Tag Archives: brown sugar

Desserts, Recipes

Apples and Cinnamon Equal Fall Favorite

Photo: Apple Upside-down cake

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 from Netrition.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.

Makes 4 servings.

Image: Nutrition Info for Caramel Apple Cake

Desserts, Recipes

Derby Cheesecake Time is Coming!

Recipe: Derby Pecan Cheesecake

I promised I would do this and here it is. Just in time for this year’s Kentucky Derby on May 4th, I adapted this decadent recipe for a fabulous cheesecake celebrating the event. I made it for Easter and can attest to the incredible flavors of the dessert. In addition to changing certain ingredients to low carb ones, I did add a couple of things to the original recipe. For those who would like the full carb version, you can find it here on the Tasty.co web site.

One thing you will absolutely need to make this is a brown sugar replacement. I used a combination of LC-Foods Sweet Brown and Swerve Sugar Replacement Brown, both of which are 0 carbs. You could use all Swerve Brown as it is most like brown sugar where LC-Sweet Brown is a powder and doesn’t have the texture of brown sugar. Swerve is available at Amazon, maybe Wal-Mart, and through Netrition.com (also LC-Sweet Brown). Truvia also has a brown sugar blend that has 1 net carb per 1/2 teaspoon but also says you use half as much as you would use of brown sugar. I haven’t tried it, but I would assume that if you use it, you use 1/4 cup of Truvia in place of the 1/2 cup.

I made a small 7″-spring-form-pan cheesecake as the larger one is too much for a two-person household. Cut into eight slices, the piece is large enough for a reasonable dessert and as rich-tasting as this is, the smaller serving is enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Here’s a hint though. I made this with an almond flour crust standing in for a graham cracker one, but it would work perfectly well without the crust and save 1.5 net carbs on the total carb count. Next time, I plan to omit the crust.

Derby Bourbon Pecan Cheesecake

Original Recipe by Matthew Johnson
Low Carb Adapted by Rene Averett

Crust:
1 cup Almond Flour
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar Substitute
1/4 cup Butter, melted

Filling:
8 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature
2 oz. Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
2 tablespoons Almond Milk
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoons Low Carb Flour
3 teaspoons Bourbon Whiskey, divided
1 Egg

Topping:
1/2 cup LC-Sweet Brown or Swerve Brown Sugar Substitute
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 Egg Yolks
1/3 cup Sugar-free Maple Syrup,
1/4 cup Cream, warm to the touch
2 tablespoons Butter, cold
1 cup roasted Pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C). Prepare the spring-form pan with parchment paper over the base. Spray the pan with baking spray.

Prepare your ingredients and have them ready ahead of time. This actually goes together pretty quickly.

For the Crust:

In a small bowl, add the almond flour, 1/4 cup sugar substitute, and melted butter. Mix together with a spoon, then spoon into the bottom of the spring-form pan and press it to cover the bottom and about half-way up the sides.

Bake for about 10 minutes to set up and lightly brown the dough. Cool.

For the Filling:

Add the cream cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup sugar substitute, and almond milk into a large bowl. Beat until blended and fluffy-looking.

Spoon in the sour cream, low carb flour, teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of Bourbon (more if really want to taste it), and two eggs. Mix on low until the filling is smoothly blended.

Pour the mixture over the almond flour crust in the spring-form pan. Bake for one hour, then turn the oven off and let sit for 30 minutes in the oven.

While the cheesecake is sitting for 30 minutes…

Make the Topping

Add egg yolks, sugar-free Maple Syrup, and warm cream to a bowl and stir together.

In a medium saucepan, add brown sugar substitute, cornstarch, and salt then stir together and put it on a low heat setting on your stove. Add the egg and cream mixture to the pan.

Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens to a pudding texture, around 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in the cold butter and a teaspoon or two of bourbon, depending on how much you prefer.

Fold in the chopped pecans, mixing them through. Pour the mixture over the cheesecake while it is still in the spring-form pan. Spread to make an even layer over the top. (Mine dipped in the middle a little so that well of pecan is thicker.)

Photo: Bourbon Pecan Cheesecake
You can see where I didn’t quite get the topping spread all the way to the edge. Not that there wasn’t enough of it, but I just missed it. The topping is quite thick on the cheesecake.

Put in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours and allow the topping to set up firmly. Remove the spring-form pan and slide the cheesecake off the parchment paper onto a serving plate if you want it for a formal presentation.

Serve either chilled or let come to room temperature if you wish. Sometimes the higher temperature will bring the flavors out more.

Makes eight delicious servings.

Note: A word about the roasted pecans. These are easy to roast in the oven ahead of time by spreading them out on a layer of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Pour melted butter (about 1/4 cup over the top) and put in a 300 degree (F.) oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
However, it isn’t necessary to roast the pecans unless you really want the roasted taste. You can just use raw pecans chopped up.

Photo: Nutrition Information

If you try this, let me know how you like it.  I’d love the feedback.