Tag Archives: chocolate

Desserts, Recipes

Mini cakes are delightful and sooo good

Sour cream chocolate Bundt cake with hazelnut whip and cherries.

I got a new kitchen toy recently–a mini Bundt cake maker. It’s a DASH electric appliance and it makes one small cake at a time. So I christened it with the sour cream chocolate cake in the included recipes… with adjustments, of course. I sub’d in Carbquik Baking Mix and Dixie Carb Counters All Purpose Flour. Instead of milk, I used 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup water. I also added an extra egg because low carb flours tend to absorb liquid.

Simply fill the bottom of the Bundt maker with the batter and cook for 11 to 12 minutes. I recommend the shorter time to keep the cake moister but this may vary depending on what flour you use. The result was delightful…rich chocolatey goodness. One cake makes two servings easily, but it’s low carb enough that you can indulge on a whole cake to yourself.

You can substitute in almond flour for the baking mix and 1/4 cup of coconut flour for the DCC flour. Remember coconut flour absorbs more liquid, so add another egg and possibly some water to get the batter to a thick, but still thin enough to fill the cooking well easily.

naked Bundt cake
Naked Bundt cake just out of the Bundt maker.

Sour Cream Chocolate Mini Bundt Cake

Based on DASH Mini Bundt Maker cookbook
Adapted for low carb by Rene Averett

1 cup Carbquik Baking Mix
1/2 cup DCC All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 large Eggs
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/3 cup Water
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute

Using DASH mini Bundt Maker

In medium bowl, add flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda and whisk together.

In a second bowl, add egg, sour cream, cream, water, and vanilla.

In a large bowl, add butter and sugar substitute and beat with a handheld mixer until they are blended together smoothly. This will not fluff up as much as regular sugar, so just get them thoroughly mixed.

Add wet ingredients and blend until mixed. Using low speed, mix in dry ingredients, a little at a time until they are just combined. Small lumps are fine.

If the batter is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water until it is thin enough to drop from a spoon.

Let batter sit 10 to 20 minutes to allow the baking soda to begin a pre-rise of the batter.

Meanwhile, plug in to preheat Bundt Maker for 10 minutes.

Brush the Bundt Maker and Removal tool lightly with oil or baking spray. Fill the maker with four heaping tablespoons of batter, which should come almost to the top of the bottom mold.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes up mostly clean. This will ensure a moist cake.

Lift out cake with the tool and place on a foil-covered sheet pan or a cooling rack.

Repeat four more times with the batter to make 5 mini cakes. Let cool before icing or glazing.

Top view

Easy Hazelnut Cream Icing

Simply a delicious topping for this cake.

1 tablespoon of Dark or Milk Chocolate Keto Hazelnut Spread.
3 tablespoons Cool Whip or Whipped Cream.

Soften the spread in a microwave for 15 seconds, then stir in the whipped cream until the chocolate is mostly mixed in. Spread over the top of one Bundt cake.

Top with cherries or no-sugar added cherry pie filling.

One cake makes 2 servings. Carb count is for 1 serving or 1/2 cake without the topping or cherries.

Nutrition Information

Tip: Only make enough topping for the number of cakes you are eating at the time. This doesn’t keep well. If you’re serving 4 people with 2 cakes, then double the amounts in the recipe. Only serving yourself, then cut the recipe amount in half and cut the cake in half. Store the other half in plastic wrap or a plastic baggie and put it in the ‘fridge.

Let me know if you try it. I’d love to get comments on my recipes. If you have questions, post them.

Oh, and now that I’m charmed by these cute cakes, I will be making more so expect a St. Patrick’s Day mini Bundt!

Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used and are not guaranteed accurate, but they will be close.

Copyright 2023 by Rene Averett & Skinny Girl Bistro
Desserts, Drinks, Recipes

A Toast to the New Year

Ginger nog and Chocolate Peppermint Balls

Happy Holidays to All!

I hope your winter holidays have been fabulous this year and have lifted any lagging spirits. We’re coming down to the end of 2022, and many of us are glad to bid adieu to it. Like many of you, I am hoping 2023 will be a much improved year. May it bring peace to parts of the world in unrest, and may we find a way to respect and tolerate one another.

