Puddings Lucious Lemon Cake OR You can your cake and eat it !!

[cheeselover]

Forgive me if this recipe is already here somewhere but just in case it's not I thought I would share my version of it !

200g Couscous
1 large tub of zero fat fromage frais
1 small tub of Quark
2. Lemons
3 eggs , separated
Concentrated lemon squash ( I use tesco double conc)
6-12 tbsp of sweetener ( depends on type & how sweet you like it )
Vanilla extract

1. Soak the couscous for 10 mins in squash made up with 1/3 concentrate to 2/3 boiling water , enough so that when you poor it over there's about a 1cm of liquid above couscous , you can always add a little more once it's absorbed & if it's still hard . (cool for 10 mins)
2. Zest lemons & remove juice .
3. Mix sweetener , egg yolks , fromage frais , vanilla & juice of one lemon and add to couscous .
4. Whisk egg whites until stiff & fold into mixture .
5. Bake in lined tin or silicone cake tin sprayed with fry light , for approximately 25-30 mins in 170 c , check periodically as some ovens will cook faster than others .
6. Once cooked remove from oven and prick cake all over with wooden skewer , spoon over juice if other lemon mixed with a few tsps of sweetener ! Leave cake to soak up juice and then turn out , repeat on underside !
7. When completely cool , whip up quark , vanilla & 3-4tsp of sweetener & spread over cake !
8. Enjoy !

Syn free but should be eaten sensibly , ie if you eat the whole cake in one day , that's not going to help your weight loss , however I enjoy a couple of slices a day , with some fruit & weight loss has been steady !
You really can have your cake and eat it !!

 

[Gumbootlou]

Sorry, it's not syn free. You have to syn the couscous....stupid food abuse rules again. I love this cake though and still make it even though you are supposed to syn it. I never do though but like you said, I don't eat it all at once......only a slice a day.

 

[who_la_hoop]

Yes, unfortunately Gumbootlou is right - if you're using couscous as a flour substitute, like here, it has syns (5 syns per 30g). This is to protect your losses.

 

[cheeselover]

Yes, unfortunately Gumbootlou is right - if you're using couscous as a flour substitute, like here, it has syns (5 syns per 30g). This is to protect your losses.

Our consultant says different , and whilst I understand that it's going to affect your losses if you abuse it and eat masses , it's not been a problem for me , people do need to use a little common sense with these things , I shouldn't imagine anyone would expect to eat a whole cake or even half of one and still lose weight , I would consider eating obsessively large quantities of anything "abuse" using my own guidelines & common sense I am able to have my cake , eat it and have my weight loss too !
I think somewhere along the line we have to take responsibility for what we eat and how much , free or not , it's all about moderation & exercising some self control!
If anyone wants to make it and wants to Syn it , that's not a problem but as the recipe came from my counsellor (well hers actually had lemon curd in it which I felt was pointless and didn't contribute to the cake at all except some Syns ) I'm happy to take the advice I'm paying for and go with it . She actually said to be moderate with it if we didn't want to slow down our losses but no mention of syns at all as far as the couscous goes .

 

[cheeselover]

Sorry, it's not syn free. You have to syn the couscous....stupid food abuse rules again. I love this cake though and still make it even though you are supposed to syn it. I never do though but like you said, I don't eat it all at once......only a slice a day.

I like your common sense approach , we've got to exercise a little self control here , I agree !
If I was scoffing down a whole or even half the cake , I would be in trouble ! Free or not , it's not a great way to change bad habits !!
But it's yummy and I enjoy it and I shall not be Syning it either !!
Unless of course the scales dictate I need to!

 

[who_la_hoop]

Our consultant says different , and whilst I understand that it's going to affect your losses if you abuse it and eat masses , it's not been a problem for me , people do need to use a little common sense with these things , I shouldn't imagine anyone would expect to eat a whole cake or even half of one and still lose weight , I would consider eating obsessively large quantities of anything "abuse" using my own guidelines & common sense I am able to have my cake , eat it and have my weight loss too !
I think somewhere along the line we have to take responsibility for what we eat and how much , free or not , it's all about moderation & exercising some self control!
If anyone wants to make it and wants to Syn it , that's not a problem but as the recipe came from my counsellor (well hers actually had lemon curd in it which I felt was pointless and didn't contribute to the cake at all except some Syns ) I'm happy to take the advice I'm paying for and go with it . She actually said to be moderate with it if we didn't want to slow down our losses but no mention of syns at all as far as the couscous goes .

Ack, sorry, I get the impression you think I was a having a go, but I'm not I was just making a factual statement - on the slimming world plan, couscous used as a flour substitute has syns. I just looked it up on Syns Online to double check:

Couscous, ground/used as flour, 25g 4½ 4½ 4½

Obviously, you should follow this as you see fit.

