Today, more than ever, we are increasingly aware of the advantage of eating well and the importance of unrefined, whole, natural ingredients. Every day, more versatile ingredients and new cooking methods that involve an abundance of vegetables, pulses and whole foods are available, and I’m so pleased to see that this culinary revolution has finally started to focus on desserts. The purpose of this book is to celebrate the choice of a natural, healthy diet, even for the sweetest things in life – cakes. The starting point is the use of unrefined, wholegrain, organic, seasonal and, whenever possible, locally sourced ingredients. The recipes in this book are not sugar free – they contain fruits, vegetables and other types of sweeteners – but the cakes in this book are all naturally sweetened with ingredients such as apple puree and mashed banana, or unrefined sugar. Baking without ‘traditional’ ingredients like refined sugar or flour can seem intimidating, but in the end, it is not as difficult as it seems.
Giovanna Torrico, Natural Cakes
