5 minute read
Have Your Cake & Eat It
YOU CAN have your cake
AND EAT IT!
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By Sarah Peeling and Rachael Hallewell
of Apeeling Cakes of Buzz Performance
Everyone loves cake. Whether it’s with your morning coffee, your afternoon tea, or as fuel for your exercise, we should all be able to include cake and sweet treats as part of a balanced diet, without feeling guilty.
The history of cake dates back to ancient times when it was similar to bread, with added fruit and nuts and eaten with honey. According to food historians, the ancient Egyptians were the first civilisation to show advanced baking skills. The modern version of cakes with icing are believed to have been baked in Europe in the 17th century.
In the past, ingredients were expensive so it was seen as an honour to be offered a cake. Today, cake is often consumed in a celebratory and social environment, when we share a slice with friends and family. It enhances our mood, makes us feel happy and boosts our spirits, bringing a community together. Over the centuries, the message of cake has remained the same: it says to someone that they are important, it represents love and companionship.
But there’s another reason to eat cake - it makes the perfect fuel for exercise and planning a cake and coffee stop into a bike ride is often the most important part of the outing. Of course, everything in moderation. If we practise sports, we can consume cake to our advantage, absorbing different nutrients at specific times to help us perform at our best.
Inside a standard cake you’ll usually find…
Flour - a starchy carbohydrate, Sugar - normally glucose, also a carbohydrate, Eggs - protein and healthy fats, Butter/Oil - fat, saturated and unsaturated.
These are the Macronutrients, but they also offer plenty of Micronutrients that are also essential for the body. For example, butter contains fatsoluble vitamin A (we actually need fat to be able to absorb it); it is a form of retinoid, good for our skin, but also for our immune health and vision. Depending on the oil we use, it provides the body with the essential Omega 3 (our body does not create it), helping to keep our brains healthy.
Cake is primarily made up of carbohydrates, or ‘carbs’. Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of fuel. Carbohydrates are absorbed and stored by the body in the form of glycogen. Our brain cannot function and our body will not perform to its best without carbohydrates. We need carbohydrates!
The types of carbohydrates we consume are absorbed at different rates. For example, when we are out cycling, we need quick releasing carbohydrates such as sugars (glucose, fructose) or more refined carbohydrates like white flour.
We can save the more complex, and fibrous, varieties (wholegrain) for occasions when we have more time to digest food. There is no point overwhelming the digestive system with foods that take longer to digest when the body is trying to climb the Col de Joux Plane. Something that is easily digested to fuel our muscles quickly is preferable! Everyone is different though, so it is all about playing around to find what suits us is best – whether it is sweet or savory.
Therefore, when taking part in any form of exercise, there is a place for cake – in fact, as we can see, it is a pretty good fuel. When we make our own homemade treats, we can control the ingredients (including no preservatives!) and ensure we have something we enjoy eating, and which we know is going to give us the fuel we need.
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We can make our bakes more ‘nutrient dense’, where the ingredients may offer us more nutrients than maybe others. Adding vegetables, fruit or nuts, for example, can enhance the nutritional value (and sometimes calorific value!) of our cake or snack. Apeeling Cakes’ famous carrot cake squeezes in two of our five-a-day – brilliant!
Meeting our daily nutrient requirements is obviously most important to keep the body in optimum health. Cake and sweet treats can slide into our diet by also offering nutrients; and for those exercising, there is most definitely a place for this form of fuel.
All this being said, we should not forget that cake is not just food for fuel, it is also food for the soul. Whether we just fancy treating ourselves, are celebrating an occasion with friends, or have it as a reward for any reason, cake always makes us happy.
We should therefore remember that any form of cake can be good for us! There are no bad foods, it is about when we eat them and under what circumstances. Everyone can still eat cake, even if we are not partaking in cycling or other exercise activities. A balanced diet is key to keeping fit and healthy.
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Apricot Slices (makes 12) :
• 200g soft dried apricots • 100g sultanas/raisins/other dried fruit • 50ml orange juice • 200g unsalted butter, chilled and diced • 150g wholemeal (or plain) flour • 150g rolled oats • 1 tsp grated orange zest • 75g soft dark brown sugar • 75g soft light brown sugar (or you can just use 150g of the same sugar)
22 x 30cm rectangular or 22x22cm square tin - lined with baking paper
Preheat oven to 170C (325F), Gas Mark 3
1. Mix apricots with sultanas and orange juice and leave to soak. 2. Rub together butter, flour, oats and zest to a crumb like consistency. 3. Stir in the sugar. 4. Drain juice from the dried fruit and stir the fruit into the mixture. Add some of the juice. 5. Press mixture into the tin and bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown. 6. Remove and cool in the tray before slicing. 7. For an indulgent extra, drizzle over some melted dark chocolate.
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