Category Archives: Desserts

Desserts, Recipes

A Special Treat of Black Forest Flavors

Aside

Recently, my roommate canned a couple of dozen jars of sugar-free cherries and we opened one to see how they tasted before giving them to anyone. She also did a cherry jam that was delicious and also sugar-free. We tried that on low carb ice cream with chocolate. It tasted great, but it got me thinking about a Black Forest chocolate cake.

So, I decided to use my flaugnarde recipe as a base and turn it into a Black Forest tart with a kind of pudding filling. The result was really tasty and I think you might enjoy trying it. Because it used cherries, it’s not the lowest carb dish you could make and it would probably work equally as well with raspberries, but then it wouldn’t be Black Forest, would it?

This could make a simple, but delicious special dessert during the holidays.  And check out some of the other holiday dessert recipes I’ve listed below.  Happy Holidays to all!

Black Forest Flaugnarde

This is a variation on the traditional flaugnarde recipe that uses chocolate, cream, and eggs in it to produce a pudding-like center in the dish. I make it in individual soufflé cups for easy serving. The recipe is simple and almost fool proof.

1 Egg
3 tablespoons Heavy Cream plus 2 tablespoons Water
OR 5 tablespoons Unsweetened Almond or Coconut Milk
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoon Butter, softened or Baking Spray
1 tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Pinch of Salt
2 tablespoons Low Carb Flour (baking mix or almond flour)
6 whole cherries, cut in half or Sugar-Free Cherry Jam*
2 tablespoon Sugar-free Chocolate Chips or 1 serving of sugar free chocolate candy broken into pieces and divided.

*If you’re using cherry jam, use only 1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute.

Preheat oven to 385 degrees (F.) Butter or spray two 1/2 cup soufflé cups from bottom to top. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the eggs, cream and water or milk, and sugar substitute using a small spatula. Add the cocoa powder and flour and mix together.

In the bottom of the souffle cups, put 1/2 the cherries and 1/2 the chocolate chips in each. Spoon 1/2 the egg and flour mixture into each cup. They will be almost full, but leave a little room at the top. They will rise in the oven and if there is too much, they will overflow.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the top looks dry and looks done. With chocolate, it can be hard to tell but it will not look glossy. Remove from the oven and let cool about 10 minutes, then serve with a dollop or whipped cream or whipped topping.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 294 Fat: 25.1 g Net Carbs: 6.8 g Protein: 6.4 g

Try these delicious and low carb recipes to sweeten up your holidays. (Click on image to go to recipe page.)  Many more are on these pages. Check out the cookies!

Cranberry Coffeecake
Cranberry Almond Coffeecake
Pistachio Cheesecake
Maple Pecan Pumpkin PIe
Desserts, Recipes

A Lovely Fall Flavor: Persimmon

For a short time each Fall, persimmons are available in some markets throughout the country. Many people ignore this seasonal fruit, but you should embrace it. It has a unique flavor and can be used in many ways. You can peel it, cut it into slices, and add it to a salad with cranberries and a light sweet dressing to top it off wonderfully. You need to use a fully ripened persimmon to make jams and breads so that you have the fruit’s natural sweetness. If you eat them too soon, they are tart. I latched onto a twenty-five pound box of these and spent almost a full day scooping the interior of each out with a spoon. Instructions on doing this are on the internet here.

I froze several bags of the pulp to use for other times of the year when they aren’t available. Then I made this lovely Persimmon Panna Cotta, or pudding. It is light and delicious while being somewhat low carb. It is a little higher than I usually like, but I eat it on a day when I have plenty of carbs left to spend after dinner. You can divide the mixed panna cotta batter into 1/2 cup glasses, parfait glasses, or souffle dishes. Or you can do what I did and put it into a three cup bowl, then scoop it into serving dishes after it is fully set.

Try the Persimmon Bread recipe. Or you can try Persimmon Cookies  

Persimmon Panna Cotta

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup sugar substitute
2 cups unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 cup Persimmon Puree
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves

Optional toppings:
2 tablespoons Persimmon Jam or 6 Persimmon Slices (optional)
whipped cream (optional)

Put whipping cream in a 3 to 4 cup bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top to soften. Meanwhile, bring the almond milk to a simmer and remove from the heat.

