Ten in 10 Update & Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding

I realise having a diet update and a chocolate pudding recipe in the same post is a little contradictory but just go with me! I wouldn't last more than 5 minutes on a deprivation diet and while I've gone there in the past ... no more! I intend to get fitter and healthier over the next 10 weeks but I still want to have the foods I enjoy, just in moderation.

Overall it's been a great week!

Things I did well:

1. Kept track of what I ate (I'm using a great FREE resource called Calorie King which tracks calories, offers menu plans and generally helps keep me aware of what I'm eating)

2. Exercised 5 days out of 7. I'm going to try for 7/7 this week but honestly even 5 days is fantastic. Anytime I've attempted a program like this in the past, lack of exercise has been my stumbling block. It's just not something that comes naturally but I feel great afterwards and I actually miss it when I skip a day.

Things I can do better next week:

1. Late afternoon snacking. I definitely get the 4pm munchies so I need to have plenty of healthy snack options around. I tend to graze during the afternoon and seeing just how the calories add up has been eye-opening.

2. Plan my meals. I not only need healthy and filling dinners but also leftovers for N to take the next day, where possible. So steak and salad might be a great dinner but it's not great second time round. I will hopefully plan better for next week.

3. Throw away the scales! I know I said I wasn't going to get stuck on the scales but I ... weighed myself every day. *hangs head in shame* The number yo-yo'ed up and down all week to finally settle a measly 200 grams down from last week. So. I will weigh in once a week (on Saturday). The end.

And now onto the good stuff!

By Friday I was really craving something sweet. N reminded me of my 'no bake' policy for January so he decided to whip up dessert for us!

We thought this recipe originally came from his grandmother but now we're not so sure. Wherever it came from it's easy to make at a moment's notice and is absolutely sublime with a big scoop of ice cream!

N's Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding

1/2 cup self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
90g (3oz) sugar
1 tbs cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
1 tbs melted butter/vegetable oil

For the sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 rounded tbs cocoa powder
210ml (7 fl oz) very hot water

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Place the sauce ingredients into the bottom of a 1 litre casserole dish and stir to combine. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, sugar, salt and cocoa. Add the milk and melted butter and mix until just combined. Spoon the mixture over the sauce. It does not have to placed evenly as the cake will rise to the top and the sauce will remain underneath.

Bake for approx 45 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving with cream or icecream.

For a larger quantity, double the amount of pudding mixture but only 1 1/2 times the sauce is sufficient.

** Update - Thanks to Liss who directed me to the recipe calculator at Spark Recipes, I can now offer the following nutrition info for my chocolate pudding.

Enjoy! :-)

TWD 2nd Anniversary - Tarte Tatin

This week marks the 2nd anniversary of Tuesdays with Dorie! Two years ago I didn't have a blog and had only just discovered that food blogs even existed. It didn't take long for me to stumble across the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers and to want a piece of the pie. And shortbread. And cheesecake. (Oh, the brown sugar apple cheesecake!)

Laurie's idea to bake her way through Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours was a great one. So many of us have cookbooks that sit on the shelf despite our best intentions to use them regularly. Baking and blogging together has been a fabulous experience for me and I am looking forward and letting us all have a turn selecting a recipe was inspired. I am number 133 in the list (we are up to 96 now) so I still have a little wait for my turn.

In honour of the anniversary we voted for our recipe this week and I was thrilled the Tarte Tatin won out! (I made the Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake for my 30th last year). As I mentioned a few days ago I am taking a baking hiatus for January, but I couldn't let this one slip by so I made it for our New Year's Eve dinner.

First off, the actual dinner was spectacular! We made a slow roasted pork belly with caramelised vinegar, sauteed pears and potatos and baby broccoli. Honestly if I ordered this in a restaurant I would have been thrilled. The photo really doesn't do it justice. You'll just have to trust me!

I was a little worried about making the tarte tatin but it was a breeze. I used a square baking dish so I didn't even have to trim my pastry sheet. The caramel cooked up beautifully, nothing burnt and it turned out of the dish easily as well. The only problem came with the eating...

The taste test

It was SOOOOOOO sweet. As in tooth-aching, I-don't-think-I-can-eat-my-whole-piece sweet. Which is such a shame! I did in fact manage to eat my piece but I didn't have any for breakfast the next day as I was hoping to. Hubby didn't mind though, he polished off the rest in no time flat.

