer on top.

Open the frosting container and peel off the foil. Re-cover with lid and microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between intervals until frosting can be poured, but is not boiling (about the consistency of thick syrup). Let cool a few minutes and spoon over the top of the cake until the top is covered and it runs down the sides of the cake. Place a maraschino cherry in the middle, if desired. Keep refrigerated.

Although this is called gingerbread, it’s more cake-like.  Very, very good!   

It’s adapted from a recipe from the book, Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine.

2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c molasses
3/4 c melted canola butter or regular Smart Balance spread
1 1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 c white flour
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps powdered ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered cloves
1/2 tsp powdered nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c boiling water
1/3 c raisins

Beat eggs and blend in sugar, molasses and canola butter or Smart Balance. Sift together the dry ingredients. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the boiling water to the batter and beat until smooth.

Pour into greased 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

3 sticks butter
1 c Splenda
1 c brown sugar
6 eggs
1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 c bread flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c crushed pineapple, undrained
Rum Glaze
Plain or toasted coconut

Cream together butter, Splenda and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Sift together the flours and baking powder, and add to creamed mixture a little at a time, alternately with the milk. Add the vanilla and the undrained pineapple and blend well.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Place in cold oven and turn oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 1/2 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan a few minutes. Run knife around edges to loosen and carefully invert. Prick top of cake with fork all over and pour glaze over and let fall down sides of cake. Top with plain or toasted coconut. Garnish middle with a maraschino cherry (optional).

Rum Glaze

1 c butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c Splenda
1/2 c rum

Melt butter over low heat and add the Splenda and sugar stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat and add the rum.

A taste of the islands!

4 eggs
2/3 c sugar
3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
powdered sugar (aka, confectioners’ sugar)
1 c sugar-free or reduced sugar jelly or jam
1 c sweetened flaked coconut

With electric mixer, beat the eggs until light. Gradually add the sugar and beat until mixture is thick and lemon-colored.

Combine dry ingredients. Fold with vanilla into the egg mixture. Turn into 15×10-inch jelly roll pan that has been lined with greased parchment paper.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cut the edges off of the cake and turn at once onto a clean cloth or dish towel sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Remove the paper from the cake. Spread the cake with softened jelly or jam to within 1/2-inch of the edge. Sprinkle with coconut. Roll up quickly, starting at the narrow side of the cake. End with the open end on the underside. Wrap in towel and cool on wire rack. Once cooled, wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Best eaten the next day.

1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 c bread flour
3 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter
1 8-oz pkg. light cream cheese
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c Splenda
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 c or more maraschino cherries, drained and halved
1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour

Mix together flours, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Cream together butter, cream cheese, sugar and Splenda until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, and stir in vanilla and almond extract. Beat in flour mixture just until incorporated.

Dredge cherries in 1/4 c flour and fold into batter.

Bake in 8-inch greased and floured tube pan at 325 degrees for 60 to 80 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar.

A recent post on a homemaking forum I belong to reminded me about the two-ingredient cake mix desserts. I was first introduced to these recipes through Weight Watchers. These are great for diabetics because the recipes omit the eggs and oil that are typically needed to bake a cake. Try the new reduced sugar cake mixes from Pillsbury with these recipes and you’ll really do your body a favor. These recipes work well for low-carbers and non-diabetics also, so feel free to serve these to your friends or whole family.

1. My favorite recipe is to take an angel food cake mix and add an undrained 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple. Do not add anything else. Mix well with a large spoon and follow package directions for baking. This is great topped with whipped cream or frozen whipped topping.

2. Take a (18.25-oz) box of spice cake mix and add 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix). Mix and spread in a 9×13-in pan and bake according to package directions.This recipe can be found at allrecipes.com. Be sure to read the reviews for tips: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Two-Ingredient-Pumpkin-Cake/Detail.aspx

3. Take a (18.25-oz) box of dark chocolate cake mix and add exactly 10 ozs of diet Coke or diet root beer. Mix well and pour into a 9×13-in pan and bake according to package directions at 350 degrees. The cake will be a bit more dense than a regular chocolate cake, more similar to a cake brownie. Use Pillsbury’s reduced-sugar Devil’s Food cake mix for this.

4. Try the above recipe with a white or yellow cake mix and diet Sprite. Pillsbury also puts out a reduced-sugar yellow cake mix.