Tag Archives: Irish whiskey

Desserts, Recipes

Celebrate St. Pat’s with a Boozy Cake!

Irish Whiskey Bundt Cake photo

As promised, I am back with a recipe to make a mini-Bundt Irish Whiskey cake.  I am having so much fun making and eating  mini treats. These little cakes have just enough Irish whiskey in them to let you know it’s there, but they won’t overwhelm your taste buds.

While the recipe is aimed at using a mini Bundt cake maker like my DASH, they can be baked in a mini-Bundt pan in the oven, or you can increase the ingredients to make a full-sized Bundt cake.

Irish Whiskey Mini Bundt Cake

1 cup Carbquik or other low carb baking mix*
1/4 cup Almond Flour
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 cup softened Butter
1/2 cup Swerve Brown Sugar
1/2 cup granulated Sugar Substitute
1 package Sugar-free Vanilla Pudding
2 large Eggs
2 tablespoons Irish Whiskey
1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Whipping Cream or Unsweetened Almond Milk

* Alternative for a low carb baking mix or low carb flour is coconut flour (1/2 cup plus add an extra egg and/or other liquid). Other nut flours might work, but I have yet to try them.

Whiskey Syrup
1/4 cup water
2 T Sugar Sub
1 T Irish Whiskey

For the Icing
4 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Swerve Confectioners Sugar
3 tablespoon Cream
4 tablespoon Irish Cream Liqueur

Preheat your mini Bundt pan and lightly brush with oil or baking spray.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, and pudding mix. Whisk to combine and set this aside.

In a large bowl, add 1/2 cup softened butter. Mix until creamy.

To the butter, add the granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. Continue mixing for 2 more minutes. This should be fluffy-like.

Add each egg, mixing well after each one, and add the milk. Add the vanilla with the last egg.

Next, add the dry ingredients in three batches. Stop mixing once it is incorporated.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into the mini Bundt maker. Spread the cake evenly, close the lid, and bake for 8 minutes. Let Cool.

If you’re baking in an oven, grease and flour the Bundt molds and divide the batter evenly into them. (My pan makes four cakes, so they will be higher in carbs if you make four.) Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes. Use a toothpick to check doneness; a clean or almost clean toothpick means they are done.

If you’re making an entire Bundt cake, double the recipe, grease and flour the Bundt mold, and pour in the batter, distributing it evenly. Thump the pan a few times on the counter to get any air bubbles out. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 50 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick.

For more moisture, brush with whiskey syrup before icing.

Whiskey Syrup

In a small saucepan, add 1/4 cup water, whiskey, and sugar substitute and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the mixture thickens to a syrup consistency.

Poke a few holes in the cakes, then brush the syrup over the top. It will go into the cake, adding more moisture and flavor.

Ice the Cakes

To make the icing, beat softened cream cheese in a bowl. Add Swerve Confectioner’s Sugar, whipping cream, and Irish Cream liquor. Alternatively, you can use 2 tablespoons of whiskey instead of the Irish Cream or add sugar-free Irish Cream Syrup. Beat until the ingredients are combined, and the icing thickens to a spreading consistency. If it is too moist, add additional confectioner’s sugar until it is easily spread. Use a knife to ice the cakes.

If you’d prefer a glaze to the icing, use less sugar and mix until it is syrupy. Spoon over each cake and let it run down the sides.

Nutrition information shows the carb counts for a 1/2-cake serving with Irish Cream Liquor and with either whiskey or a sugar-free Irish Cream syrup.

Cake only Nutrition Info

Nutrition with topping

Note: Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used in this recipe and my measurements. They are a close calculation and may be slightly higher or lower. Ingredient substitutions may affect the carb count. Different brands of flour have other carb counts.

Looking for other St. Patrick’s Day recipes? Try one of these.

Irish Cream Ricotta Cheesecake Tops St. Patrick’s Day

Irish Apple Cake Made Low Carb

A Bit of Luck with an Irish Benedict Brunch

LC Irish Soda Bread

 

 

 

Main Dish, Pork

Apples, Onions and Pork equals delicious

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

Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Recipes

One more Irish cake recipe

I couldn’t resist posting one more Irish recipe even though we’re past St. Patrick’s Day.  But we have National Tartan Day coming up on April 6th and this would work for a nice tea cake to celebrate your Irish or Scottish tartan. Besides, it’s a very tasty tea cake.

I’ve adapted this Irish Whiskey Cake recipe from a little booklet called Favorite Irish Teatime Recipes to make it a smaller cake and low carb. The original recipe calls for sultanas or golden raisins, but those are very high in carbohydrates, so I substituted in sugar reduced craisins and it works very well, if I do say so. I hope you’ll give this a try for a nice afternoon tea. (Also works for a simple dessert and you can top with a a little fruit and a bit of whipped cream.)

Irish Whiskey Cake in a 6″ square pan makes 8 servings. Cut into quarters, then slice each quarter down the middle lengthwise.

Irish Whiskey Cake

1/2 orange
2 tablespoons Irish Whiskey
1/4 cup Sugar Reduced Craisins
6 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1 Egg
2 tablespoons Egg Whites
1 cup Low Carb Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt

The night before you make the cake, cut the orange in half and peel one half into thin strips. Squeeze out 2 to 3 tablespoons of orange juice and put in a bowl with the peels. Stir in the whiskey and craisins, cover and soak in a cool place overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.). Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 6″ cake tin, either round or square.

Beat the egg and egg whites together in a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add the beaten eggs, a little at a time.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together and fold into the mixture, then stir in the whiskey and fruit mixture.

Turn into the cake tin. Bake for 20 minutes and test for doneness. If it doesn’t bounce back when touched, cook another 5 minutes and test again.. If it browns too quickly, cover the pan with foil. Cool for at least 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Make a simple syrup to pour over the top and add moisture. In a saucepan, add 1/2 cup sugar substitute and 1/2 cup water. Cook and stir until the sugar melts completely, let it come to a boil, then turn it off and add 1 tablespoon Irish whiskey and a couple of orange peels to make a flavored syrup. Remove the orange peels when it cools, then drizzle over the cake.

Cut into 8 slices.

Nutrition Information per slice
Calories:140.3 Fat:13.4 g Net Carbs: 3.8 g Protein: 2.8 g

Note: When using low carb flours, I like to use more than one type in my cakes. LC Foods has a cake quality low carb flour, but I used CarbQuick, which is like Bisquick without the carbs. I also used a little Coconut Flour and Vanilla Whey Protein Powder. You can use Almond Flour or Soy Flour.