Low calorie baking experiments

So, i'm trying to lose weight at the moment but have a big baking addiction, which really isn't helping. So this weekend I experimented with a few low calorie recipes....which weren't a huge success.

Experiment 1: The sugar free chocolate bundt cake
As you can see from the picture below, I tried a chunk of this...but that was it.  I replaced the sugar in the recipe with a Stevia powder.

Not recommended. Horrible bitter taste, cake didn't rise properly and left a funny after taste in my mouth

 

Think i need to spend some more time experimenting with these sugar replacements in baking to make sure the quantities i'm using are correct.



 

Experiment 2: Rosemary Conley Chocolate brownie recipe

 

This was a recipe i'd pulled from a magazine a while ago and decided now was the time to try it. This one wasn't such a failure - it looked like chocolate brownie and when kept in the fridge for a few hours it tasted like a brownie. It just had an unusual sticky consistency. You'd definitely have figured it was low calorie. (sorry for really bad picture - it actually looked pretty good in real life)

 



 

I don't think i'll be trying either of these again unfortunately.

 

So, please help me find some more alternative low calorie recipes!



Spor-tea at The Dorchester

You know those gorgeous looking little cakes you see in french patisseries and occasionally stumble across here in the UK? I've always wanted to try some.

They look amazing, but with a nut allergy they also look like danger. So i've always avoided...until my trip to The Dorchester for their Spor-tea themed afternoon tea the other week.

The amazing people behind the scenes made me a nut free afternoon tea and literally for the first time in my life I was able to try those amazing little cakes i'd always assumed would be out of my reach. 

I can honestly say that this was the best afternoon tea i've ever had.

It began with the glass of Laurent Perrier (always a good start to any meal in my opinion) and was followed by a selection of lovely sandwiches in speciality breads eg Chicken in basil bread.

We then moved on to a fruit salad in a cone for me and for everyone else not allergic to nuts, an amazing olympic torch pastry!

Then came my little slice of heaven....or a plate of them. Raspberry and chocolate, passionfruit and more. The flavours were fantastic! All the little pastries had an olympic theme.

                                           My plate of deliciousness

               Everyone else's plate of delicious sporty themed cakes

If you get a chance, go to The Dorchester for literally the best afternoon tea EVER.

It was all finished off with a drink at the bar which came in a fab teapot and my glass was a china teacup with a tall stem. Fantastic way to end the day.

http://www.thedorchester.com/afternoon-tea