Angel Food Cake (LC, GF, SF)

Here’s another one of my recipes that’s been floating around the low-carb world for many years.

I think I came up with that one in about 2003 or so. Still works like a charm!

First let me post the original recipe, then the modifications I have made recently with different sweeteners now available and Oat flour, which now also makes this recipe gluten-free!

Ingredients:

10 Egg Whites (from XL Eggs) at room temperature
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/4 tsp Cream Of Tartar
1/2 tsp Almond Flavoring
1/2 tsp Vanilla Flavoring
1/2 cup Unflavored Whey Protein (or the vanilla kind goes well with it too)
1/2 cup Barley Flour
1 cup Splenda (whizzed in the coffee grinder to make it more like confectioner's sugar - measure 1 cup after whizzing)

3/4 cup Splenda

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375.
1. Beat the egg whites and the salt on high speed until just frothy.
2. Add the cream of tartar and flavorings and beat until soft peaks (don't overbeat ... it could make the cake dry and crumbly)
3. Add 1 cup of (whizzed) Splenda (a little at the time) and continue beating until well incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl sift together the remaining splenda, whey protein and barley flour. It is best to sift it about 3 times.
5. Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over your egg whites and fold with a spatula (don't do this with an electric mixer!). Continue until all the flour mix is well incorporated.
6. Pour into an ungreased Angel food pan. Once all the batter is in there shake the pan a LITTLE to settle the dough and release any air bubbles. You could also just "cut" the dough lightly with a knife (don't cut too deep or you will damage your pan!!)
7. Bake for around 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
After taking your pan out of the oven, invert it (upside down) on a plate or the counter top and let it cool this way.
8. Once cooled the cake will come out quite easily.

4.7g carbs/slice (at 16 generous slices) with 6g protein per slice

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Now for the second version:

Angel Food Cake #2

Ingredients:

10 Egg Whites (from XL Eggs) at room temperature
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/4 tsp Cream Of Tartar
1/2 tsp Almond Bakery Emulsion or Almond Extract
3/4 tsp Sweet Dough Bakery Emulsion or 1/2 tsp vanilla  (MUCH better with the emulsion though!)

1/2 cup Unflavored Whey Protein (or the vanilla kind goes well with it too)
1/2 cup Oat Flour 
1 cup Ideal Bulk Sweetener or 2/3 cup of xylitol (whizzed in the coffee grinder to make it more like confectioner's sugar) *

2 tsp gluten-free cake enhancer

1/2 cup Erythritol, powdered

1/4 tsp stevia extract

* you could use 1 cup of powdered xylitol total and omit the Ideal, stevia and erythritol.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375.
1. Beat the egg whites and the salt on high speed until just frothy.
2. Add the cream of tartar and emulsions/ flavorings and the stevia extract and beat until soft peaks (don't overbeat ... it could make the cake dry and crumbly)
3. Add the (whizzed)  Ideal (a little at the time).

4. Then sift together the erythritol, whey protein and oat flour. It is best to sift it about 3 times to really fluff it up.

5. Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over your egg whites and fold with a spatula (don't do this with an electric mixer!). Continue until all the flour mix is well incorporated.

6. Pour into an ungreased Angel food pan (or other non stick pan. Once all the batter is in there shake the pan a LITTLE to settle the dough and release any air bubbles. You could also just "cut" the dough lightly with a knife (don't cut too deep or you will damage your pan!!)

7. Bake for around 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Mine are  a little too full. You want to give your angel food batter room to rise, so 3/4 full would have been much better! Giving them room also helps  later on cooling to not compact the angel food cake when it’s upside down!

And rise it will!

After taking your pan out of the oven, invert it (upside down) on a plate or the counter top and let it cool this way. 

8. Once cooled the cake will come out quite easily. Don’t try and force it out too early!

If you’re impatient like me, this happens:

But if you wait, the tell-tale angel food crust forms, and it releases the cake just fine:

The whole cake is 71 g of carbs, 8 g of fiber and 115 g of protein. That makes it  3.9 g of net carbs/slice (at 16 generous slices) with 7 g protein per slice.

In comparison I think I prefer the barley in combination with the unflavored whey protein isolate the best for texture. It seems to be a lighter, finer texture. The difference is not huge, but noticeable. You can even see it in the pictures.  I do however prefer the emulsion flavor over the straight extracts in this and don’t miss the splenda taste one bit, so I think my preference will be a combination of the two recipes!

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The Perfect Low-carb, Decaf Iced Latte - at home!

