The sweet business with Stevia in the EU soon officially permitted!

The sweet business with Stevia in the EU soon officially permitted!

by Marie MannNo Comments
The long battle of biology professor Jan Geuns to get the EU Commision to approve the natural sweet stevia extract for use in Europe since 1997 finally seems to be over. The EU commission gave the green light, the proposal is still under consideration in the EU Parliament and EU Council; theoretically, objections could still be raised until 29 October, but this happening is highly unlikely. The Estimated date for the official green light of the EU Commission is currently 15th November 2011. Professor Geuns is delighted by the progress, but is not yet satisfied. He is already working on another application for admission; he is pushing to ensure that the extracts may be used in greater quantities and especially in “all foods”. This shall make it easier for companies to sweeten with stevia in any way they want, allowing development of a wide variety of processed food sweetened with stevia extract.   So, in future, the 3000 times sweeter than sugar stevia extract will not...
Read More
Bienenstich Kuchen or “Bee sting cake” a german tea time cake with “Stevia”

Bienenstich Kuchen or “Bee sting cake” a german tea time cake with “Stevia”

by Marie MannNo Comments
  Bienenstich or "Bee sting cake" is a German baked dessert with a topping of caramelised almonds; the base is split and filled with a stiff vanilla custard cream or Buttercream. Mmh, yummy!  No it doesn't sting I made this a couple of days ago whilst doing heavy duty DIY on my bathroom, I fancied a sweet and remembered my friend telling me she was making this cake for her birthday party in germany. Uhh - I haven't had one of these in a decade so I though why not make one quickly. I replaced the traditional yeast cake base with a biscuit sponge base which much quicker to make, no waiting for the dough to rise, it also give it a slightly lighter base which I sweetened with  natural zero calorie stevia sweetener ; this saves some of the empty calories that the sugar would normally add. For the filling, I used stiff whipped whipping cream  mixed with one 3rd thick vanilla custard pudding which I also sweetened with stevia-sweet. The only thing I could not make sugar free was...
Read More
Sugar free Junket, historic milk pudding dessert with strawberries

Sugar free Junket, historic milk pudding dessert with strawberries

by Marie MannNo Comments
Junket must be the most basic pudding there is, no starch or gelatine involved, making it a perfect dessert for Vegetarians and Celiac disease sufferers.  This Junket recipe  is also sugar free, sweetened with natural zero calorie stevia sweetener, which makes it suitable for stage 3 of Candida diets. Earlier this year I got bitten by the bug to want to make my own stuff like my parents did when I was little. I am getting fed up with store bought products that have an endlessly long list of strange unspeakable ingredients in them. I am pedantic about knowing what I am putting in my body in the quest to practice perfect dammage control in all areas of my life. How lucky we are that the internet has a large host of recipes and ideas to improve life and food. Now, I have been testing a lot of ice cream parlours that have established themselves as part of dairy milk farms. Most of them also sell a few other products like milk,...
Read More
Italian Castagnaccio Chestnut cup cakes

Italian Castagnaccio Chestnut cup cakes

by Marie MannNo Comments
  A gluten free birthday treat for fit and health conscious individuals, sweetened with natural zero calorie stevia sweetener. I came across the Castagnaccio – a traditional Italian dessert cake based on chestnut flour - when looking for a baked birthday gift for my super fit Italian friend Martina; she is from Tuscany, so I thought I'd make her a birthday treat that is from her region since she had to celebrate her birthday in England away from family and friends. The recipe was perfectly suited for what I wanted, it is traditional to Tuscany, has healthy ingredients that are great for any health conscious eater and it's suitable to make in small portions and keeps for a few days as we were going out for food she would have to keep it for later. The chestnut flour cake originating from the Tuscan region uses mainly chestnuts, which represented an important widely available food source for the poor peasants and farmers. Even the other ingredients are all locally...
Read More
Lemon Lavender dessert- sugar free

Lemon Lavender dessert- sugar free

by Marie MannNo Comments
Smooth refreshing lavender quark dessert sweetened with natural zero calorie stevia sweetener. Here is another luxurious recipe to celebrate lavender season and enjoy the calming fragrance of our lavender plants. It’s a super easy dessert that can be whipped up in minutes, has no added sugar and get it's sweetness from the natural Stevia-sweet sweetener. It can make a great finish to a summer dinner garden party, with it’s unique, unusual flavour it will definitely leave your guests with a taste to remember.   Makes approx. 4 portions Prep time: 5min Refrigerate: not necessary, but can be prepared in advance and cooled until serving time. You need: 500g – Quark or Natural fromage frais 1/2 teesp. Dried lavender petals 1x juice of whole lemon 100ml – skimmed Milk – I used skimmed 0.3% fat. 2-3 knife-tips Stevia-sweet 90% powder dissolved in 1 table spoons hot water Note: getting the sweetness to the desired level is a matter of trial and error, the best thing is to start with a smaller amount of...
Read More