red velvet cupcakes with stevia in the raw

What better way to say I love you than with a treat that won't send your lover into a diabetic shock?

Hey, I had to temper the mushiness. I'm sorry.

Since my stock of Stevia In The Raw hadn't been used up, I decided this was the perfect time to try their recipe for red velvet cupcakes.

Sugar plays an important roll in baking. Not only does it affect sweetness, but there's a bit of science behind it. Sugar aids in the texture, moisture, and development of the baked good. The leavening helps baked good rise, but sugar does as well as air is beaten into the batter or dough when whipped with the fat, thus aiding the structure. (Read more: Joy of Baking)

Therefore, it reasons that using a sugar substitute will produce a sub-par result. Knowing this, Stevia In The Raw recipes replaces just half the regular sugar with stevia, allowing the sugar to do its thing but at the same time reducing the calories. Will you still notice a difference? Yes. I'll explain later on.

(It's also important to note that many sugar substitutes, stevia included, are much sweeter than sugar. There are conversion rates if adding to a recipe that doesn't require baking, though SITR says you can use the powder 1:1 in baking. Visit their site for more info.)

While this recipe was straightforward, I didn't feel like whipping egg whites. Following the technique of Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake, I added the egg whites to the buttermilk and gave the batter a 2 minute whip after the baking soda and vinegar were added. The batter was voluminous and tasty.

Now, most brands of stevia have a rather unpleasant licorice aftertaste. This brand is better than many because the aftertaste isn't very pronounced. I started tasting it after a while, especially in the cream cheese frosting, but this was most likely to tasting the batter... Multiple times. Like licking the beaters and finished off the bowl. The family tested some and didn't really notice it, so that's another plus for this brand.

The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons red food coloring. I used an entire 1 ounce bottle of Wilton's coloring paste, which says "concentrated" on the label. I may or may not have tasted it in the batter. This isn't the no flavor version, I don't think. I didn't taste it after the cupcakes had baked up, luckily. However, I'm not sure if I used too much of this type of food coloring. Look at the bowl filled with water!

My changes to the frosting was using just 4 tablespoons butter (for a very lazy reason -- I didn't want to get more out) and adding 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar. I realized I didn't want a straight up cream cheese frosting, and since I turned half the batter into a 6-inch layer cake I would need more for frosting it. I'm not going to type those instructions out since other recipes can be found, like the one I linked to below (for my favorite red velvet cake).

I can't complain about this recipe. It produced such wonderfully domed cupcakes. The height was so stunning that I paused before covering them up with the frosting. The memory will live on in pictures. The texture was a little rubbery and a bit on the dry side but not bad at all. I definitely would make these for friends and family concerned with sugar intake, though it's not going to replace my favorite red velvet cake recipe. That recipe doesn't use any baking powder and I wonder if that's why this recipe was on the rubbery-bouncy side. The recipes are almost similar otherwise, though this one called for 3 tablespoons dye. I prefer my modification of 1 tablespoon dye and teaspoons of raspberry jello powder I talked about in that post.

I found another use for the Nordic Ware covered pie pan I reviewed, though it can only fit 8 cupcakes.

Tiny cakes are adorable. This little 6-inch double layer red velvet beauty was made with the remaining batter after making 12 cupcakes. It took about half an hour to bake, so next time I will use both of the cake pans I prepared. If you only have two people in your household, you can make half the recipe. If you make the full recipe and give away or freeze the extras.

I'll leave you with a question: If muffin tins don't have to be greased and floured (assuming you aren't using liners), why do cake pans? I've never had much trouble getting cupcakes out of the tins, and I only grease the bottoms (my Wilton pan is nonstick). However, I would never ever not grease and flour cake pans. In fact, I almost always line them (I didn't this time and it released perfectly). Maybe it's because the cake pans I use have ridges on the bottom and that's why cakes stick if I don't use parchment.

