The sun is warming the crisp air, the daffodils are greeting the singing cuckoos, and everybody is asking you if you can eat chocolate Easter eggs.
Often, people don’t realise that those with insulin-dependent diabetes should be able to eat what they like, as long as they medicate correctly.
So, your well-meaning pal gets you a “diabetic” Easter egg – or misses the mark completely, and buys you a gluten-free egg. Oops.
In fact, Diabetes UK doesn’t recommend “diabetic” Easter chocolate at all, since there is no clear benefit to eating “diabetic” food instead of opting for generally healthy food. To this end, when it comes to food and diabetes, the “diabetic” label has been outlawed in the UK.
Enjoy a chocolate Easter egg if you want to. Having said that, you might also prefer to stick to food that will keep your blood sugar stable.
For inspiration, we’ve got our own recipe for a low-sugar version of a British Easter classic – simnel cake.
Because it contains fruit – which is naturally sweet – it doesn’t need much added sugar. You can even go completely added-sugar-free if you want! Personalise your simnel cake to your needs.
Simnel cake
Ingredients, for the cake
175 grams butter
3 eggs
175 grams self-raising flour
400 grams dried fruit (such as sultanas, currants, dried apricot or raisins – try a mix of whatever you like)
Six tbsp honey
100 grams sugar (if you want it – it’s completely fine without sugar too)
2 tsp cinnamon, or any other spice you see fitting
Ingredients, for the marzipan topping
You can buy the marzipan layer, in which case use:
450 grams marzipan
Or, to ensure less sugar, make the marzipan yourself with:
150 grams ground almonds
1 egg
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp almond essence
Along with this, use the following for the topping:
1 tbsp jam made without added sugar (if you can get your hands on it) with the flavour of your choosing (but apricot is the classic)
1 egg
Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 150C/140C Fan/Gas 2.
2. If making marzipan, start by beating one egg in a bowl, and adding the almonds.
3. If the honey needs to be runny, melt it in a pan on low heat. Then add to the bowl along with the almond essence.
4. Mix together well, and place the bowl in the fridge for about an hour or more.
5. For the cake, put all the cake ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
6. Put half the mixture into a greased cake tin (about 18-20 cm round).
7. Take the marzipan from the fridge, flatten it, and cut a circle in the shape of the cake tin.
8. Place the marzipan circle on top of the cake mixture, and put the rest of the cake mixture on top of that.
9. Bake between 90 and 110 minutes – or until golden brown on top and cooked through in the middle. Leave the cake to cool when finished baking.
10. Brush the cooled cake with jam.
11. Cut another marzipan circle and place on top of the cake, and roll the remaining marzipan into balls to stick them on top of the marzipan layer, around the edge of the cake.
12. Brush the cake with a beaten egg, then place the cake in the oven under the grill for about 5 minutes until the marzipan browns.
Enjoy
Whether you choose to bake this cake, eat a chocolate Easter egg, or celebrate by continuing your regular diet – enjoy it. And enjoy your Easter break too!
From all of us at Hedia, Happy Easter!
If you want something savoury to accompany your Easter dessert, try our diabetes Easter recipes!
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