 

When you are trying to avoid caffeine, but still love iced Lattes AND you’re living the low-carb way, these little beauties are hard to come by. In fact, I have never found them anywhere other than in my own kitchen!

And the good thing about that is that you can make them anyway you like, they are way cheaper and you know exactly what’s in it!

 

 

First of all, let’s make

The coffee concentrate:

 

Place one cup of decaf, dark roast espresso ground coffee in a container.

Add 4 cups of cold water and stir to combine. You can also use a french press if that is what you have handy. In that case, depress the plunger to make sure the grounds are soaked with water, then remove the plunger and cover with tinfoil.

Leave the coffee mix either out on the counter or in the refrigerator for several hours. I usually do about 8, leaving it out over night. More steeping time produces stronger coffee, but after a while it starts to get unpleasantly bitter.

Filter the coffee concentrate through a double layer of coffee filter paper.

Or put the plunger back in, and filter the espresso concentrate. 

Decant it into a bottle with a lid. I usually use an empty sugar-free syrup bottle.

This concentrate will be good for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

 

If you are a regular Iced Latte drinker, you may want to double or triple the concentrate recipe!

Of course you can make this with regular coffee too, it doesn’t have to be decaf!

 

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If you haven’t yet, make the low-carb milk. You can find a recipe here and here.

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Now you’re all set for a while. All you have to do is put your Latte together whenever you like,  until it is time to make more coffee concentrate or milk!

 

Low-Carb, Decaf Iced Latte

 

1/3 cup of coffee concentrate, refrigerated

1 cup of low-carb milk, refrigerated

1 tbsps. Monin sugar-free Chocolate Syrup (not the Sauce! - unless that’s what you like) - or to taste

1 cup of ice cubes

 

Place in a cup and stir. Enjoy!

 

The carb count depends on what kind of low-carb milk you are using and the amount you’re drinking!

Mine usually runs around 1-2 g of carbs.

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Low-Carb Milk Recipe #2 (LC, GF, SF)

For years I’ve been using my other low-carb milk recipe, but since I found a pretty low carb dried whole milk powder, I’ve altered my recipe a little bit recently and really like it just a tad better than my other one.

 

I can’t tell the difference between this one and real milk, not only that, my children can’t either - not even my ultra-fussy milk drinker of a daughter, who will detect the slightest change in taste in her milk!

So I figured it might be worth sharing!

 

 

Makes just a little over 2 cups.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp.  unflavored whey protein powder

1 tbsp. dried whole milk powder

1/8 tsp. Purevia (maybe not even that much - more like a largish pinch)

4 tbsp. heavy whipping cream (or less, depending on how rich you like it)
2 cups water

Preparation:

Mix dry ingredients and whisk vigorously into the water until everything is dissolved. Chill and use like regular milk.

 

Nutritional Information: 4 g carbs, 0.8 g fiber, 19 g protein, 309 calories

So that makes it 1.6 g of net carbs for 1 cup.

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Brownies, or Chocolate Cake (LC, SF)

These are my favorite low-carb brownies. Period.
The original recipe came from my friend Didi years ago and I just tweaked it a bit over the years. But this one still does it for me every time! Especially when topped with Chocolate Crème Frosting!
They are more the cakey kind of brownies, so this recipe also really lends itself to chocolate cake applications. It holds up well to  slicing into layers and fillings! Or Chocolate muffins!

Low-Carb Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup erythritol, powdered
1/4 tsp stevia extract
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 tsp. vanilla  extract
1 cup almond flour
2 Tbsp. vanilla whey protein powder
2 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease 8 x 11 pan or 9 x 9 pan.
In large mixing bowl combine erythritol, stevia, sour cream, eggs, butter, melted chocolate, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Beat at low speed until well blended. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely.

These brownies are totally yummy as they are. But here’s what takes them over the edge!
The chocolate crème to top them with!

Yield: 12 pieces, 3.75g net carbs 5g net carbs with chocolate crème  frosting

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Low-Carb Clam Chowder (LC, GF, SF)

It may not quite be the time of year for soups for us around here, but then it hardly ever is! A good clam chowder is comfort in a bowl for sure! And yesterday, it just had to be made, regardless of the fact that we were still in the middle of the blistering summer heat!

This clam chowder was quite the hit with my husband, who requested this to be made again soon!

 

 

Ingredients:

20 oz. Baby Clams with juice (2 x 10 oz. cans)

1 packet low sodium bacon, sliced into small pieces

1 cup of Jicama, diced into small cubes

3 tbsp. onion, finely diced

3 tbsp. celery, finely diced

4 cups of water (or clam juice if you have it!)