 

[cheeselover]

Ack, sorry, I get the impression you think I was a having a go, but I'm not I was just making a factual statement - on the slimming world plan, couscous used as a flour substitute has syns. I just looked it up on Syns Online to double check:

Couscous, ground/used as flour, 25g 4½ 4½ 4½

Obviously, you should follow this as you see fit.

No offence intended , I don't grind it , I just use it as it is ! I would probably eat more of it i was having couscous as a meal , if you see what I mean than is in the whole cake that I only eat a slice of , I know years ago people made it with semolina & it was free for a time & then wasn't and still isn't !
But ground I agree , you may as well use flour & Syn it .

 

[ermintrude]

Our consultant says different , and whilst I understand that it's going to affect your losses if you abuse it and eat masses , it's not been a problem for me , people do need to use a little common sense with these things , I shouldn't imagine anyone would expect to eat a whole cake or even half of one and still lose weight , I would consider eating obsessively large quantities of anything "abuse" using my own guidelines & common sense I am able to have my cake , eat it and have my weight loss too !
I think somewhere along the line we have to take responsibility for what we eat and how much , free or not , it's all about moderation & exercising some self control!
If anyone wants to make it and wants to Syn it , that's not a problem but as the recipe came from my counsellor (well hers actually had lemon curd in it which I felt was pointless and didn't contribute to the cake at all except some Syns ) I'm happy to take the advice I'm paying for and go with it . She actually said to be moderate with it if we didn't want to slow down our losses but no mention of syns at all as far as the couscous goes .

I think its also partly for newbies and stuff - we shouldnt go round making it *sound like* this kind of stuff is free when it is officially not. Its fine for each person personally to choose whether they want to tweak the rules but its not cool to go round perpetuating the myths that this stuff is free when its not

(Again, not having a go, just think it needs to be clear to people that this stuiff is NOT free and its up to you as an individual whether you want to count it as though it is )

 

[PatchworkPuss]

You might like to refer your consultant to the SW website where it says this:

Are couscous cake and lasagne-sheet ‘Doritos’ Free?

You might be disappointed to hear that they’re not. Because changing the use of a food can make it easier to over-eat, to protect your weight loss they become Synned.
When foods like pasta, rice and grains are used in their original form they’re low in energy density (calories), bulky, appetite-satisfying foods. Pasta, couscous and rice are usually the main ingredient in a meal packed with other Free Foods – giving it sufficient bulk to be satisfying as a meal in itself. However, when ground down, used as flour (like in couscous cake), seasoned crisps (like Doritos) or puréed (like smoothies) they’re often used as additions to a main meal… and on top of your day’s Syns. It is a very effective way of adding a lot of extra calories in a non-bulky way, and as such would then be counted as Syns

 

[cheeselover]

You might like to refer your consultant to the SW website where it says this:

Are couscous cake and lasagne-sheet ‘Doritos’ Free?

You might be disappointed to hear that they’re not. Because changing the use of a food can make it easier to over-eat, to protect your weight loss they become Synned.
When foods like pasta, rice and grains are used in their original form they’re low in energy density (calories), bulky, appetite-satisfying foods. Pasta, couscous and rice are usually the main ingredient in a meal packed with other Free Foods – giving it sufficient bulk to be satisfying as a meal in itself. However, when ground down, used as flour (like in couscous cake), seasoned crisps (like Doritos) or puréed (like smoothies) they’re often used as additions to a main meal… and on top of your day’s Syns. It is a very effective way of adding a lot of extra calories in a non-bulky way, and as such would then be counted as Syns

If your not using the couscous ground though , just in its natural state , does that still count ?

 

[ermintrude]

If your not using the couscous ground though , just in its natural state , does that still count ?

Yes, because you're "changing the use of a food" which "can make it easier to over-eat [so] to protect your weight loss they become Synned" [...] "Pasta, couscous and rice are usually the main ingredient in a meal packed with other Free Foods – giving it sufficient bulk to be satisfying as a meal in itself." When they’re "used as additions to a main meal… and on top of your day’s Syns. It is a very effective way of adding a lot of extra calories in a non-bulky way, and as such would then be counted as Syns"

 

[cheeselover]

Thank you , I shall point this out to my SW consultant as I guess if people did think oooooh free , I can eat as much as I like then they ate going to come unstuck !
I'm happy to carry on as I am as I only ever had the odd slice & I'm guessing as I hardly ever use my syns that's why it's not affecting my losses !

 

[PatchworkPuss]

Absolutely, I agree it's about taking responsibility and using some common sense