Orange Sour Cream Bundt Cake and…a Giveaway!

Raise your hand if you know lots about stevia.

If you don’t know anything, keep your hand down.

Mine would be somewhere in the middle.

Then the lovely people at NuNaturals sent me an email asking me to review some of their products. I figured this was as good a time as any to increase my stevia IQ.

I knew that stevia was a great natural sweetener that I could cook with to avoid getting the gross sugar highs and energy crashes I experience when I eat sugar. But when I have cooked with stevia in the past I’ve struggled to get past the slightly bitter aftertaste.

This was one of the really pleasant surprises when I cooked with NuNaturals’ products. They specifically worked to process the stevia in such a way as to remove the bitterness so often associated with this sweetener (trust me, this cake was NOT bitter!).

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The team over at NuNaturals sent over a package of information that I browsed through to get more information about their stevia products. I have put the highlights of what I learned below but if you’re interested in more and have questions, leave a comment or send me an email (to theguiltlesslife@gmail.com) and I’ll be happy to try to answer!

Some facts that helped me increase my stevia IQ:

• Stevia won’t raise blood sugar levels (this is the key for me!)
• NuNaturals’ vanilla liquid stevia gives a two-in-one benefit as it combines sweetness and vanilla flavour in one easy product. Use it in: oatmeal, tea, smoothies, recipes and more!
• NuNaturals’ stevia products are FOS-free so they won’t cause any of that digestive discomfort that some other sweeteners cause
• NuNaturals’ products are, as the name would suggest, 100% natural and gluten-free!

I decided to put the stevia to the ultimate test. I made the original ‘sweet treat’ – a cake. Or, to be precise, an…

Orange Sour Cream Bundt Cake

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The recipe is below, but first, just know that you can make this and even more treats at home too BECAUSE…drum roll please…my very first giveaway is today! Yep, the lovely people at NuNaturals gave me not one, not two, not three, but FOUR prize packs for four lucky winners (in continental US only – sorry, but not all of my giveaways will only be open to the US, I promise!).

Up for grabs?

• 1 box of NuStevia Packets (50 in a box), which are perfect for sweetening things like tea, coffee and for making life easy thanks to the pre-measured quantities
• 1 bottle of the NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia Liquid (2 oz) which can be used in a number of recipes and I used it in tomorrow’s, so stay tuned!

Please note that I was not paid or influenced in any way by NuNaturals. My comments and opinions of these products are entirely my own.

To win, do any of the following or all! Each action gives you one entry, so the more you do the more entries you get. Leave a comment for each entry you make (maximum of 5 entries per person)!

• Like The Guiltless Life on Facebook (my brand-new page!): facebook.com/theguiltlesslife
• Follow The Guiltless Life on Twitter @AnnaWootton
• Subscribe to The Guiltless Life (just enter your email address in the box on the top right-hand corner of this page – above the Twitter feed)
• Tweet about this giveaway or share it on Facebook (please leave a link to your tweet in the comments below)
• Tell me how you would use any of NuNaturals’ stevia products in the comments below

Winners will be announced on Friday, so the contest will close at 11:59pm PACIFIC TIME on Thursday night. Good luck!

UPDATE: Please note this giveaway is now CLOSED. Click here for the winners!

Now onto the recipe…mmm…

INGREDIENTS (serves 16)

3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
10 ounces olive oil-based margarine or butter
1 3/4 cups NuNaturals MoreFiber Stevia Baking Blend
2 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of one orange
6 eggs
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup orange juice

For glaze:
2 cups orange juice
1 tbsp cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sieve flour into a bowl. Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a bundt pan with cooking oil and dust with flour.

2. In a separate bowl or mixer, add stevia blend and butter/margarine. Cream together using an electric mixer on high until fluffy.

3. Add vanilla essence and 2 tbsp orange zest. Mix and then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

4. Add the flour in one go and stir in with a spatula. Once mixed, add orange juice and sour cream and fold in.

5. Pour batter into bundt tin. Sprinkle remaining zest over top of cake (this will be the bottom of the cake once you turn it out, and will give it a nice crispy orangey crust). Bake in oven for 50-60 minutes, until springy to the touch. Insert a skewer in the centre and if it comes out clean, it’s ready!

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6. In a medium saucepan over low to medium heat, stir the orange juice for the glaze. Whisk in the cornstarch and continue whisking until mixture comes to a simmer and begins to thicken.

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7. Take off heat, turn bundt cake out onto cake stand or serving tray and then pour glaze over top. Slice and enjoy!

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Nutrition information below is per slice if cake serves 16:

Nutritional information courtesy of caloriecount.about.com