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp guar gum (or xanthan gum) - more if you like your clam chowder really thick

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 tbsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped (fresh savory works too)

1/2  tsp fish sauce or chicken stock granules  (less if using fully salted bacon or clam juice)

freshly ground pepper to taste

 

Preparation:

Place the bacon pieces and finely diced Jicama (that’s the only way it’s going to get fork tender in the allotted time!)  in a pot and cook on medium high. You could give the Jicama a head start in the microwave, for a few minutes on high.

As the bacon fat renders, scoop it off and discard into a bowl. Stir every once in a while, making sure the Jicama doesn’t burn.

Once most of the fat from the bacon is rendered and removed and the bacon is considerably reduced in size, add the diced onions and celery and cook for 3 or so minutes. Then add the clam  juice, the water, bay leaf, fish sauce and thyme. Let it come to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf.

Whisk the guar gum into the heavy cream making sure no lumps remain (use a personal blender if necessary.)Add the clams to the pot, then add the cream mix, constantly whisking until thickened. Turn the heat down really low and gently/barely simmer for a further 10 minutes or so, letting all the flavors marry.  It will thicken even more during that time, so go easy on the guar gum! Should it get too thick, add some more water and adjust seasonings!

Make sure your Jicama has softened sufficiently before serving. It should be fork tender!

Serve garnished with the finely chopped parsley!

 

This makes 6 - 8 servings.

The whole recipe is 38 g of carbs and 8g of fiber. That makes it 5 g of net carbs per generous serving or if you make it into 8 servings,  3.75 net carbs per serving.

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Low-Carb Calamari (LC, SF)

Calamari are one of my favorite foods. Even as a child, I would choose Calamari as my birthday food year after year.

The other day I REALLY missed them and thought I might try to make them LC.  As luck would have it, our local Asian store had some pretty good looking, already cleaned squid tubes available, so it was time to have some Calamari!

 

 

First of all - the secret to plumb, tender and delicious Calamari: Soak them  in milk overnight, or at least for several hours prior to cooking. In my case I soaked them at 7.30 AM, to cook them at 5.30 PM.

Personally I prefer to use actual milk, as it serves as a marinade and most of it won’t be consumed. You can also use buttermilk however, if you feel more comfortable with that.

So, several hours before cooking the calamari, clean the squid and cut it into generous rings. Large rings tend to be better. Place them in a bowl with 1 cup of milk/buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

When the marinating time is over, drain the milk and discard. Pat the squid rings with some paper towels to dry.

 

Ingredients:

 

4 medium sized squid tubes, cleaned and cut into rings

1 cup milk or buttermilk (for soaking)

 

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp. vital wheat gluten

3 tbsp. oat flour

2 tbsp. low-carb bread crumbs (I usually grind left-over pieces of low-carb bread really fine in the coffee grinder) You can also use dried, ground low-carb tortillas and such!

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

 

oil for frying

Lemon wedges to serve

 

Preparation:

Cut, soak, drain and dry the squid as outlined above.

Pour enough oil into a heavy large saucepan to reach the depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium heat to 350 degrees F. You can also use a deep fat fryer.

Toss the squid rings in the egg.

In another bowl, combine the flours, bread crumbs and seasonings. You can add any other spices and seasonings you desire at this point!

Use a whisk to combine everything well.

Then take the rings one by one and toss them in the flour mixture.

 

Make sure it’s evenly coated inside and out.

 

The calamari are best fried in several batches. I did four frying batches for the quantity in this recipe.

Carefully add the squid to the oil and fry until crisp and very pale golden, about 1 minute per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried calamari to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Repeat with the other batches.

Serves immediately with lemon wedges and dipping sauce of choice!

 

And look at this! Tender, succulent Calamari - not a “rubber band” in sight! And a nice crunch on the outside!

I served mine with homemade low-carb tartar sauce, but you can choose any sauce you like.

 

Serves 4. My carb count per serving was 8g of net carbs, but it very much depends on the bread you use! Please adjust your carb count accordingly!

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Basic Cut-Out Cookies and Variations (LC, SF)

A good tasting cookie dough that stands up to cookie cutters, is not so easy to come by in the low carb way of eating.

The doughs are usually soft and as a rule you  can barely roll them out, much less actually get them to retain any kind of cookie cutter shape you might put them in! And even if you managed that, they often fall apart after the baking, since thin cookies would just be too fragile to hold up to anything.

