1. Spring Garden Tea Party By Teresa Foster

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

3. 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

4. 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

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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. Modified Product Includes frosting

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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?

16. Works Cited  California Avocado Commission (n/d). Avocado Nutrition. Retrieved April 26, 2012 from http://www.avocado.org/nutrition/ http://www.avocado.org/nutrition/  Science News (2010). Replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat may cut heart disease risk. Science Daily. Retrieved April 25, 2012 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 10/03/100322211831.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 10/03/100322211831.htm