Category Archives: Desserts

Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Recipes

One more Irish cake recipe

I couldn’t resist posting one more Irish recipe even though we’re past St. Patrick’s Day.  But we have National Tartan Day coming up on April 6th and this would work for a nice tea cake to celebrate your Irish or Scottish tartan. Besides, it’s a very tasty tea cake.

I’ve adapted this Irish Whiskey Cake recipe from a little booklet called Favorite Irish Teatime Recipes to make it a smaller cake and low carb. The original recipe calls for sultanas or golden raisins, but those are very high in carbohydrates, so I substituted in sugar reduced craisins and it works very well, if I do say so. I hope you’ll give this a try for a nice afternoon tea. (Also works for a simple dessert and you can top with a a little fruit and a bit of whipped cream.)

Irish Whiskey Cake in a 6″ square pan makes 8 servings. Cut into quarters, then slice each quarter down the middle lengthwise.

Irish Whiskey Cake

1/2 orange
2 tablespoons Irish Whiskey
1/4 cup Sugar Reduced Craisins
6 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1 Egg
2 tablespoons Egg Whites
1 cup Low Carb Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt

The night before you make the cake, cut the orange in half and peel one half into thin strips. Squeeze out 2 to 3 tablespoons of orange juice and put in a bowl with the peels. Stir in the whiskey and craisins, cover and soak in a cool place overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.). Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 6″ cake tin, either round or square.

Beat the egg and egg whites together in a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add the beaten eggs, a little at a time.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together and fold into the mixture, then stir in the whiskey and fruit mixture.

Turn into the cake tin. Bake for 20 minutes and test for doneness. If it doesn’t bounce back when touched, cook another 5 minutes and test again.. If it browns too quickly, cover the pan with foil. Cool for at least 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Make a simple syrup to pour over the top and add moisture. In a saucepan, add 1/2 cup sugar substitute and 1/2 cup water. Cook and stir until the sugar melts completely, let it come to a boil, then turn it off and add 1 tablespoon Irish whiskey and a couple of orange peels to make a flavored syrup. Remove the orange peels when it cools, then drizzle over the cake.

Cut into 8 slices.

Nutrition Information per slice
Calories:140.3 Fat:13.4 g Net Carbs: 3.8 g Protein: 2.8 g

Note: When using low carb flours, I like to use more than one type in my cakes. LC Foods has a cake quality low carb flour, but I used CarbQuick, which is like Bisquick without the carbs. I also used a little Coconut Flour and Vanilla Whey Protein Powder. You can use Almond Flour or Soy Flour. 

Desserts, Recipes

Layered Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake

For Valentine’s Day, I wanted to put out something a little special and heart-shaped that is delicious.  I ran across a recipe for Marbled Cheesecake Hearts in an old Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk recipe booklet and thought about how I would adapt it to a low carb recipe.  Right off, the sweetened milk is a problem, but one you can work around.  LC Foods offers a substitute version mix and although I’ve got one on hand, I haven’t tried it yet. But I wanted to try making this just using extra sugar substitute and heavy cream instead.

I followed the original recipe instructions (see them here), but cut them in half to make a smaller cake.  It came out more like a layer of chocolate and vanilla than a marble swirl. I concluded a few things while doing this:

  1. The recipe says to use half the cream cheese mixture as vanilla and add the chocolate to the rest and swirl it in. It’s too much chocolate, which is why mine came out with an almost solid chocolate top. I didn’t have enough vanilla to pull through. So I’ve changed it to 1/3 mixed with the chocolate to swirl through.
  2. The top got a little dry in the oven, which gave it a flaky appearance. Adding a pan of water underneath will help to keep it moist and prevent the drying out.
  3. Using heart cookie cutters results in a quite a few small pieces of your cheesecake being left over and not so pretty.
    So I suggest making it in heart-shaped molds or cutting it into bars and putting a sugar-free candy heart on top. You can also cut a strawberry down the middle and place it face down on the top to make a strawberry heart if you can to use it for a special occasion. When you do this, you’ll have less mess, less work, and eight servings.
  4. You also don’t need to put it in the foil liner. Just put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of your pan and spray the sides with baking spray so it will come out easily.

Layered Chocolate and Vanilla Cheesecake

1 Chocolate Shortbread batch (recipe below)
12 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 oz Unsweetened Chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (F.) Line a 6″ x 9  1/2″ (or close to it) deep-sided baking pan with heavy foil (see note 4 above), cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom, and set aside.

