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

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.