Spring Garden Tea Party By Teresa Foster

What’s sweet, red, and packed with BOTH a serving of vegetables and half a serving of fruits?

Cupcakes! The Product  Red velvet cupcakes  Made with avocado and freeze-dried strawberry powder  Dyed (partially) with beet juice The Alteration  Reduced fat  Increased fruit and vegetable content

Preparation Methods: Control  Standard cake mix  Made with oil, water, and eggs  Basic cream cheese frosting  Same recipe used for both frostings  Goal: to create healthier, homemade cupcake that is equal in simplicity and preparation time  Reduce artificial coloring

Original Product Standard commercially prepared portion of Red Velvet Cake with frosting

Preparation Method: Modified 1. Cream 1 ½ cups sugar and 5 oz avocado puree for 40 seconds 2. Add 2 eggs, ½ c beet juice, 1 teaspoon red food coloring, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation Method: Modified 3. Add 1/3 of remaining wet ingredients ( 1 cup buttermilk ). Add 1/3 of dry ingredients ( 2 ¼ cups cake flour, 2 tablespoons cake flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and 0.75 oz freeze-dried strawberry powder ). Continue altering wet and dry ingredients in thirds. Ready to be baked! Bake at 275°F in a convection oven for 18 minutes or until set.

The Frosting  6 oz Neufchâtel cheese  1 teaspoon vanilla  1 ¾ powdered sugar, sifted  Cream Neufchâtel cheese until smooth and airy. Add vanilla. Add powdered sugar slowly until frosting is smooth and holds its shape for piping.

Modified Product Includes frosting

It’s healthy!...er  Decreased calories significantly  Only 20% calories from fat  Decreased total fat content  From 26 grams total to 7 grams total  Reduced saturated fat from 7 grams to 2.5 grams  Removed all trans fat from recipe  Increased fiber content  From 0 grams to 2 grams  Contains one serving of vegetables and one-half serving of fruit  Increased vitamin C and iron

Why avocado?  20 essential nutrients  Fiber, potassium, vitamin E, B vitamins, folic acid  Help body absorb fat-soluble vitamins  Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat can reduce risk of heart disease Source: California Avocado Commission

Nutritional Benefits  Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat reduces risk of coronary heart disease by 19% (Harvard School of Public Health)  Many commercial products replace saturated fats with trans fats  Healthy diet, including unsaturated fats, can lower risk of cardiovascular disease  American Heart Association recommends consuming 5 servings of fruits/vegetables daily

The Science of Cupcakes  Creaming avocado and sugar makes a lighter base for the cupcake  Cake flour lightens product, more tender crumb  Alternate wet and dry to ensure even mixing, not over mix batter  Lower baking temperature to cook cupcake evenly and avoid tough exterior  Balancing acidity of batter  Keeping the beet juice red

What makes a good cupcake?  Appealing presentation?  Outside color? Appropriate for product?  Shape? Rounded top? Uniform size?  Crumb and cell size? Consistent?  Uniform interior color?  Moist?  Dense or airy?  Slice/bite evenly?  Pleasant aroma?  Taste like red velvet cake?

Works Cited  California Avocado Commission (n/d). Avocado Nutrition. Retrieved April 26, 2012 from  Science News (2010). Replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat may cut heart disease risk. Science Daily. Retrieved April 25, 2012 from 10/03/ htm 10/03/ htm