Make the chocolate shortbread crust as described below.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy. In a small bowl, combine the cream and sugar substitute and mix together. Beat into the cream cheese until it is smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until blended. Pour 2/3 of the batter over the crust and smooth with a rubber spatula.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until it is smooth. Stir the melted chocolate into the remaining batter until it is mixed in. Spoon this in six mounds over the vanilla batter in the pan. Use a table knife or spatula to gently swirl the chocolate batter through the vanilla batter so it looks marbled.  Put a pan of hot water under the rack in the oven, then put the cake above it.

Hearts cut out with a cookie cutter. They can be decorated with icing, whipped cream, or berries.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the cake is set. Cool for about 10 minutes, then put into the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour. Lift out of the pan using the foil to slide onto a cutting board. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut hearts. Or you can just cut into bars. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

This makes 6 heart-shaped cakes and the rest is pieces that you can cut into pieces and mix with whipping cream in a bowl for a not so special-looking dessert for two more servings.  (See note 3 above.)

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Information (Filling Only)1 serving
Calories: 428.4 Fat: 43.4 g Net Carbs: 3.4 g Protein: 7.9 g

Chocolate Shortbread Crust

3/4 cup low carb flour
1/4 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup Butter
3/4 cup Sugar Substitute
2 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Pinch Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix the baking mix, almond flour, whey powder, sugar substitute, and salt together. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have a soft dough.

Press into the bottom of your prepared baking pan.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Nutrition Information (Crust Only) 1/8 recipe
Calories:150.6 Fat: 15.1 g Net Carbs: 1.2 g Protein:2.8 g

Desserts, Recipes

Fruit Cobblecakes are a Nice Change

We bought a bag of apples for the holidays and still had a few remaining toward the end of January, so I’ve been looking for recipes that use apples. I ran across one for an Apple Pudding and I tried it using low carb ingredients. It’s very good, but I wouldn’t call it a pudding. I’ve dubbed it a cobblecake because it’s more like a cobbler and cake combination.

It’s also a flexible recipe that you can easily substitute different fruit into it. So far, I’ve tried cherries as well as the apple version. But I’ve given you some other options like peaches and berries to try.

You can make it gluten-free by using almond flour, soy flour, or a gluten-free flour of choice. The only one I wouldn’t use is coconut flour, primarily because it won’t rise without an egg in the recipe. If you decide to try it, add 1/4 cup liquid egg whites and 1/4 cup coconut flour to replace the flour in order to get a puffy cake. The almond milk makes it a good choice if you’re lactose intolerant, although you can make it with cream or milk instead of almond milk if you prefer.

Apple Cobblecake
Apple Cobblecake

Basic Apple Cobblecake

1 cup Apple slices (about 1 medium apple)
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 tablespoon Sugar-free Gingerbread syrup (optional)
1/4 cup Butter, melted
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cub Low Carb Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk or 1/4 cup Cream plus 1/4 cup Water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put the apple slices, cloves, and cinnamon into a microwave safe bowl and add syrup and mix. Microwave for 2 minutes.

In a bowl or the blender, mix the rest of the ingredients until they are completely blended and smooth.
Pour the batter into 1 quart casserole dish. Put the apples slices in the middle. Do not stir in.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Let cool about 10 minutes and serve with whipped cream or low carb ice cream.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving with almond milk:
Calories: 151 Fat: 13.4 g Net Carbs: 4.2 g Protein: 4.2 g

Nutrition Information per serving with cream:
Calories: 199 Fat: 18.6 g Net Carbs: 4.5 g Protein: 3.6 g

Peach Cobblecake

Use the same recipe, but use only 3/4 cup of peaches.

Nutrition Information per serving with almond milk
Calories: 154.5 Fat: 14.2 g Net Carbs: 3.9 g Protein: 2.7 g

Cherry Cobblecake with whipped topping. Photo at the top is the whole cake in a casserole dish.
Cherry Cobblecake with whipped topping. Photo at the top is the whole cake in a casserole dish.

Cherry Cobblecake

3/4 cup fresh or frozen Cherries (Cranberries or Blueberries)
1/4 cup Butter, melted
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cub Low Carb Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk or 1/4 cup Cream plus 1/4 cup Water
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (for blueberries, try Almond Extract)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the cherries in halves or quarters and mircowave with a tablespoon of water for 1 minute to soften them.

In a bowl or the blender, mix the rest of the ingredients until they are completely blended and smooth.
Pour the batter into 1 quart casserole dish. Place the cherry pieces and any juice in the middle. Do not stir in.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Let cool about 10 minutes and serve with whipped cream or low carb ice cream.

Makes 4 servings.