To end the year, I have a pair of delicious treats to offer. One is a low carb variation of the chocolate rum ball, which is usually made with vanilla wafers. This version is made from an almond flour based shortbread cookie. Instead of rum, I used Peppermint Syrup. If you want the spirit version, you can replace the peppermint syrup with peppermint Schnapps.

The second recipe is a simple nog to celebrate the new year. I plan to toast 2023 with it.  Again, it can be made with or without alcohol. The flavor is like gingerbread, and I used sugar-free Gingerbread Syrup. You can also make ginger syrup and use it instead; just add a little extra cinnamon and nutmeg.

Chocolate Peppermint Balls

Chocolate Peppermint Balls

Shortbread Cookies:
2 cups almond flour
½ cup low carb powdered sweetener
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup oil
¼ cup butter unsalted and melted
1 teaspoon baking powder

Peppermint Balls
1 cup pecans finely chopped
½ cup low carb powdered sweetener
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon Peppermint extract
4 tablespoons sugar-free honey
1/4 cup Sugar-free Peppermint Syrup or Peppermint Schnapps
1/4 cup Low-carb Powdered Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.). Prepare a baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat.

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the shortbread cookies and using a mixer, beat until they are well combined and pull together. The dough will be a little loose.

Form the dough into small balls about the size of a walnut, place on the prepared baking pan, and press the top down to flatten. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes until the cookies are browned around the edges and are lightly brown.

Let cool before continuing.

This will make about 15 cookies.

To make the balls, crumble the cookies into a mixing bowl. This should be a rough crumble about the size of bread crumbs.

Add the pecans, powdered sweetener, cocoa powder, peppermint extract, sugar-free honey, and peppermint syrup.

Mix together until the cookies are moist and the chocolate is evenly distributed. The cookies should be moist, not dry, so if you need to add a little more syrup, add another tablespoon until the ball holds together. Form the dough into 40 evenly-sized balls about one inch in diameter.

Place the balls onto your baking sheet and place them in the freezer for an hour to set.

Roll them into confectioners sugar substitute before serving if you’d like a light dusting. Mine mostly absorbed the powder.

Makes about 40 peppermint balls.

If you like the traditional rum or bourbon ball, use this same recipe and substitute vanilla extract for the peppermint extract and the alcohol of choice for the peppermint syrup.

Ginger Nog

Simple Ginger Nog

1-1/3 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg, ground
1/4 teaspoon Ginger, ground
1 ounce Sugar-free Gingerbread Syrup
1 ounce Whiskey or Rum (or Rum extract)

In a small saucepan, heat almond milk and heavy cream over medium heat to almost a boil. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and stir until mixed well. Remove from heat and add syrup and whiskey or rum.

Heat serving glasses with hot water from the faucet so they are warm before pouring the hot mixture into them. Divide the mixture into two glasses, sprinkle a little nutmeg over the top, and serve. Makes two servings.

To make your own Ginger Syrup:
1/2 cup Ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups Water
1/3 cup Granulated Sugar Substitute

In a small saucepan, combine the ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

Cool for an hour, then strain and store it in a clean jar in the refrigerator. This will keep for up to two weeks.

Not crazy about ginger? Try one of these delicious drinks:

Pumpkin Nog     Hot Spiced Low-Carb Cocoa

 

 

Desserts, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes

Dessert Nachos Top Off a Spicy Meal

Photo: Cocoa Cream Cheese Nachos

While looking for a different Mexican-style dessert to end up a tasty Cinco de Mayo meal, I ran across a recipe for dessert nachos. It sounded intriguing, but I had to add my own spin on it. First, I made the tortillas and added a little sweetener and cinnamon to the dough. Then I made a cocoa cream cheese filling to add an extra layer of goodness to it and added chocolate chips. Yum. Bottom line? By the time I finished, it was my recipe. Very little remains of the original.

For the record, I used Dixie Carb Counters All Purpose Flour, which has a slightly sweet taste. I don’t think this would work well with almond flour or coconut flour as they don’t hold together well enough to cook over a griddle. However, you could make almond flour pancakes and do pretty much the same thing.  I’ll put the recipe after the Nacho recipe if you want to try it.  I use Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup and Caramel Syrup, which are both 0 calories and 0 carbs. If you can find something else that comes close, then feel free to use it. You can also melt a sugar-free chocolate bar and sugar-free caramel candies to get the syrups. They will add about 1 net carb to the serving. (In fact, I found I was out of chocolate syrup and used chocolate chips melted in the microwave for my chocolate blobs of topping. I should have used a little coconut oil to thin them.)