Whisk in the cream and gelatin mixture carefully. Then add the persimmon puree, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves and stir in until well-mixed. Let cool about ten minutes, then use a measuring cup to full the serving dishes or leave in the bowl. Put plastic wrap over the top of each dish and put in the refrigerator until the pudding is firm, 4 to 5 hours.

Serve with optional persimmon jam or a persimmon slice or top with a tablespoon of whipped cream. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Information per servings (without toppings)
Calories: 172 Fat: 15.6 g Net Carbs: 5.5 g Protein: 2.7 g

Questions, comments?  Let me know what you think!

Desserts, Recipes

Chocolate plus Avocado equals dessert?

Recently, I watched a Food Network Show in which one of the chefs on the show made a Chocolate Avocado Mousse and I was intrigued. For one thing, they talked about the creamy, rich flavor of the dessert. I decided to try to make a low carb version. I found three slightly different recipes, including one from Food Network’s site, and I combined them with my low carb ingredients to make four servings.

To be honest, I’m undecided about this as a flavorful chocolate dessert. It’s not bad, but it isn’t your grandma’s chocolate mousse. The avocado makes it taste richer in fats, but doesn’t really add any flavor to it. What I did notice was the texture, which is creamy, but also has a little grit even though I thoroughly processed it in the food processor until it was smooth. The roomie wasn’t thrilled, agreeing that it didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t the tastiest mousse either.

Where this might be beneficial to people would be if you are lactose intolerant, since you can use almond or coconut milk to make this version, or if you want to get the benefits of avocado, but you don’t actually care for the taste. The chocolate masks it well. Ultimately, it’s up to each person to decide if they think this is a delicious dessert or not.

I have eaten it two or three times and find that a little makes a pretty good topping on a scoop of low carb ice cream. If you layer it in a glass with orange or cherry flavored whipped cream, it might be a better balanced flavor that cuts the extreme chocolate richness. If you give it a try, post a comment before to let me know what you thought and how you served it.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

1/2 cup Sugar-free Chocolate Chips
1 tablespoon Butter
2 very ripe (8 ounce) Hass Avocados, peeled and pitted
6 tablespoons granulated Sugar Substitute
1/3 cup Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
2 tablespoons Heavy Cream (optional)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/8 teaspoon fine Salt
Melt the chocolate chips with a little butter in a double boiler or put in a microwave safe bowl in a microwavable container with water in it for about 1 minute, then stir. Stir until the chocolater is completely melted. You may have to microwave a couple of time in 30 seconds increments

Here comes the hard part. Put all the ingredient in a food processor or blender and process until it is creamy and smooth. I actually added the cream to it because it was so thick and too chocolaty for my tastes. You can add additional almond milk instead if you want it thinner.

Spoon into four 1/2 cup serving bowls or glasses. Chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving. It keeps a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

Would be great layered with cherry-flavored whipped cream (or orange flavored) and a fresh cherry on top.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 341 Fat: 23.7 g Net Carbs: 4.4 g Protein: 2.5 g

Desserts, Recipes

Low Carb Fruit Mini-pies are possible

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Ever wished for a little mini-pie to satisfy your sweet tooth, then looked at the carb count on the package of one of those pre-made ones?  Yikes!  One of the them can run around 70 net carbs for an apple one.

But you can make a low carb one at home fairly easily.  How, you may ask? Using low carb flours and sugar substitute really brings the carb count down.  Apples are a high carb fruit, but you can make a low carb apple mini-pie (or turnover) for under 10 net carbs.  I definitely don’t recommend this for anyone who is still losing weight and on phases 1-3 of the Atkins plan.  But for those who are on maintenance or have a high daily net carb count, this recipe will give you a great little pie. Just don’t make a habit of it.

You can use the same recipe for other fruit pies, such as peach, cranberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry.  Of these options, raspberry is the lowest carb count, coming in around 4 net carbs per pie. I broke open the crust in the photo so you could see how flaky the crust is and how good the fruit looks.

Low Carb Fruit Mini-Pies

1 Gala or other semi-tart Apple or 1 cup of other fruit
2 tablespoons chopped Pecans or Walnuts
2 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Diet Cranberry Juice
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
2 tablespoon Brown Sugar Substitute

1/2 cup Low Carb Baking Mix
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
2 tablespoon Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
3 tablespoons Shortening
2 to 3 tablespoons Cold Water

Make the pie crust by mixing the flours together in a small and cutting in the shortening until it resembles crumbs. Add enough water to pull the flour mix together into a ball. Wrap in wax paper and put in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour.