Still, I can say that I have mastered the Tarte Tatin and now I know I can do it, I will be making it again, just with less sugar! (I have since looked at some other tartin recipes and they all use less than half the amount of butter and sugar as this one).

Thank you Laurie! I am proud to be a part of this fabulous group of bakers and I'm looking forward to another great year!

Healthy Bread in 5 - Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf

We eat a lot of toast in this family. My dad has even been known to have toast with jam for dessert! But to make good toast you definitely need good bread and this recipe fits the bill perfectly.

This was the second recipe I made out of Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I was looking for a more standard loaf (I made a boule the first time). Something that would hold up for both sandwiches and toast.

This loaf is a honey and egg-enriched, wholewheat bread with a lovely sour/sweet flavour. As it contains eggs it doesn't keep in the fridge as long as the other recipes, just 5 days as opposed to 14. But really when it tastes this good I defy you to have it last even that long!

One batch of this recipe was enough for 2 full loaves (made in a 9 x 4 pan). It sliced up beautifully and we are still enjoying it toasted, straight from freezer.

I won't post the recipe here as I think you should get the book! You'll find it on p78 of Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

Ten in 10

Lori aka Recipe Girl has started a wonderful challenge for the new year called Ten in 10. The aim? To get healthy, whatever healthy means to you! I had already decided I was going to make January a detox month, now I am committed to a full 10 weeks of getting healthier, fitter and stronger.

I SO need this challenge. I am still 10 kilos heavier than I was pre-pregnancy which means my clothes don't fit, I get tired more easily and I have pudgy bits that are getting me down. Not cool. While I desperately want to lose those 10 kilos I am keeping my goals health oriented. I know the weight will come off in the process and I won't get fixated on the scales.

My goals are:

1. To eat consciously (watch my portion size, only eat when hungry, stop when I'm full and keep track of what I eat)
2. To exercise for 30 minutes daily
3. To live like a healthy, active person ie. getting up off the couch and out of the house!

To help kickstart my Ten in 10 I will be taking a break from all baking groups for the month. That means no TWD, Daring Bakers or Daring Cooks. But make sure you check back on Tuesday - I couldn't miss the TWD 2nd anniversary!

I will be posting every Saturday with an update. There are over 200 participants from around the world so to join or check in and see how everyone's going, click here.

Fridays with Dorie: Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake

I've always thought if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. Could that be the reason I am 3 days late in posting?

I had really high hopes for this recipe. I mean, chocolate and cheesecake? How can it go wrong? Ummm. Sorry to say but this was bad. BAD. I always make cheesecakes in a waterbath. It keeps the temperature consistent, cooks evenly and ensures a silky, luscious texture. The fact that this recipe did not require a waterbath had me nervous from the get go.

I had the temperature slightly lower than stated and also gave it less time. Still I ended up with a very, very, very solid cheesecake. Something like a block of cheddar cheese. The taste? Not good enough to make up for the fact it was so damn hard. That I was serving this on Christmas Eve and not one of us could even finish a piece? Not happy, Jan.

On the plus side the crust was fabulous! One of the best ever. I used crushed granita biscuits and brown sugar which resulted in a caramelly flavour that I loved.

Another huge plus was the Spiced Cranberry Sauce I served with the cheesecake. This was its saving grace and I will definitely be making it again. And again. And again. You get the idea!

Spiced Cranberry Sauce
Adapted from here

300g frozen cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
Juice and zest of one orange (remove the zest in wide strips using a vegetable peeler)
1 cinnamon stick
1 x 2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
Juice of 1 lime

Place all ingredients except the cranberries into a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the cranberries, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the cranberries are soft but still mostly whole.

Remove from the heat. Discard the cinnamon stick, ginger and orange zest. Can be served warm or cold.

Option - strain the the liquid, squashing the cranberries to remove all the juice. Cool completely. Add 2 tablespoons to a champagne flute and top up with sparkling wine.

My apologies to The Tea Lady for stuffing up her pick somehow. I was so disappointed. Make sure you check out her blog for a successful version. I adore chocolate cheesecake so am tempted to have a go again, this time using a waterbath. Fingers crossed!