Not this one! It holds up to all of it AND it’s open to a lot of variations!

 

 

It’s still a somewhat fragile dough and you have to change your approach a little when using cookie cutters, but for the most part this dough performs very well for cut out cookie purposes!

I probably wouldn’t do very intricate designs with them, but basic stars, trees, circles, flowers and such do quite well and the resulting cookie is quite light and buttery!

Since these cookies are designed to be filled, iced or otherwise adorned with something sweet, I have kept them on the “not too sweet side”. If you are intending to eat them as is, you may want to up your sweeteners a little!

 

Basic Cut-Out Cookies

 

 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup erythritol, powdered

1/4 tsp stevia extract
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup low-carb milk 
2 cup Almond flour

3 tbsp. Oat flour

1 tsp xanthan gum (or guar gum)
3/4 cup Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
3/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten

1 tsp butter vanilla emulsion
2 tsp. Baking Powder

 

Egg wash (optional)

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a small bowl combine the almond flour, the vital wheat gluten, oat flour, the vanilla whey protein powder, xanthan gum and the baking powder. Stir till thoroughly combined.

In a separate larger bowl, combine the softened butter with the sweeteners using a mixer, and beat well. Add the egg yolks one at a time, until creamy. Add the extracts (if using, ) emulsion, followed by some of the low-carb milk.

Once the mixture is creamy and well beaten, slowly start adding the flour mixture. The dough should be "soft" but definitely workable. If it’s too dry/crumbly, add more of the low-carb milk.

Either use a Tablespoon measure or small cookie scoop, scoop out the dough and work it into any shape you want, or roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and use a cookie cutter.

I have found that for cookie cutting it’s the easiest to leave the cut out shapes untouched on the parchment paper you rolled the dough out with and just remove the excess dough carefully with a knife or spatula.

Optionally, you could make a little egg wash with an egg and some low-carb milk and lightly brush the cookies with it. It will give you a deeper golden brown appearance all over (see the star cookies in the photo.)

Slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes or until just golden around the edges.  Less for really thin cookies, about 8-10 minutes.

Don’t try and move them when they first come out of the oven. Let' them cool for a bit, then move them to a cooling rack with a spatula. They firm up once they cool.

 

Makes 48 cookies at 1.4 g net carbs each.

 

These cookies really lend themselves to a lot of variations. Mix it up with different flavorings!

Here are just some of the ways to make them into something different!

 

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Sandwich Cookies Variation:

 

For the filling:

1 recipe of Choco Crème

 

Let the cookies cool completely before filling.

Place the choco crème in a zip lock bag and snip off the end. Pipe the choco crème on 12 of the rounds and place the other 12 cookies on top to form a sandwich cookie.

Place in the refrigerator to firm a little.

 

Makes 24 filled sandwich cookies at 4 g of net carbs each.

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Caramelized butter variation:

 

You can change up this cookie flavor by caramelizing the butter first. It’s really not that hard once you know the process and it gives a very unique taste to the cookie.

Here is how you do it:

Place the butter in a sauce pan and melt. It helps for this pan not to be a dark coated pan, as you can’t really see the butter change color. A stainless steel pan would work better. Keep the melted butter at a simmer, stirring the foam away occasionally so you can see the bottom of the pan.

DO NOT WALK AWAY from the pan – the darkening will happen pretty quickly!

As soon as the butter solids on the bottom turn a darkish golden brown, take the pan off the heat and pour the melted butter into a heavy glass dish. Don’t leave it in the saucepan as it might continue darkening the butter.

Here are the caramelized butter bits!

Let it cool at room temp for 1 hour, then in the refrigerator for at least another hour or overnight before proceeding with the cookie recipe as stated above.

 

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Swirl Cookie variation:

 

For this you can combine any two flavor combinations you like.

Make the basic dough as above. The divide into two and work in two different flavors.

For example, you can add crushed instant coffee to one half and leave the other as is. Or you can add some Cocoa powder, an additional 2 drops of stevia extract and a little more milk and knead the dough until evenly distributed. Or like me in the above picture, add some Red Velvet Baking Essence and 1 tbsp. of cocoa powder to one half of the dough.

Roll out 1/2 of each color dough into a thin rectangle between two sheets of parchment paper (each.)

 

Then place the two layers on top of each other and tidy the edges up with a sharp knife.

 

Now rolling from the short side, with the help of the parchment paper, slowly (the thin dough may sometimes stick for a second to the paper) roll it it up as tight as possible.

