Who’s ready for the new year? I really hope 2024 turns out well and we somehow stumble into peace.
As promised, here’s my recipe for the apple cranberry crumble that I made for Christmas. It’s a really simple recipe. If you have leftovers, wrap the dish in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator.
You can use any apples, but remember if you use tart ones, add more sugar substitute to offset the tartness of both the apples and cranberries. It will keep a few days.
Apple Cranberry Crumble
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped peeled and cored Gala Apples (about 4 small)
2/3 cup Cranberries
2/3 cup Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoons Whiskey (optional)
2 tablespoons old-fashioned or quick-cooking Oats
2 tablespoons Swerve Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 cup Low Carb All-purpose Flour
3 tablespoons Butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
Instructions:
In a buttered 8-in. square baking dish, combine apples and cranberries; stir in whiskey if using, and sprinkle with sugar. In another bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and butter; sprinkle over apple and cranberry mixture. Top with pecans if desired.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 55 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
Makes 6 servings
Nutrition Information Per Serving:
Calories 127 , Total Fat 6.6g , Cholesterol 16 mg, Sodium 46 mg, Potassium 74 mg, Carbohydrates 13 g, Fiber 4.1 g, Sugars 4.7 g, Protein 5.4 g, Net Carbs 9.2 g
Note: Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used in this recipe and my measurements. Although they are a close calculation, your results may be slightly higher or lower. Ingredient substitutions may affect the carb count. Different brands may have other carb counts.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I spotted a recipe on the social media for an apple upside down cake. It looked fabulous, which prompted me to quickly convert it to a low carb version. Like all baking recipes, the challenges come in with the flour, the sweetener, and the higher carbs of the fruit used. Luckily, I have a low carb flour that I really like for making cakes, Dixie Carb Counters All Purpose Flour. It’s a finely milled flour and mixes into the recipe easily. While it’s not readily available at your grocery store, it can be ordered. I get my supply fromNetrition.com, but you can also order from DCC.
If you want to try this with more available flour options, try almond flour mixed with either coconut flour or soy flour. If you use this option, use 1/2 cup almond flour and 3 tablespoons coconut flour and add an extra egg white.
For the brown sugar, the lowest carb option is Swerve Brown Sugar, and it happens to be the one most like brown sugar. You can get a Splenda Brown Sugar mix, but it has a higher carb count.
I cut the recipe in half, so it makes four servings, or six if you prefer a smaller piece. Since I am only cooking for two people, I tend to cut most recipes to half-size. You can easily double the amount and make a larger cake.
Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake
FOR THE APPLES
1/4 cup lightly packed Swerve Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Butter
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Pinch Kosher Salt
1 apple, cored, and sliced 1/2″ thick
FOR THE CAKE
Cooking spray
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Low Carb Flour
3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/4 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup lightly packed Swerve Brown Sugar
1 large Egg
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Unsweetened Almond Milk
Preheat oven to 350° (F). Spray a small loaf pan or 6″ square pan with cooking spray.
Core, peel, and slice apples. (If the apples are thin skinned, you can leave them on.)
Over medium heat, add brown sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt and melt, stirring. Continue to cook and stir about two minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. Pour the sauce into the bottom of the prepared pan, spreading it around evenly. Layer the apples over the top of the sauce.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add the egg and vanilla and mix together. Spoon half the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, beating until combined. Pour in almond milk and mix until it’s blended in, then add remaining dry ingredients and hand stir to mix completely.
Spread the batter over the apples. Bake for about 40 minutes and test with a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out clean, remove from the oven. If the toothpick is sticky, cook another 5 to 10 minutes until it is clean. Let the cake cool about 15 minutes then invert onto a serving plate and let cool completely before slicing. Serve with a bit of whipped cream if you wish.
Pork chops cook quickly when fried and combine wonderfully with other flavors. One of my favorite recipes when I was a child was pork chops with apples and corn. Well, corn is a tough one to do on low carb and even apples push it a bit, but this recipe combines apples with onions for a really fantastic flavor that is still under 7 net carbs per serving. My secret ingredient? Irish Whiskey. It brings a subtle flavor to the meal.
