Category Archives: Desserts

Desserts, Recipes

Meringue Magic And Delicious!

Originally posted on my LJ Blog August 9, 2012

I was about 20 when I first discovered the delight of making meringue shells from a Betty Crocker Cookbook, which I still have and use. The first time I was on a low carb diet, I quickly adapted the recipe to sugar-free. Sadly, the sweeteners in those days weren’t as good as they are now and the shells, as well as all the other sugar-free desserts I made back then, tended to have a not-so-pleasant aftertaste. With present day sweeteners tasting and behaving like sugar without the aftertaste, desserts are easier and tastier than ever.  Meringue cookies and shells are easy to make and melt in your mouth like magic and don’t add inches to your hips.

The original recipe I used was called “Cherry Berries On A Cloud” and the meringue was shaped into a bowl with raised sides to hold a wonderful filling of cherries and whipped cream. Since cherries are very high in carbohydrates, I replaced them with fresh strawberries. Yummy! The bonus is the meringue is easy to shape into whatever design you might want for the dessert, be it a circle, a diamond, or a heart, so it’s pretty versatile. I’ve included my updated recipe for this below that now incorporates chocolate chips and nuts as well as low carb yogurt. Please note that it is important, and essential, to let the meringues dry out in the oven. If you don’t give them at least two hours to dry, you’ll have, as my most recent batch attested, a cookie that is more like a meringue on a pie than a crunchy, melt away cookie.

Strawberries on a Cloud

Meringue shell:
2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup sugar substitute of choice (I usually use a combination of Splenda and liquid sucralose)
½ cup sugar free chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans, almonds or walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:
1 pint of fresh strawberries, halved
2 cups of CarbMaster’s flavored yogurt of choice (strawberry white chocolate is delicious!)
½ cup sugar substitute
1 cup of whipped cream or whipped topping

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with a layer of parchment paper, spray with cooking spray or use a silicon mat. Draw an 8 inch circle or other shape about the same size on the paper. Or just make eight 2 inch rounds on the tray.

In a clean small bowl, whip egg whites until they are foamy, add cream of tartar and continue to beat until peaks begin to form. Gradually add the sugar substitute and continue to beat until stiff. Fold vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts into the whipped egg whites carefully.

Spread the meringue over the circle you’ve drawn and build the edges of the shell as you hollow out the center. If you would like, you can make a ¼ inch layer of meringue on the paper, then put the rest of the meringue into a plastic bag, cut the end with a small hole and make the sides of the shell with this. If you’re doing individual shells, then just hollow the centers out and build up the edges for each shell. I’ve pictured an individual serving.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes, then turn the oven off and let shells dry out in the oven for at least two hours.

Beat whipped cream in a bowl until it begins to get stiff, then add in sugar substitute gradually and continue to beat until stiff.

Fill the center of your pie shell with the yogurt, arrange berries on top, then add dollops of whipped cream around the edge. For individual ones, put in about two tablespoons of yogurt, top with several berries, a dollop of whipped cream and a berry or two on the top. I also used blueberries with mine. You can assemble the large shell, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate before serving, but don’t do it more than a couple of hours before serving. For individual ones, assemble just before you serve them.

Makes 8 servings, approximately 110 calories, 4.5 net carbs per serving.

Meringue Cookies

The same recipe for meringue will make about 40 to 48 cookies. Simply drop by a teaspoonful, using another teaspoon to push the meringue onto the baking tray (be sure to spray with cooking spray so they won’t stick to the parchment paper or silicon mat). For variety, fold in chopped craisins or other chopped dried fruit to the mixture. They will add about 1 carb to the net carb count, but they are delicious in the meringue.

You can also make cocoa meringues by adding 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (check for a low carb count on the can) to the egg whites as you are mixing in the sugar. You can omit the chocolate chips and nuts if you wish and just have a plain meringue.

Experiment with other flavorings like orange, almond, banana, etc. for different flavors in the meringue. You can also make a sandwich cookie by putting a tablespoon of whipped cream or a whipped cream and cream cheese combo, flavored with mint, orange, banana, or whatever you’d like to try, between two of the cookies. Have fun! Meringues are a fun, tasty low-carb treat!

