VANILLA BEAN LAMINGTONS

The 'vanilla bean' part makes them sound gourmet, doesn't it?

One of my resolutions this year was to embark on a full 12 months of sugar-free baking. Australia Day called for an Australiana recipe: challenge accepted. I made these lamingtons from have your cake by Emily Rose. Her recipes are butter-free, white flour free and contain no added sugar. The recipes still contain sugar, just less of the processed stuff. This recipe uses honey instead of sugar. The jury is out when it comes to honey vs sugar. Some say the difference are too minimal to note; others say that honey is processed differently by your body, has a lower GI and has mineral and antibacterial properties that table sugar does not. You can start reading here or take your questions to Google.

The point of my sugar-free baking resolution is to find some healthier special occasion treats and lunch box alternatives -- to have a few other options up my sleeve when I resume normal baking in 2015 (you didn't think I was giving up cupcakes forevers, did you?)

So you may have noticed the chalk sign accompanying my lamingtons. I gotta say, they looked pretty good IIDSSM so I felt I needed to advertise their innards honestly. It's not my intent to lure people into sampling faux treats only to discover they've over-committed to a fibrous taste vacuum. They're not taste-free, but neither are they the light and fluffy supermarket lammo fingers that we all know and love. They're dense, and the 70% dark chocolate was too strong for my taste. Nevertheless, bless my nieces for sampling my baked goods (one came back for seconds, the other had the good manners to hide hers underneath a paper plate) and I also received what I think was genuine compliment from at least one adult party guest. SCORE!

You can find the recipe here (s'if you wouldn't want to). In fairness to Emily Rose, her recipe has demonstrated that you CAN trick SOME children (and adults) into consuming healthier treats.