Whiskey Pork Chops with Apples
2 Pork Chops, about 3/4 inch thick (4 oz. each)
Seasoning Salt
Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil
2 teaspoons Unsalted Butter
1/3 large Onion, sliced
1 Scallion, sliced
3/4 Apple, cored and sliced
1/4 cup Irish Whiskey plus water to make 1/3 cup
Wash the pork chops and pat dry with a towel. Trim off any large pieces of fat. Sprinkle with seasoning salt and pepper to your preference on each side. Heat a cast iron or copper clad pan over high heat, lower to medium high. Add the olive oil and swirl around the pan. Put in the pork chops and cook for about five minutes on one side so you get a good sear, then turn the chops over and cook another five minutes. Set aside on a warm plate. (Put the plate on the turned off burner next to where you’re cooking to get it warm or put it in a low temperature oven.)
Add butter to the pan to melt, then swirl it around the pan. Add the onions, scallions, and apples. Saute until the onions begin to caramelize, around eight minutes. Stir in the whiskey and water, then add the pork chops back to the pan.
Cook until the pork chops are tender, around another fifteen minutes. About half-way through, turn the chops over and pile the apple mixture on top. Cover with a lid and finish cooking until the pork chop is done.
Serve with mashed cauliflower and a salad to complete the meal.
Makes 2 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: Calories: 378 Fat: 15.8 g Net Carbs: 6.8 g Protein: 32.2 g
How about something a little special for your Easter Sunday (or any Sunday) breakfast? This baked pancake, a variation of a Dutch Baby Pancake or the German Pancake, takes about 30 minutes to make, with 20 minutes of it being the oven time, giving you time to make bacon and eggs to go with it.
Or, it also makes a yummy, not too heavy dessert after a filling meal. Serve it with a scoop of low carb ice cream, whipped cream, or a low carb yogurt topping. So good. And with less than 5 effective carbs a serving, you don’t have to feel even remotely guilty about indulging. This works pretty well with almond flour, CarbQuick, or any other low carb flour – just watch the carb count – CarqQuick is about 2 net carbs per 1/3 cup. The recipe also works well with regular wheat flour, but those carbs shoot up.
Baked Apple Pancakes
1/2 cup Cream, room temperature,
plus enough water to make 2/3 cup
1/2 cup Low Carb Flour
3 large Egg, room temperature
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Butter
1/2 Apple, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Sprinkle ground Clove
Chop the apple into small pieces. If you wish, you can peel it first. Set aside. Alternately, you can shred the apple. I’ve done it both ways. The shredded version doesn’t seen to have as much apple taste. Set aside for now.
In a bowl or a blender, add the ingredients except the apple and butter and the topping ingredients and mix together well. Stir in the apple.
Heat a cast iron skillet on a burner over medium heat and add the 3 tablespoons of butter cut into pieces. Stir the butter until it melts completely. Remove from the heat and pour the batter with the apples into the pan. Use a rubber spatula to make sure the apples are evenly distributed.
Put the pan in the hot oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until it is golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush the softened butter over the top, then sprinkle with sugar free confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar).
Serve with a couple of slices of bacon and scrambled eggs for a great breakfast. Serve with a scoop of low carb ice cream or whipped cream for a satisfying dessert.
Image at the top of the page is with shredded apple. The photo above is with chopped apple. The first piece was also harder to get out of the pan.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving -4 servings (pancake only): Calories: 324.5 Fat: 27.5 g Net Carbs: 4.9 g Protein: 13.2 g
Note: In case you forgot or haven’t tried it, powdered sugar substitute is easy to make. Simply use Splenda or another crystal-type sugar substitute and pulse it in a blender until it is powdered. It takes about three times as much sugar to make the powdered version.
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
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
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