Once the roll is complete, wrap it in the parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Repeat with the other halves of the dough.

Remove one roll at the time from the refrigerator and make 1/2 inch slices with a very sharp knife and place them on the cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper.

Bake for  12-15 minutes or until the edges appear golden.

Let them cool on the cookie sheet for a little before transferring them to a cooling rack.

 

Makes about 48 spiral cookies. Carb counts depend on your dough additions!

 

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Ice Cream Sandwich Variation:

I used the cookie dough as in the original recipe, but pressed it into an ice cream sandwich pan.

I pressed a thin layer of dough into the cavities, about half way up. While baking the cookies rose more to fill the cavity. They got nice and golden brown on the bottom well before the top, which makes for just the right softness in the freezer.But you have to watch them closely around the edges!

 

So, there you have it! Just a few ways to use this basic cookie dough!

 

And this cookie dough also makes a really nice pie crust! It stands up to fancy edges and blind baking just fine!

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Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries (LC, GF, SF)

This recipe is an oldie but goody! Creamy, decadent but fresh and summery!

Panna Cotta is so easy to make and still one of my favorite desserts! I especially love it with the slight tang of  the buttermilk!

 

 

 

Ingredients

For the Panna Cotta:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup buttermilk (you can also use coconut cream/milk as a variation)

1/4 tsp stevia extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tablespoons water

One envelope unflavored powdered gelatin (1 tablespoon)

 

Strawberry Topping:

2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, rinsed, patted dry, hulled

1/3 cup Monin Sugar-free strawberry syrup

1/2 teaspoon orange zest, finely grated (optional)

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (optional, but if using, omit the lemon juice)

1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (if not using the balsamic vinegar)

 

Preparation:

For the Panna Cotta:

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, vanilla extract and stevia. Scrape Bring to a boil, stirring. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin in the water. Once bloomed, heat on low heat to dissolve, either on the stove or in the microwave (watch it though - it can boil over quickly!)

Add the gelatin mixture to the cream, whisking until well blended. Add the buttermilk in a steady stream while whisking. Divide evenly among 6 1/2-cup ramekins,  molds or my current favorite - mason jars. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.  You can however speed up the process by placing them in the freezer for an hour or so!

For the Strawberry Topping:

Combine the strawberries, syrups, balsamic vinegar (if using, ) orange zest and cook until the berries are soft, about 10 minutes. Break them up a little with a spoon or a potato masher.

Let cool slightly then transfer to a bowl and refrigerate, covered, until completely chilled.

Serve 1/4 cup of strawberries alongside each of the panna cottas.

 

 

If you want to serve the Panna Cotta unmolded, dip the bottoms of the cups/jars in warm water to loosen. Run a thin knife around the edge and invert the cups onto dessert plates, shaking to release the custards.

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Makes 6 servings at 5.6 g of net carbs each (without the balsamic vinegar) and 6g of net carbs with the addition of the balsamic vinegar!

The Panna Cotta without the strawberries is 2.8 g of net carbs.

 

Submitted to:

 

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Make your own Sanding “Sugar” (LC, SF, GF)

 

It’s really easy to do - even for us sugar-free folks!

All you need is granular Erythritol and regular food colors.

 

 

In a small bowl, place about 2 tablespoons of  granular erythritol and 2 drops of food color of choice.

 

 

With the back of a teaspoon, stir, grind and mix the sugar until the food color is equally distributed.

 

 

Spread it out at the bottom of your bowl and let it dry for half an hour or so.  Store in an air tight jar.

 

 

For deeper colors, use gel food colors. Just a teeny dab from a toothpick! A little goes a long way. Mix with one or two drops of water. Then add to the erythritol and work it in like before!

With some food coloring it also works to add the erythritol to a jar, add the drops of food color and then shake, shake, shake until it’s all nicely distributed among the crystals!

Personally, I prefer the spoon method  though!

 

 

Use it as you would regular sanding sugar. Whatever your theme might be, now you can decorate the sugar-free way! Rim a glass, sprinkle it on low-carb cookies, decorate cupcakes, roll truffles in it - whatever you can think of!

And if you don’t need to be sugar-free but would still like to make your own sanding sugars, do the same as above - just with either regular sugar, or the plain sanding sugar (it has larger crystals!)

 

Submitted to:

 

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Chocolate Crème - A Versatile Low-Carber’s Delight (LC, SF, GF, DF)

Do you remember the insides of a Lindor Truffle? How about Ferrero Rocher truffles? Or, if you are familiar with German candy, Eisschokolade? How about Nutella?

