Honey Cake with Banana Cream, Dark Chocolate and Almonds / No Refined Sugar

Recipe for Honey Cake with Banana Cream, Dark Chocolate and Almonds

This honey cake with banana cream and dark chocolate drizzled all over it has been dancing around in my head for months. I've been measuring cups of honey and pureeing bananas in my sleep trying to come up with just the right ratio of sweetness. I finally decided to give it a try this past weekend because I wanted to take my best friend, Emily, a cake to celebrate the birth of her new baby girl. It also happened to be my birthday weekend, so I made some extra cakes and cream and my husband and daughter built a beautifully wonky tribute of cake for my birthday celebration. All the cakes, perfectly sculpted and otherwise, tasted amazing.

Katie MilesMarch 4, 2014Refined Sugar Free, Healthy, Desserts, CakesComment

Vanilla Honey Cupcakes, Refined Sugar Free

Recipe for Refined Sugar Free Vanilla Honey Cupcakes

Honey powder! WHO KNEW?! I saw this cool stuff called honey powder last time I was at Whole Foods, and though it was stupid expensive (Whole Foods ain't cheap!), I had to buy it because I just knew I could do something really cool with it. I pondered the honey powder until I came up with the perfect use: Honey vanilla buttercream frosting! The cupcake batter for these scrumptious vanilla honey cupcakes is super easy to make and comes out really soft and buttery despite the lack of refined sugar. So that problem was solved pretty easily. But how do you make honey buttercream frosting without sugar and not end up with a sticky, gooey mess? I'll tell you! Just use honey powder which you can buy for a whole lot cheaper than Whole Foods online here. Substitute the honey powder for the powdered sugar, add a little raw honey and, viola, delicious honey vanilla buttercream frosting! I'm taking these cupcakes to a toddler Valentine's Day party this afternoon. Now the toddlers can have their sugar induced tantrum free cupcakes and eat them too!

Katie MilesFebruary 14, 2014Refined Sugar Free, Toddler Food, Desserts, Cupcakes, Valentine's Day, Healthy Comments

Chocolate Peanut Butter Treat Bars // Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Caffeine Free

I'm a snacker. Around 2pm I start raiding the pantry for a tasty treat to nibble on. Yes, I know I should grab a banana or an apple or some carrot sticks. But, I still have the mentality of a 7 year old most of the time and "I don't wanna! Nah nah nah!" I want something sweet and savory, crunchy and filling to eat. So I feel like I'm making a healthy compromise between nature's whole foods and a Snickers bar with these chocolate peanut butter bars. Plus they are so handy dandy to throw in your purse or diaper bag for an energy boosting fix. With ground flax seed, chopped nuts, puffed rice and no refined sugar, they are healthy enough to pass as an energy bar. But, the raw honey and peanut butter and carob chips will satisfy those inevitable sweet cravings. Make some up today and put them in your children's lunches or stash a few in your desk and keep the evil candy bars at bay.

Katie MilesJanuary 15, 2014Healthy, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Desserts, Toddler FoodComment

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe // Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Caffeine Free

These cookies may look healthy, but they taste oh so sinful. They are plenty sweet with the coconut sugar and maple sugar and the chocolate taste is perfection. My husband is a major carob cynic and he could not believe how good they tasted. When cooking gluten free, it is really important to add something to the flours to help with the binding process. Gluten does all of the binding in wheat flour baking. I added xanthan gum to help bind these cookies, but if you can't find it or don't want to make an extra trip to the store, you can use corn starch instead. You should be able to find all of the ingredients I've listed at health food store or Whole Foods. If you don't live near a good health food store you can also order all of the harder to find ingredients online.

Katie MilesJanuary 3, 2014Cookies, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Toddler Food, Healthy, DessertsComment