Cocoa Cream Cheese Nachos

For the Tortillas:
1/2 cup Low Carb Flour
1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute
1/2 tablespoon ground Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Shortening or Lard
1/2 tablespoon or more Water

For the filling:
2 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute
1/2 tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/2 tablespoon Heavy Cream
1 tablespoon Sugar-free Chocolate Chips
1 tablespoon chopped Pecans (optional)
1 tablespoon Sugar-free Chocolate Syrup
1 tablespoon Sugar-free Caramel Syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
Pinch of Allspice
1/2 tablespoon granulated Sugar Substitute
2 tablespoon Butter, melted

For the Tortillas:
In a bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, and sugar together. Cut in the shortening and mix until crumbs form.  Add the water and mix until all the flour is absorbed. If 1/2 tablespoon isn’t enough, add a little more until you have a pliable dough.

Separate the dough into two balls. Roll each into a circle about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle until hot. Brush with a little oil, then cook the tortillas, one at a time. The tortilla takes about two minutes for the first side and will lighten as the dough dries out. flip and cook about another minute until done. This time varies with the thickness of the tortilla.

Photo: almond flour pancakes and cinnamon tortillas
Cinnamon tortillas on the left and almond flour pancakes on the right.

For the topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.)

Mix the Cinnamon, 1/2 tablespoon sugar substitute, and allspice together.

Spread butter over the tortillas on both sides, then sprinkle half the seasonings onto each tortilla and cut them into quarters. Place on a baking sheet and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Let cool a few minutes.

While the tortillas are cooking, prepare the topping. Mix cream cheese, cocoa powder, sugar substitute, and heavy cream together until thoroughly mixed. Add the chocolate chips and spread evenly over each tortilla chip. Top with a little whipped cream and drizzle caramel and chocolate sauce over the tops.

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories:395 Fat:32.2 g Net Carbs:5.0 g Protein: 15.7 g

To make Cinnamon Almond Flour Pancakes:
1/4 cup Almond Flour
1 Egg
1 tablespoon Ricotta Cheese
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Oil

In a bowl, add the egg, oil, cinnamon and sugar and beat together. Stir in the ricotta cheese until blended. Add the baking powder and almond flour and sit until mixed. Add enough water to make a pourable batter.

Heat skillet or griddle until it is hot and a drop of water skitters across it. Reduce heat to medium high, then spoon in enough batter to make a 5 or 6 inch thin pancake–about half the batter. Cook the pancake until bubbles form and it begins to look dry, then flip and cook the other side. Set aside and cook the second pancake. Let them cool for a few minutes, then cut into quarters to make four wedges.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.)

Mix the Cinnamon, 1/2 tablespoon sugar substitute, and allspice together.

Spread butter over the tortillas on both sides, then sprinkle half the seasonings onto each tortilla and cut them into quarters. Place on a baking sheet and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Let cool a few minutes.

While the tortillas are cooking, prepare the topping. Mix cream cheese, cocoa powder, sugar substitute, and heavy cream together until thoroughly mixed. Add the chocolate chips and spread evenly over each tortilla wedge. Top with a little whipped cream and drizzle caramel and chocolate sauce over the tops.

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories:395 Fat:32.2 g Net Carbs:5.0 g Protein: 15.7 g

To make Almond Flour Pancakes:

Desserts, Recipes, Tips

Chocolate Peanut Butter Candies are OK!

First batch of candies. You can easily see where the butter pooled on the bottom. My second try didn’t have that issue.

This recipe comes from Atkins and it is pretty much as they printed it with a few changes from me. They call it a “fat bomb” but it is a little lower in fat per serving than many of the other fat bombs. This type of snack is intended to give you a quick burst of energy without adding much to your daily carbs. The body will burn the fat for energy, leaving little to go to becoming excess weight.