Of course you do! After all, us low-carbers try our very best NOT to remember those things quite as much! Well this could change now!

You’ll find many applications of more or less the same recipe and method in this post. Try them all or pick your favorite!

But first, let’s get the basic method down. It’s not actually that complicated as long as you have a good blender. Even those little personal blenders will do.

Basic Chocolate Crème Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup neutral coconut oil (Tropical Tradition's expeller pressed Coconut Oil has barely any coconut flavor!)

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup of erythritol, powdered (or 1/3 cup of raw honey - no stevia, for paleo/GAPS/SCD)

1/4 tsp stevia extract

2 eggs

1 tbsp. rum (optional) or 1/2 tsp of any flavor extract you’d like

1/4 tsp instant coffee granules (or more if you’re aiming for a mocha flavor)

2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream (can be replaced with Coconut Cream to make it dairy-free)

Preparation:

Warm the coconut oil in the microwave. You want the oil to be all liquid and hot, but not boiling.

Now blend the eggs, the erythritol, the cream, the stevia and any flavorings of choice and process for about a minute. We want to give the erythritol time to dissolve a little. Add the cocoa powder and process again. Scrape down the sides if necessary. Now, with the blender running add the hot oil. If your using a personal blender, just add the lot and process very quickly. Basically we want to cook the egg with the oil but not scramble it!

You’ll know it’s happening when the mass turns into a fairly thick crème. About the consistency of nutella, but a the peaks hold better.

The whole recipe makes about 2 cups of Crème  @ 38g of carbs, 12g Fiber = 26g of net carbs for the entire recipe. That makes it 0.8g net carbs per tablespoon.

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And that’s your basic recipe! Now the fun begins!

You can now use this crème as is as a cake frosting, filling or brownie topping. It will firm up some in the fridge, but it won’t be really hard. At room temperature it’s a surprisingly fluffy topping icing that holds it’s shape nicely!

Or you could fill the crème into a Ziploc bag, snip a corner off and pipe it into an ice cube tray. Place it in the freezer to harden.

Once set, release them by dipping the underside of the ice cube tray into some hot water and pop them out. Enjoy them as Chocolate Candy (straight out of the refrigerator no less) or coat them in some melted chocolate (much like a lindor truffle!)

Or you can place the crème in a bowl and refrigerate to harden some.

Later use the smallest Ice Cream scoop to scoop out some truffles and roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder for some decadent truffles.

My favorite way is to push a roasted Hazelnut in the middle and roll them in oven toasted and chopped hazelnuts. It reminds me of Ferrero Rocher!

Or you could use it as Chocolate crème on your low-carb toast, or muffin, or as a chocolate/mocha filling in your crepes! Whatever tickles your fancy.

Or you could make ...

Nutella

Ingredients:

1 cup of choco crème

2 drops of Creamy Hazelnut flavoring (or to taste)

2 drops of Vanilla flavoring oil

1/4 cup Hazelnuts, toasted in the oven until fragrant and cooled

Preparation:

Combine the crème with the flavorings and stir well.

Place the toasted hazelnuts into a kitchen towel and rub off the skins.

In a coffee grinder, grind the hazelnuts as fine as you possibly can without turning them into butter. It helps to pause between pulsing, so the grinder can cool down. I found that it works the best to have the nuts frozen before grinding, so if you’re having trouble getting them fine, you may want to try that next time.

Sift the hazelnuts so you get only the fine parts. Then stir into the chocolate crème. Voila! Nutella!

If you don’t mind the nutty bits in your Nutella, you can also process this in your food processor!

Personally I like this to be as smooth as possible!

Unlike the regular Nutella, this does need to be refrigerated. If it gets too hard, set it out at room temperature for a bit before you use it or briefly (like 15 seconds) nuke it on the defrost setting of your microwave!
1 tbsp. of the above is around 1.8g of net carbs per tablespoon.

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And last but not least, it makes a fabulous addition to any ice cream!

Use any vanilla, nut or caramel low-carb ice cream. Once you processed it to soft serve stage in your ice cream maker, squirt in little bits of chocolate crème from a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off. Give it a quick stir and put it in the freezer for the final freezing. I also like to add some roasted nuts for a delicious ice cream variety!

So there you have it! One basic recipe/method - many applications! I hope you enjoy them!

Note to German readers:
You can also use this as the low-carb chocolate crème for the Kalter Hund/Kalte Schnauze cake. Layer it with any neutral tasting low-carb cookie in the usual fashion!

{Photo courtesy of Oetker}

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