Can you indulge in calorie-laden cakes and still boast a bikini body? This 68-year-old woman says you can - and has released a cookbook full of desserts to prove it

• Carolyn Hartz, 68, was diagnosed as pre-diabetic when she was 41
• For the past 27 years she has been strict with her flour and sugar intake 
• She plays basketball, is active and boasts a toned figure 
• The mother-of-three swears by the sugar alternative Xylitol 
• Mrs Hartz' book 'Sugar Free Baking' offers a range of sweet treats
• She says they're sugar free but nobody would be able to tell the difference 

By Laura House For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 02:06 EST, 28 September 2015 | Updated: 17:05 EST, 28 September 2015

At 41, Carolyn Hartz was diagnosed as pre-diabetic after years of eating copious amounts of sugar and sweets. 

Now, at 68, the Perth mother-of-three feels healthier than ever, plays basketball and boasts an enviable figure.

The secret, Mrs Hartz says, is 27 years of moderation, very little sugar and very little flour - something she explains further in her book 'Sugar Free Baking'. 

Scroll down for video 

Bikini body at 68: Carolyn Hartz, 68, gave up sugar when she was 41 after being diagnosed as pre-diabetic

'I was addicted': The mother-of-three says she was 'addicted' to sugar and would often eat a packet of biscuits  or a cheesecake for breakfast - but now has created a range of sugar free desserts (left and right)

'I was addicted to sugar but I didn't know it - I just knew I loved it,' Mrs Hartz told Daily Mail Australia. 

'It was nothing for me to have half a cheesecake for breakfast or a packet of chocolate biscuits in the afternoon - even a block of chocolate.'

But after suffering dizzy spells and a diagnosis of pre-diabetes, Mrs Hartz was frightened into making a change. 

'This news frightened me and I was scared,' Mrs Hartz said, 'I didn't want to be sick, I'm not a sick person I've played state netball and I've swam at state level and I took up basketball at 45 - I have always been able to do everything and I didn't want that to stop.' 

'I was scared': Mrs Hartz spent a year sugar free and read up on sugar - she found a sugar free alternative called Xylitol - a naturally occurring sugar found in trees, corn cobs and fruit 

'Moderation': Mrs Hartz created a recipe book with a bunch of 100 per cent sugar free desserts, from chocolate tarts (right) to cashew and coconut biscuits (left)

For one year, Mrs Hartz cut out sugar completely. 

'Fear is a great thing because I was frightened and I cut out sugar - everything,' Mrs Hartz said.

'I did that and I looked amazing - I have to say - but I really missed it and having a sweet or a glass of wine here and there.' 

Mrs Hartz went to a gastroenterologist who taught her the art of moderation. 

HOW DO YOU MAKE CAROLYN HARTZ' VANILLA LAYER CAKE? 

 

INGREDIENTS

Cake – makes 1 layer

150g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease

100g Perfect Sweet® xylitol

3 X-large eggs

200g almond meal

50g arrowroot

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

Pinch of salt

180 ml milk, lukewarm

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

To Assemble

500ml whipping cream

400g fresh berries of your choice

200g Perfect Sweet® Berry Jam (Recipe on Website)

75g Dark Bitter Chocolate, melted (optional) (Recipe on website)

Rose petals or edible flowers to decorate (optional) 

METHOD

Preheat oven to 150˚C/130˚C fan-forced. Grease a 24cm round cake pan with butter and line with baking paper,

Use an electric beater to beat the butter and xylitol in a medium bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well.

Mix the almond meal, arrowroot, gluten free baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl. Add to the egg mixture and combine on low speed. Add the lukewarm milk and vanilla and stir until combined.

Pour mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Repeat this recipe twice for the remaining layers. 

To Assemble

Whip the cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.

Set aside 1 cup of the whipped cream and 150g of the fresh berries to decorate the top layer. 

To assemble, place the first cake layer on a serving plate and spread over half the jam, then half the remaining cream and top with half the remaining berries. Gently place the second cake layer on top and repeat. 

Place the third cake layer on top and finish with the reserved whipped cream and berries. If using, drizzle with melted chocolate and serve. 

'I said to him "if you tell me I can have no sugar forever I don't know what I'm going to do",' she said. 

'He was the first person who ever said to me "moderation" and that was the beginning of my journey.'

Mrs Hartz, who was also diagnosed as gluten intolerant, decided to create a range of recipes that were truly sugar and flour free after discovering Xylitol - a 100 per cent natural sugar free alternative that naturally occurs in the fibres of birch trees, corn cobs and fruits and vegetables.

'Many of the gluten free things that are available are loaded with sugar - if you take the flour out of a product you have to replace it with something like rice flours, tapioca starch and other starches which are tasteless,' Mrs Hartz said. 

'They would never know the difference': Mrs Hartz says her recipes taste just like the real thing 

'Nourishing': The recipes are sugar free, gluten free and have beneficial ingredients like protein and fibre 

'So to get the taste in most of the time they add a tonne of sugar.'

'Sugar Free Baking' contains a range of recipes that are, what Mrs Hartz says, '100 per cent sugar free', including no honey, agave or maple syrup.

'They taste delicious and I promise I could make anyone a cake and they would never know the difference - Xylitol tastes like sugar and doesn't have an after taste,' she said.  

'You savour them and taste them': Mrs Hartz says her recipes are filling and able to be truly enjoyed 

'Sugar Free Baking': Mrs Hartz' book will be released in October 

'One of our lamingtons has more nourishment and more good than a muffin you buy at a shop and the cakes are so full of nourishment and fibre and protein that you can only have a little bit at a time.' 

The recipes range from vanilla layer cakes and chocolate cake to lemon curd and chocolate mousse. 

'The thing with my recipes is that you don't get the highs and lows associated with sugar and flour but you also enjoy them - you savour and taste them rather than quickly devour them,' Mrs Hartz said. 

Mrs Hartz, who is no stranger to a bikini shoot, says people are more-so surprised at her attitude than her age. 

'People are not just surprised by the way I look, they say I have a lot of energy and I do - I am 68 and play basketball with my grandkids and love being active,' she said. 

'I love this age - the only problem I have with it is how many years I have left to do everything I want to do!'

Sugar Free Baking is $29.95 and stockists will be listed on www.sweetlife.com.au as of October 2015. 

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