They are very tasty and a great quick treat when you need a pick-me-up in the middle of the afternoon. The only problem I have with it is that the unsweetened coconut flakes don’t get crispy the way regular ones do when they are toasted and they are very chewy. They also don’t bring a lot of coconut flavor. I plan to try it again with shredded unsweetened coconut to see if that works better. I’ll add a note later about that result. I also cut the butter from 2 tablespoons, whcih left a puddle of butter at the bottom when the candies set up, to 1 tablespoon. I added 1/2 tablespoon of Coconut Oil. The oil sets up quickly, so it doesn’t leave a puddle.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Haystacks

1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1 tablespoon Butter
1/2 tablespoon Coconut Oil
3 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
4 tablespoons Xylitol or other granulated sugar substitute
1/4 cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter (check carbs for lowest)
2 cups Unsweetened Flaked Coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.) and place coconut flakes on a baking tin. Toast for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

Prepare a cookie sheet with a sheet of waxed paper or place a silicon mat on it.

In a medium-sized, heavy saucepan, combine the cream, butter, coconut oil, sugar substitute, and cocoa. Cook over medium high heat stirring often. When it comes to a boil, remove from the heat.

Add in the peanut butter and stir until it is mixed into the chocolate well. Fold in the coconut flakes until they are completely coated.

Drop tablespoons of the mixture onto the wax paper to form mounds. The recipe should make about 18 mounds. Place into the refrigerator to harden to a candy consistency. Once they are firm, you can store them in an airtight container for up to two weeks, if they last that long. They may also be frozen.

Makes 18 haystacks.

Nutrition information per haystack:
Calories: 110.6 Fat: 10.5 g Net Carbs: 1.8 g Protein: 1.7 g

This recipe is good for all phases of Atkins and other low carb diets except for the first two of Induction when nuts are not allowed.

Notes: When using other sugar substitutes, use the granulated versions and keep in mind that they do have a small amount of carbs per teaspoon due to the medium for storing the sweetener.

If you don’t like coconut, you can omit it and make a peanut butter chocolate candy that is also delicious.

Got any questions or comments? Please send them.

Desserts

Best-Ever Brownies

Not just low carb, but overall, this is one of the best, if not the best, brownie I’ve had. It’s not as chewy as some, but the flavor is wonderful. The base recipe is from Chef Gregory Pryor at Tova Foods, the folks who make CarbQuick. I made few little modifications to it ’cause that’s just how I am. The result is great! And it’s hard to believe that it is only 2.2 grams of net carbs per piece. It’s rich enough that one piece is plenty for one sitting. Don’t just take my word for it, try it yourself.

Rich Chocolate Iced Brownies

6 tablespoons butter
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cups Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon Mayonnaise
4 tablespoons CarbQuik
2 tablespoons Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
6 tablespoons Pecans or Walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.). Use a 6×6″ deep-sided cake pan and cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom. This will make it easier to get the brownies out. Spray the bottom and the sides with a baking spray.

In a one quart pan over medium low heat, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring constantly until it is completely melted. Cool slightly and add the sugar substitute and stir until blended well. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat vanilla, mayonnaise, and eggs together using an electric mixer on high speed. Beat for five minutes. This will make a creamy mixture. Turn to low speed and add the chocolate mixture, beating until mixed in. Then add the CarbQuick or other low carb flour. (If you use a different low carb flour, add in 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. This is included in the CarbQuick baking mix.) Mix until the flour is blended. Stir in nuts by hand. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the brownies spring back in the middle when you lightly press on them. The brownie should begin to pull away from the side of the pan at this point. Do not overcook.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Once the brownies are completely cool, spread the chocolate frosting over the top and cut into 3 x 3 squares. Top each square with a nut half.

Chocolate Icing

1 tablespoons butter
1 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, cut into pieces
1 cup powdered sugar substitute
2 tablespoons hot water

Put the butter and the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until they are melted. Stir to mix them together, then add the powdered sugar and mix it in. Add enough hot water to make it easy to spread.

Ice your cooled brownies.

Note: To make powdered sugar substitute add the granulated sugar substitute of choice to a food processor and pulse until it powders. You can also buy powdered sugar substitute from a couple of different manufacturers. Swerve makes both granulated and powdered sugar as does LC Foods. I haven’t found any available at supermarkets, but they are available online. Swerve is sold through Amazon. Swerve is made with xylitol, a 0 calorie 0 carbohydrate sugar alcohol. (Not really an alcohol, but the result of refining sugar to produce the 0,0 product.)