Desserts, Italian Inspired Recipes, Recipes

Elegant LC Tiramisu

With an Italian dinner planned for family and friends next week, I wanted to come up with a low carb version of Tiramisu, that delightfully rich, but light tasting, Italian dessert that caps off a heavy pasta dinner. Traditionally made with ladyfingers, I needed to create a sponge cake similar to them. I found several recipes on line and eventually created one that I thought would be fairly simple to make and still be true to the original. This one uses a sponge cake made from a recipe that evolved from the Oopsie Roll from Your Lighter Side. Mine has additional ingredients, including coconut flour and granulated sugar alcohol, as well as almond extract for a light almond flavor. The filling simply uses coconut milk instead of regular milk and a few drops of liquid Sucralose in the whipped cream. My recipe called for rum, but if you want more of a coffee flavor, use a sugar free Amaretto syrup instead.

I think that Sponge Cake recipe will be very useful for other desserts, like a strawberry cake with fresh whipped cream and possibly a Boston creme pie, so I am going to repeat it on its own page to make it easier to find.

Sponge Cake:
4 Eggs, large
4 oz. Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
1 tablespoon Vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 teaspoon Cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon Splenda
3 tablespoon sugar alcohol substitute (I use Ideal)

Filling:
3 Egg Yolks
1/3 cup Almond Breeze Coconut Milk, unsweetened
1 tablespoon liquid sucralose or Splenda
8 oz. Mascarpone Cheese

Topping:
2/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream, whipped
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Other:
1 cup strong Coffee
1 1/2 tablespoons rum
1 1/2 tablespoons Cocoa powder, unsweetened

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 300 F. Spray an 8×8 inch baking dish with butter flavored cooking spray. Be sure to go up the sides.

Separate the eggs and put whites into a grease free glass or metal bowl. Put the yolks in a separate bowl and set aside. Beat the egg whites until they are foamy, then add cream of tartar and continue to beat until they form stiff peaks.

To the egg yolks, add cream cheese and mix together. Add coconut flour, whey powder, sugar substitutes and almond extract. Mix well until smooth.

Fold the egg yolk mixture, one third at a time, into the whites, being careful to not break down the air in the whites. With a soft (rubber or silicone) spatula, fold just until blended, then spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish. Use the back of the spoon to smooth the top of the cake.

 

 

 

Before and after cooking.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a golden brown. Cool, then turn out onto a bread board. Cut the cake in half through the middle to form two layers. Use a long serrated knife or a thread the width of the cake that you can just pull carefully through the middle. Try to get these are even as possible so the cake layers are equal. Set aside.

For the zabaglione:
Separate three eggs. Put the whites away to use for something else. (Meringue cookies are a good option.) Put the egg yolks in a sauce pan. Add the coconut milk (you can also use regular milk or almond milk. Regular milk will raise the carbs a little.) Add a tablespoon sweetener. Mix together and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle boil and cook for one minute. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Get out the mascarpone cheese to soften while the yolk mixture chills. Make a strong coffee by using just two cups (or less) of water to your normal grounds or making Espresso. Turn off to come to room temperature.

When yolk mixture is chilled, add the mascarpone and mix until smooth.

Topping and Assembly:
In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream and vanilla extract until the cream forms stiff peaks.

Mix rum with 1 cup of coffee. Place the bottom sponge cake in an 8x8x2″ inch dish and generously sprinkle with half the cookie mixture. It will absorb it. Spread one half the zabaglione mixture over the cake and smooth, then spread one half the whipped cream on top of that and smooth. Place the top sponge cake on top and repeat the procedure using the rest of the coffee mixture, filling and whipped cream. Sprinkle cocoa powder over the top, cover with plastic wrap (keeping it off the whipped cream) and chill for at least two hours before serving.

…as incredibly delicious as it looks.

Makes 8 generous servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 280  Net Carbs: 2.7g   Protein: 8.6g

Desserts, Recipes

Chocolate Tops A Peanut Butter Blossom Tastily

peanut-butter-blossoms
This delicious-sounding recipe arrived in my mailbox over the weekend and I thought it would be fun to adapt to a low carb version.  With a little mixed-flour magic, this turned out to be one of the best cookies I’ve ever had, regular or low-carb.  It does use several different flours and that might be a factor, but I think it would still be good if it was made all from almond flour.  I did use Whey Protein Powder also and it adds a really nice texture to the cookie.  You can buy small containers at most grocery stores and Wal-Mart.  Just check the nutrition information for the lowest carb one you can find.  I also added a little cinnamon to the recipe.

