The Bake Off diet: how to have your cake and eat it (without piling on the pounds)

The Great British Bake Offis a sugar-fuelled celebration of baking, in which sweet-toothed amateur cooks compete against each other each week to create the ultimate showstopping cakes.

But a more austere era may be approaching, as the show’s new Channel 4 judge Prue Leith has called for less sugar in the contestants’ culinary creations. “I would love to see healthy recipes, of course I would,” she told The Sunday Times.

Following in the footsteps of campaigning TV chef Jamie Oliver, the cookery writer and restaurateur has said that the British diet has too much fat and sugar, and has stressed that cakes made with an abundance of sugar, eggs and butter should be eaten only as an occasional treat.

Meanwhile, fellow newcomer Noel Fielding has admitted that he won't be eating cake during the series. The 44-year-old Mighty Boosh star controversially said that he will be laying off the treats because "no one likes a tubby gut". 

But happily, there's an abundance of ways for bakers to make healthier cakes which could both impress Leith's discerning palette and perhaps prevent Noel Fielding from bursting out of his trademark skinny jeans.

By enlisting the help of a few readily available alternatives to refined sugar and adding nourishing ingredients that can count towards your recommended five-a-day into the mix, you really can have your cake and eat it.  

1. Medjool dates

Healthy eating blogger Deliciously Ella, who confesses to having a sweet tooth, recommends replacing refined sugar with naturally sweet alternatives such as medjool dates ("the squishier, stickier, tastier kind"), the key ingredient in her raw brownie recipe. They're also a potassium powerhouse and a great source of magnesium, according to Livestrong.com. 

2. Coconuts 

Coconuts are a brilliant resource when it comes to incorporating alternatives to dairy and refined sugar into your baking.

Nutritional health coach Madeleine Shaw uses coconut oil, coconut sugar and coconut milk in her gooey, decadent chocolate ganache cake, and Telegraph cookery journalist Diana Henry has a recipe for a moreish lime, cardomom and coconut cake.  

 3. Chestnuts

The Hemsley sisters, authors of The Art of Eating Well, have plenty of gorgeous gluten-free recipes with nourishing ingredients, including their Italian "castagnaccio" (chestnut cake). It's so simple that it doesn't contain any eggs or butter, using chestnuts infused with rosemary and sweetened with raisins.

According to Nutrition and You, chestnuts are lower in calories and fats than other nuts and seeds, but are still a rich source of vitamins and minerals. 

 4. Courgettes

Courgettes will keep your cake mixture light and moist, as well as making it a bit healthier than your average cake.

According to Nutritionist Resource, they're low in calories thanks to their high water content, and contain significant levels of potassium to control blood pressure and vitamin C to boost your immune system.

They're a versatile way to use up your garden produce, or leftovers from the farmer's market, so you can get creative with everything from blueberry and courgette muffins to Mary Berry's courgette and walnut loaf cake from her book My Kitchen Table: 100 Cakes and Bakes. 

 5. Natural syrups

Experiment with natural sweeteners including honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup as alternatives to refined sugars – but be careful, as they're still high in calories. According to BodyNutriton.org, brown rice syrup has a glycemic index (GI) rating that's higher than table sugar.

This said, according to The Groovy Food Company, their agave syrup actually has a lower GI and less calories. Apparently you can often use less for the same sweetness with natural substitutes. 

 6. Olive oil

The health benefits of olive oil are well-known. Rich in monounsaturated fat (that's good fat), extra virgin olive oil is high in antioxidants and is thought to stall heart disease, and it can be used in a number of delicious recipes as an alternative to fattier dairy products such as butter and other calorific vegetable oils.

Nigella Lawson has a recipe for a gluttonous chocolate olive oil cake, but those hoping to incorporate fruit and vegetables into their bake might want to opt for an olive oil carrot cake instead.

They may or may not help you to see in the dark, but according to Great British Carrots, carrots are packed with fibre, which helps to keep the digestive system healthy and to balance your blood glucose (sugar) levels.