Tag Archives: coffee cake

Product Review

Product Review: DCC Cinnamon Swirl Snacking Cake

Photo: Happy Thanksgiving

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.

Photo: DCC Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

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.

Photo: Snacking cake slice
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:

Amazingly Scrumptious Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake

Biscuit Based Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Warm Up Your Meal with Pumpkin Soup

Smashed Turnips with Leeks

Broccoli with Mornay Sauce

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.

Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Recipes

Spring Delightful Strawberry Tea Cake

Photo: Spring Strawberry Cake

Here’s a simple and simply delicious cake that is perfect for a tea or brunch or with coffee in the morning. It’s also great as dessert. It only uses five ingredients and to be honest, when I first saw it I kept wondering where the butter or oil was in it, but it works just fine without it. The original four-ingredient recipe is at Leylita.com.

I adapted it to low carb flours so it isn’t carb-laden. I used a combination of DCC’s Bakesquick, Carbquick, and almond flour. You can use whichever flours you choose. Although the textures may vary, the cake should work with any of them. If you use coconut flour, use 1/2 the amount called for and add an extra egg to get the rise and possibly additional water as the coconut flour gobbles up liquid. Whether you are using all nut flours or soy flour, it’s better to use a combination for both flavor and texture.

Strawberry Tea Cake

Photo: Close up of slice

Easy to make. Try it with fresh cut up peaches also.

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Low Carb Flour
2 Eggs
1-1/2 cup Fresh Strawberries, quartered
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a 6×6-inch baking pan by greasing and flouring with low carb flour. I put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom, which makes it much easier to remove.

In a medium bowl, add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla and whisk or beat with mixer with blended and creamy-looking. Add the flour two or three tablespoons at a time and stir in gently until all is mixed in. The batter will be thick, but if it is too hard to stir, add about a tablespoon of water.

Save a few berries back for the topping and stir the rest into the batter. Top with saved berries. Pour into the prepared baking pan.

Bake 5 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30 minutes until lightly browned. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean if it is done.

Cool about 10 minutes, then flip it onto a serving plate. You should be able to turn it over or flip it onto a different plate if it seems like it will break if you try to turn it.

Makes six servings.

Nutrition Information per servings:
Calories: 97 Fat: 6.3 g Net Carbs: 4.2 g Protein: 5.7 g

Will you give this recipe a try? You won’t regret it. Post your comments below if you make it.