Health

Recently, I've been working out more and trying to watch my calories, but it's really difficult to eat healthy and bake--there's just too much temptation to eat unhealthy. This got me thinking. Typically baked goods, such as cookies, cakes, pretty much anything, are high in carbohydrates, sugar, and fat--basically all of the things you should avoid excesses of. So naturally, many people who are trying to lose weight cut baked goods out of their lives completely, and for some, that's fine. But for others, like me, an occasional cookie or cake isn't harmful and craved for a lot. The problem is moderation. So how can this problem be solved? Well, instead of eating the delicious cookies, cakes, and other sugary treats in moderation, maybe there's a way to make them healthy but still just as delicious. Alternatives such as whole wheat flour, vegetable oil instead of butter (cutting out saturated fat), reduced sugar, and altering the proportions of ingredients can work wonders in cutting back those calories. It's especially important to cut back on the sugar, since it's not good for you--I can't remember the last time I baked something without reducing the sugar first. As long as you're careful and diligent, there's not reason to completely cut baked sweets out of your diet, as they can even be healthy!

Cupcakes!

One of my very favorite things to make and decorate is cupcakes. There are endless combinations of flavors and designs to make them, and it's fun to be creative and make new flavor or design combinations, and of course, eating them! Cupcakes are essentially the same as cake, just put into different molds, so the recipes to make cupcakes vary greatly (just like the ones for cakes), and it's important to choose a recipe that is simple and not too time consuming to make when making cupcakes, because it requires more work to put the cakes into molds. For instance, it may be difficult to make sponge cake cupcakes because sponge cake is leavened using whipped egg whites, and the longer you wait, the more your cake will deflate. It would be difficult, but possible, to make cupcakes like this because it takes much longer to put the batter into molds, so it is important to consider factors like this before baking. The type of cake as well as flavorings and design are very important things to consider when making the "perfect" cupcake.