---

red velvet cupcake with stevia in the raw
Recipe adapted from Stevia In The Raw

Makes 24 cupcakes

ingredients -

Cupcakes

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 tablespoons red food color
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Stevia Extract In The Raw® Cup For Cup
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, though you really can't taste it)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
2 1/4 cups Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting

2 (8 ounce) packages reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon Stevia Extract In The Raw® Cup For Cup
1/4 cup 1% low fat milk

directions -

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 12 cup muffin tins or use liners.


2. In small bowl combine cocoa, red food color and vanilla, set aside.


3. In large bowl beat together butter and granulated sugar for 3 minutes. Add yolks one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add cocoa mixture and blend well.


4. In another bowl, whisk egg whites with buttermilk. Combine Stevia Extract In The Raw, cayenne pepper, baking powder, and salt with cake flour. Add buttermilk mixture and flour mixture to cocoa mixture, alternating a third at a time beating after each addition. Combine baking soda and vinegar then add to batter and blend well. Beat for an additional 2 minutes.


5. Fill each muffin tin 2/3 full with batter. Bake 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


6. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from tins. Cool cupcakes on rack before frosting.

Cream cheese frosting

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and blend well. Makes enough frosting for 36 cupcakes.

(This confused me. I'd adjust proportions so you end up with exactly as much frosting you need without any extra. The caloric guide says each cupcake gets 1 1/2 tablespoons frosting, though I did use more.)

per serving -

Cupcakes

120 calories, 45 calories from fat, 5g fat, 3g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 2g protein, 16g carbohydrate,1g dietary fiber, 170mg sodium, 45mg cholesterol.

Cream cheese frosting ( 1 1/2 Tablespoons)

64 calories, 44 calories from fat, 6g fat, 3.6g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 2g protein, 1g carbohydrate, 0g dietary fiber, 48mg sodium, 16mg cholesterol.

Tazo Zero Tea and Summer Beach Pack Giveaway and Review

Tazo has launched a new line of zero calorie, naturally sweetened teas and I got the opportunity, thanks to the awesome Tazoians, to test them out. They also are letting me host a giveaway for my readers!

The giveaway includes a summer wellness pack which includes a really cool Tazo insulated canvas tote bag, a freezer pack for keeping contents cool, a little tube of SPF 30 sunscreen, a mini hand-held fan, and a nifty little Tazo teabag container with three teabags of the same flavor as the Tazo Zero teas.

What I noticed with the teas is the light, refreshing flavor, and I was particularly surprised by the sweetness level, which is less than most sweetened teas available. While I feel that flavored teas benefit from the sweetener bringing out the flavors, I liked the subtle sweetness these had. There is a slight licorice aftertaste from the stevia, but I don't feel that it detracted from the tea at all.

My favorite flavor out of the three (Zen, Passion, Refresh) is the Passion, an exotic hibiscus flowers, natural flavors of mango and passion fruit, lemongrass and tart rose hips. I felt it had the most flavor of the three and I just like the tropical flavors quite a bit.

The Zen, a blend of green tea, lemongrass, and spearmint, was good and really refreshing, though after a while I though the spearmint overshadowed the green tea and lemongrass. I liked the lemony flavor, though!

The Refresh is also good, peppermint, spearmint, and tarragon, but it reminded me of a nightly cup of peppermint tea so I don't think I'd go for this flavor if I was out and wanted something cool in the middle of the day. Just a personal preference as the flavor was still on par with the others.

---

Giveaway Info!

And now I can offer two of my readers the chance to try Tazo Zero and the summer wellness pack, a perfect way to start the summer off! (This offer is only available to residents in the United States)

To enter, please leave a comment on this entry, telling me what you're most looking forward to this summer!

For two additional entries

1. Blog about this giveaway, with a link back to this post, for one additional entry, and comment again telling me you did


2. Tweet this giveaway with a link back to this post, commenting again

Please comment each time you complete an additional entry.

Contest ends on 29 Monday when I'll pick the two winners! The winners have about 24 hours to reply. Good luck!

stevia honey aioli

I've been sitting on this recipe for a while out of laziness and then other posts that needed to come first. Now, I can talk about one of the most amazing things I've made this year: aioli.

