November is always a busy month for me because it is time for NaNoWriMo, which means I spend several hours a day working on a novel. In addition, I am also a municipal liaison, meaning I am trying to coordinate activities for other writers in the area. Bottom line is my cooking time is reduced to quick and easy things to make, which are mostly what I have already posted.
However, I also had a chance to try out another of Dixie Diner’s mixes. In this case, it was their Cinnamon Swirl Snacking Cake. The mix is not totally inclusive as you do need to add four eggs, one-half stick of butter and water to it. It does include the flour pouch and the cinnamon filling bag. The mix is simple, just add melted butter, eggs, and water and stir until it is completely mixed. Then add more butter and water to the cinnamon mix, drop it on top in clumps, and swirl it into the batter. Easy. Then bake.
First, I added vanilla to the cake mix. It seemed to want some additional flavor, and in retrospect, I should have added some sweetener as the cake is not very sweet at all.
The snacking cake bakes up well, but I found it a little dry and thick. Oddly, with all that butter and eggs, you would expect it to be more moist. It did taste okay, but I’ve eaten better ones. I added a sugar-free powdered sugar icing with a touch of vanilla added that helped. But I warm it up to serve and still add more butter.
On the plus side, the cake makes 9 large slices with only 2 net carbs per slice. That’s hard to beat and it is satisfying.
If I were to make it again, I would add more vanilla and sugar substitute to the cake batter and possibly put chopped nuts on top before baking.
So, I rate this a four cooking spoons out of five for flavor. It’s not bad, but I can make better low carb ones from scratch.
A slice of the Dixie Carb Counters Cinnamon Swirl Snacking Cake.
If you’d like to try it, you can purchase the mix from Dixie Diner or from Netrition.com.
Here are a few Thanksgiving recipe links if you’re looking for a few coffee cakes, sides or desserts:
All reviews on my blog are my own opinion. I have received no compensation or test products from the manufacturers. I am simply sharing my views and experience with the product.
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 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.
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
The snacking cake bakes up well, but I found it a little dry and thick. Oddly, with all that butter and eggs, you would expect it to be more moist. It did taste okay, but I’ve eaten better ones. I added a sugar-free powdered sugar icing with a touch of vanilla added that helped. But I warm it up to serve and still add more butter.
