Category Archives: Italian Inspired Recipes

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

Breakfast & Brunch, Italian Inspired Recipes, Recipes

Breakfast Sandwiches in a Jiffy!

Don’t you just love those breakfast sandwiches from McDonald’s or Burger King or any other of the fast food places that sell these wonderful little egg and muffin or biscuit or croissant sandwiches? But if I want to grab one from one of the above mentioned restaurants, I am looking at between 28 and 36 net carbs per sandwich, so I haven’t done any grabbing in the last three years. I love these things and I have missed them now and then although there are perfectly acceptable substitutes in the low carb world if you make your own biscuits and rolls.

You can make your own sandwiches at home and they are pretty easy, but not quite the same. The other part of that is keeping everything hot until you eat it and that’s where this new little cooker I bought last week comes in. I accidentally stumbled on a video demo of Hamilton Beach’s Breakfast Sandwich Maker that promises a sandwich like your favorite fast food restaurant. Well, I had to give this a try and it wasn’t too expensive. I have made several sandwiches since I bought it and they do come out fabulously and hot! So, I am going to share some of my recipes for quick cook sandwiches made with this little gadget that doesn’t take up much counter space, but they can also be made the old fashioned way… just not as quickly or easily.


The keys to quick cook are to have the meats precooked, your cheese, peppers, onions, whatever cut and ready to go and your egg in a little dish and either scrambled and seasoned or just ready to slide gently into the cooker. Another key when using low carb breads, whether they are purchased or homemade is to have them lightly buttered on the cut side, then to not put the top bread into the sandwich cooker until the last 2 minutes. And speaking of homemade bread, there are several recipes on this blog that are helpful and you can always use an Oopsie Roll to make your sandwich. Try a low carb English Muffin or a Cream Cheese Biscuit or a Yeast Flax Roll. These are all sturdy enough to hold up to your sandwich, although I think the yeast rolls hold together better.

Let’s start the recipes with a basic sausage and egg breakfast sandwich…

Sausage and egg sandwich on a flax meal roll.

Italian Touch Sausage and Egg Sandwich

A bit of pesto sauce spread on the bread adds a touch of Italian to this sandwich. You can substitute in Italian sausage for more of the flavor or use prosciutto.

1 large Egg
1 tablespoon Cream
1 cooked Sausage Patty or 1 slice of Prosciutto
Thin slice Mozarella Cheese or Jalapeno Jack Cheese
1 tablespoon thinly sliced Sweet Peppers, lightly sautéed
1 tablespoon Pesto Sauce
2 or 3 leaves fresh Spinach (optional)
1 low carb English muffin or Biscuit or Roll

Preheat the sandwich maker and spray with cooking spray. While the cooker heats, prepare everything for cooking.

Lightly butter the cut side of the muffin or roll, spread the pesto sauce on the top half. Scramble the egg in a small bowl with cream, salt and pepper to preference. You can also cook the egg whole and just lightly poke the yoke with a toothpick. It won’t break the yolk.

In the lower section of the sandwich machine, put the bottom muffin half and top with sausage, sweet peppers, and cheese. Lower the top section of the cooker, make sure the middle plate is closed. Pour the egg into the upper section. Close the lid and cook for two minutes to allow the egg to set. Open the top section and put the top of the muffin on top of the egg and cook another 2 minutes.


Slide the middle section plate to the left, use a hot pad or hand cover, then lift the bottom section handle to remove the entire sandwich from the cooking plate to your serving plate. You can add any additional condiments you might like, such as mayonnaise or more salt and pepper.

To cook without a cooker:
Warm the sausage patty in a microwave for about 30 seconds or put n a skillet and warm on medium heat about 5 minutes. Put cheese on top of sausage and cover to allow the cheese to melt. While that is happening, split the roll and toast both halves in a toaster or toaster oven. Saute the spinach leaves enough for them to go limp. Prepare egg in another small skillet making a small omelette or use an egg ring to make a biscuit-sized egg.

Butter your roll halves and spread the cut side of the top with the pesto sauce. Transfer the sausage patty and cheese to the bottom of your roll, then put the egg on top with the spinach on top of that, then top with the pesto covered bread.

Nutrition Info for the filling only. Add in the info for the roll, biscuit or muffin. It will still be only about 6 net carbs.
Calories 304.5 Fat: 24.8 g Net Carbs: 2.8 g Protein: 16.1 g

More Recipes! Tillamook Cheese, Ham and Egg Sandwich, Steak and Bacon Sandwich and Hamburger (with the steak recipe).
POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 4/19/2013 1:16 PM