Aioli is basically a garlic-flavored mayonnaise sauce made with olive oil, and absolutely worth making at least once. Unlike some recipes, the recipe I used (from Stevia in the Raw) uses the entire egg and not the yolk. You also make this using a hand held blender instead of wrist strenth, a blender, or a food processor. Once the egg, garlic paste, lemon juice, and a bit of olive oil is mixed together, you slowly drizzle in the remaining oil until fully emulsified and thick. Stir in the half packet of stevia, honey, and some coarse salt (I forgot to add black pepper) and you're good to go (and by go I mean eating aioli straight from a spoon -- wait, what?).

A long time ago I thought of making mayonnaise. I'm not sure if it was for a recipe, or if it was simply because I wanted to try it once, I really can't recall. I do remember that it was a flop. Unfortunately, I can't remember how it messed up, but it had to do with not quite emulsifying correctly even after blending it longer than necessary. Needless to say, the batch got thrown out and I never went back to trying it again. I wasn't defeated, I just don't often eat mayonnaise anyway. So you can imagine how thrilled I was at how easily this recipe came together, and how completely delicious it turned out.

Spread on a sandwich, on meat, on fish, (from a spoon), on eggs, on toast, on crackers, on steamed vegetables, or... from a spoon. I served this with breaded and pan fried chicken strips and a simple barley-spinach salad. And I think I doubled the garlic because that's how I roll.

Recipe after jump

---

Stevia Honey Aioli
from Stevia Extract In The Raw

ingredients ~

1 egg
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed to a paste
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/2 packet Stevia Extract In The Raw
Sea salt to taste

directions ~

1. In small bowl combine egg, 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic paste and lemon juice.


2. Using hand held mixer, process at high speed until garlic is fully incorporated. With mixer still on, slowly add remaining olive oil in a stream and blend until mixture is fluffy and creamy. (If the mixture gets too thick, you can add a little cold water and continue blending) Stir in honey, Stevia Extract In The Raw and sea salt to taste.

Makes (1 1/4 cups) 8 servings.

chocolate chip brownies with stevia

I recently had the opportunity to review Stevia In The Raw, from the makers of Sugar In The Raw, to use for baking and general sweetness. Stevia is a natural no-calorie sweetener and has been receiving more props as of late. Since it's three times as sweet as sugar, you don't need to use as much.

The main concern most people have with stevia is the licorice aftertaste that can linger for a really long time. When I first tasted Stevia In The Raw, there was a subtle, present licorice taste, but it did not leave any after taste at all. I then tried some stevia powder that has been here for a while and the flavor was much more pronounced, hitting you with a rather nasty powerful aftertaste a few minutes later. That right there is reason to switch to Stevia In The Raw.

For my first baking experiment with stevia, I chose their chocolate chip brownies. On the recipe itself, I didn't use whole wheat flour, and I changed how the ingredients were added, mixing the butter-cocoa mixture and the buttermilk mixture in with the eggs first before finally folding in the flour and chocolate chips. Also, I could tell that these would come out more on the cakey side than dense and fudgy, which it did, so if you're looking for a fudgy brownie you might try not adding the baking powder. The chocolate flavor wasn't intense, but it was pleasant.

And how did these taste? You couldn't tell at all that there was stevia, and there was no aftertaste. This recipe and many of the recipes for baked treats on their website include both stevia powder and sugar, most likely to keep the taste in check and so that the baked item comes out closer to the original version (these are my thoughts). You'll also find tips for using stevia extract as a substitution on their website.

To conclude, I'm really excited about this product. I don't generally go for any sugar substitute because I feel it gives you an unhealthy perception toward sweetness, and will make it more difficult to gauge sweetness in foods made with actual sugar/honey if you stop using it, but I would go for stevia over an artificial sweetener if I went in that direction at all, and I suggest everyone do that, too.

Up next, I'll be trying their Himalayan Chai Tea and the Stevia Honey Aioli for some chicken.