Cherry Cobblecake
Nutrition Information per serving with almond milk:
Calories: 159 Fat: 14.1 g Net Carbs: 4.7 g Protein:2.8 g

Cranberry Cobblecake
Nutrition Information per serving with almond milk:
Calories: 152.5 Fat: 14.1 g Net Carbs: 2.8 g Protein:2.6 g

Blueberry Cobblecake
Nutrition Information per serving with almond milk:
Calories:160.4 Fat: 14.1 g Net Carbs: 2.8 g Protein:2.6 g

Desserts, Recipes

Simple LC Apple Pie

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If you love the taste of apples and crave apple pie, this is the answer to your low carb prayers. It’s easy to make and checks in with about 8 net carbs per serving. You can easily substitute in peaches for the apples to make a peach crumble.  My recipe makes 2 individual pies.  If you don’t have enough carbs to spare for a whole serving, then eat only half and save the rest for another day.

1/2 cup sliced apples
1 teaspoon Brown Sugar Splenda Blend
1 tablespoon Sugar-free Gingerbread Syrup or Maple Syrup
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Quick Oatmeal
2 tablespoons Almond Flour
1 teaspoon Sugar Substitute
8 pecan halves (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare 2 1/2 cup ramekins or soufflé dishes by coating with a little butter.

Put 1/2 of the apple slices, 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar blend, 1/2 tablespoon syrup, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon cloves in each dish and stir. Microwave both for 1 minute. The bottom should be like a caramel syrup. If you are using nuts, break into pieces and distribute half on the top of each dish.

In a small bowl, mix oatmeal, almond flour, and sugar substitute and use a fork to mix in the butter to make a crumble. Add a little water to make a paste. Use a teaspoon to drop 1/2 on the top of each apple-filled dish. Spread it around a little to make a crust, but leave the middle open.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. Let cool about 10 minutes or more.Serve with a little whipped cream.

Nutrition information per serving, no nuts:
Calories 123: Fat: 9.5 g Net Carbs: 7.4 g Protein: 1.9 g

Nutrition information per serving, with nuts:
Calories 153: Fat: 12.4 g Net Carbs: 8.1 g Protein: 2.4 g

Desserts, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes

Light and easy, Mexican-style flan dessert

Happy 2017, everyone!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and we’re all ready to settle back into a low carb routine. I know I need to do it.  Too many holiday goodies in this girl’s life and I definitely must drop some pounds.  How about you?

I tapered off on posts a little towards the end of the year in 2016, but I’m aiming to get back on a weekly schedule this year. If you have any particular food dish that you’d like to see if I can adapt to an under 10 carb meal, please drop me a line or post a comment. I’m always looking for new recipes.

On New Year’s Eve, I went with my Mexican food tradition and put together turkey enchiladas for dinner. For dessert, I wanted something light that would compliment the main course and not be too heavy. What better than a Mexican flan?

Flan is very much like a panna cotta and is very easy to make.  This one has a light orange flavor from adding grated orange rind, but I took it a step further and put slices of orange dipped in sugar substitute on the top. Give it a try and you might count it among your favorite desserts.  I do.

The only drawback is that this makes a very small serving, but it’s rich enough to satisfy. If you have the carbs to spare, you can make it into two servings instead of four.

Orange Mexican-Style Flan

1 tablespoons Brown Sugar Splenda
1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoon Butter

2 Eggs
3/4 cup Cream
1/4 cup Water
2 1/2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon Orange Zest

8 segments Orange for garnish (optional)
1 tablespoon Almond slivers (optional)

Heat oven to 325 degrees (F.) Butter four 1/2 cup custard dishes or four cupcake molds. Heat water to boiling in a pot.

In a microwavable bowl, put the brown sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon butter, and cook for 20 seconds. It probably won’t melt much. Add 1/2 teaspoon of hot water and stir. Spoon into the bottom of the custard dishes. You could also use a caramel-flavored sugar-free syrup instead of the brown sugar Splenda.

In a blender, add the eggs, cream, water, sugar substitute, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange zest and blend until smooth. Pour equal amounts of the mixture into each custard dish.

Put the custard dishes In a roasting pan or other large pan and place in the middle of the oven, then pour hot water into the roasting pan to about 1 inch up the sides of the custard dishes. Be careful to not get water in the custard dishes.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack. Spray cooking spray on plastic wrap and   sprayed side down, cover each of the dishes, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Garnish with slices of oranges dipped in sugar substitute and/or toasted almonds before serving,

Makes four servings.

Nutrition Information per serving: (No topping)
Calories: 188.5 Fat: 17.2 g Net Carbs:4.5 g Protein: 4.0 g

With orange slices:
Calories: 222 Fat: 20.1 g Net Carbs: 6.1 g Protein: 4.0 g