While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Peel the apple, if you wish, and cut into thin slices or chop it, whichever you prefer. Melt butter in a skillet and add the apples, nuts, cranberry juice, brown sugar and seasonings and stir together, continuing to cook and stir for about five minutes. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool until the dough is done.

Before you take the dough out, preheat the oven to 265 degrees (F.). Prepare four muffin wells by spraying with baking spray.

Separate dough into five balls. Dough should not be sticky. Place a piece of waxed paper on a bread board and put a little low carb flour on it. Press the dough into a small round, then put another sheet of waxed paper over the top and roll until you have about a three-inch in diameter crust. Press into a well of the muffin tin. Repeat with three more balls of dough. Use a fork to poke a few vents in the bottom of the crust.

Spoon 1/4 of the filling into each of the muffin wells and top with 1 teaspoon of butter. Now, take the fifth ball of dough and split it into four smaller balls. Roll each one into a round that is large enough for the top of the muffin tin. Place the top dough on each pie in the tin and seal the edges. Poke a couple of holes in the top with the fork or a knife.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown. Remove and let cool about 10 minutes. Serve with a scoop of low carb ice cream or a tablespoon of whipped cream topping.

Makes four mini-pies.

Nutrition Information per Apple pie:
Calories: 320.5 Fat:23.3 Net Carbs: 9.6 g Protein: 11.5 g

Nutrition Information per Peach pie:
Calories: 307.2 Fat:23.3 g Net Carbs: 6.6 g Protein: 11.6 g

Nutrition Information Raspberry pie:
Calories: 276.4 Fat:22.7 g Net Carbs: 4.0 g Protein: 11.9 g

Desserts, Recipes

Tasty Apple Yogurt Tart

Looking for a simple to make and low carb dessert? Look no further than this delightful Apple Yogurt Tart. It comes together quickly and tastes fabulous. For the base, I’ve used two flours that are usually available at grocery stores — almond flour and coconut flour. When cooking with these flours, allow the cooked results to completely cool and handle them carefully. They are delicate and break easily. If you prefer not to remove them from the mold (I used a silicone mold to make removal easier) then you can make them in a ramekin and serve them in it. Apples are not on the weight loss portion of the Atkins diet due to the higher count of natural sugars, but if you are on maintenance or are just trying to stay lower carb’d in your eating, this is great with apples. You can also use berries to top the tart.

I used Kroger Foods CarbMasters dairy yogurt product, but there are a couple of other low carb yogurts. The one I based the nutrition value on is CarbMasters at 4 net carbs for 6 oz. Look for a yogurt that is around that carb level. If you use Greek yogurt, it will probably be a little higher. Alternately, you can also use a 2-tablespoon layer of sugar-free vanilla pudding.

Apple Yogurt Tart

2 tablespoons Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
3 tablespoons Butter, softened
3 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup diced Apples
2 tablespoons chopped Pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/2 container low carb Vanilla Yogurt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F.)

Bottom crust:
In a small bowl, mix almond flour, coconut flour, 1/2 sugar substitute, and 2 tablespoons butter together. If dough is too dry, add a little water. It should come together into a crumbly dough. Spray 2 round 2 1/2 to 3 inch mini-cake baking molds with cooking spray. Press 1/2 the dough into each mold to cover the bottom.

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until the cookie tart is lightly browned. Remove and let cool completely before removing from the mold. Almond flour and coconut flour are very delicate and break easily.

Apple Topping:
In a skillet, melt remaining butter and add remaining sugar substitute. Add Pecans, apples and cinnamon and sauté over medium heat until apples are soft and a caramel sauce forms in the pan.

Once the cookie crusts are cool, remove from the molds and place on serving dishes. Spread 1/2 of the yogurt (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) over the cookie crust and top with 1/2 of the warm apple mixture. Add a dollop of whipped cream if you wish.

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 434 Fat: 42.4 g Net Carbs: 6.0 g Protein: 5.5 g

Made with Strawberries (omit the cinnamon and pecans)
Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 345 Fat: 31.3 g Net Carbs: 5.5 g Protein: 7.3 g

Note: The apple topping is also great over low carb ice cream.