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie 

(original recipe by Hershey, adapted by me)
 
24 to 28 Sugar-free Candy Kisses or 12 to 14 Russell Stover’s chocolate miniatures*
1/2 cup Butter Flavored Shortening
3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup Sugar Substitute
1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar Substitute
1 Egg
1 tablespoon Whipping Cream and 1 tablespoon Water
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Carb Quick
1/4 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1/2 cup Whey Protein Powder (optional)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Additional granulated sugar substitute
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove wrappers from chocolates.  Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended.  Add both sugar substitutes, beat until fluffy.  Add egg, cream, water and vanilla; beat well.  Stir dry ingredients together and gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
 Shape dough into 1 inch balls, about the size of a walnut in the shell.  Roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Immediately press a chocolate into the center of each cookie.  Cookie will crack around the edges.  Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  Cool completely.
2 dozen yield = 1.8 g per cookie  calories = 96
(I actually got 27 cookies from the recipe, but you may get more or less, but you should get about 24.)
 *I used Russell Stover’s sugar-free miniatures solid chocolate candy cut in half.  It is the lowest carb that I’ve found for chocolates with 0 net carbs in a serving of 5.  Calories for 5 are 190.  You only use 1/2 chocolate piece per cookie.
Desserts, Recipes

Rich Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

October and November equal pumpkin-fest! Time to enjoy all the wonderful, flavorful items you can make with pumpkin. I stock up for the year on canned pumpkin because I love it in pies, cakes, pancakes and cookies! Our local Smith’s Food (Kroger) sells pumpkin chocolate chip cookies year round, but they aren’t low carb. Must work on a recipe for those in the future. But for now, here’s a great adaptation of a favorite recipe to the LC version.

This is a low carb, super-charged version of the Libby’s recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. I added 1/3 cup vanilla why protein powder to give it a little extra texture and energy, but you can use almond flour in place of the protein powder if you prefer.

1/3 cup low carb flour (CarbQuick, LC Foods or Bob’s Red Mill)
1/3 cup Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1/3 cup Almond Flour
1/3 cup Brown Sugar Substitute (or Splenda/brown sugar mix)
5 tablespoons Butter, softened
1/2 cup finely chopped Pecans or Walnuts

1 pkg (8 oz) soft Cream Cheese
3/4 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup Libbys solid pack Pumpkin
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Seasoning
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Bottom cookie crust:

Combine flour and brown sugar in med. bowl Cut in butter to make a crumb mixture. Stir in nuts. Set aside 1/2 cup mixture for topping. Press remaining mix into bottom of 8x8x1-1/2″ baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 15 minutes. Cool slightly.


Cheesecake topping:
Combine cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla in large. mixer bowl. Blend till smooth. Pour over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved topping. Bake an additional 30-35 min.

Cool before cutting into bars.

Makes 32 1×2″ bars.

I prefer to cut mine into 36 squares. That’s six cuts each direction – cut in the middle, then cut each half into thirds, turn the dish and repeat.

Splenda Version Nutrition: Calories 68 Net Carbs: 1.1g Fiber: .8 g

Liquid sucralose and sugar alcohol version: Net Carbs: .7 g

Related Pumpkin Recipe Posts:
Mah-valous LC Pumpkin Pancakes
Rene’s LC Pumpkin Cheesecake

Desserts, Recipes

Rene’s LC Pumpkin Cheesecake


Halloween is just around the corner, which means it’s time for pumpkin! I usually stock up on canned pumpkin in the fall because I like to have it year round. I’ve already put out my recipe for pumpkin pancakes, but one of the real stars with pumpkin is cheesecake. This is a basic low carb crustless cheesecake recipe and is easy to make. A pan of water in the oven while it bakes helps to keep it from cracking.

1 15 oz can Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar substitute
2 8 ounce packages Cream Cheese, softened
1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 large Eggs
2 tablespoons Heavy Cream
1/2 cup ground Pecans
1/2 cup Butter (1 stick)
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Heat oven to 350°F.

Prepare small spring form pan by spraying with baking spray, then cut and place parchment paper on the bottom to make removal easy. Put the form together and cover the outside with aluminum foil to help prevent any leakage.

Mix the butter, cinnamon and pecans together to form the pie topping. Spread into the bottom of the spring form pan.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar and eggs together until creamy. Add the pumpkin puree, spice and heavy cream and mix well. Pour into the spring form pan.

Put in the preheated oven.

Fill a oven safe pan halfway with water and place on a rack below the cheesecake pan. This will help to prevent cracking.

Bake for about 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Turn oven off and allow to cool about 30 minutes before removing from the oven.

When completely cooled, run a knife around the edge, then turn out onto a plate or cake dish.

Makes 12 slices, made with liquid sweetener or sugar alcohol
Net carbs 3.0 g, calories 316, protein 9.2 g

Made with powdered sweetener
Net Carbs 4.0 g, calories 316, protein 9.2 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 10/27/2012 10:38 PM