Waste Not! Want Not!

In today’s world as everything is getting so expensive, those of us who want to “follow our passion,” need to find ways to cut cost where we can.  Eating low carb is not cheap!

As I was baking my Cinnamon Chocolate cake this morning, I noticed that I have started to use more wax paper instead of parchment.  I also found myself using the two pieces of wax paper to line my pans to sift my dry ingredients on.  After sifting my flour onto one piece, I place the sifter on the other and pour my measured flour into it.   Having the measured flour in the sifter, I add the other dry ingredients except the sugar.  The next step is to sift all the ingredients together, then place them in a mixing bowl.

Now the two pieces of waxed paper are free to be used to line my pans, and my counter is clean.  🙂

I know it is a little thing, but sometimes all the “little” things add up to a big bill.

Two more things-

1) I also noticed this morning that I always use extra large eggs.  Having done this for years I didn’t even think about it when I wrote my recipes.  I will add this note to the recipe e-book  “baking tips.”

I do apologize for the oversight.

2)  With the info about leavening agent I posted, I add another 1/2 tsp of baking powder to the recipe.  My previous layers have turned out just fine, but we will see what happens.

I just took them out of the oven.  They  both are slightly over 1 1/2 inches high, so don’t be afraid to add a bit more.  I have updated the recipes in my e-book, and included the egg info as well.

J

PS- I am filling this cake with bananas and whipped cream.  Yummm!

I know – a few more carbs, but who’s counting?

Oat Flour vs Wheat

I have been perusing the web for all the information I can get on how to work with oat flour as my main ingredient.  One of the best sites I have come across so far is “Living Strong.”

What is so neat about it is that it gives you some general guidelines for leavening the flour with baking powder, and yeast.  With this information it makes it much easier to alter your current favorite recipes.  Here is another link from King Arthur that gives you info on using baking powder and soda.

Now, you couple that with the info on the Splenda site about baking, and you at least have a little bit of an understanding of how to go about creating your own great recipes.

Just thought I’d share-

J

PS :  Check it out the links.  I did, and now I am revisiting some of my own creations to see if I am in the ball park.

Don’t forget to checkout the e-book recipes for the latest updates.

The Perfect Layer

As you know, as one who is always striving for perfection, I tried the alterations mentioned in the last post when making my Cinnamon Chocolate cake.  I have updated the changes in my e-book (just click on the tab above) so you can try it too.

The cake layer you see in the picture is in a 8 by 2 inch round pan.  I used wax paper in the bottom, and surrounded the pan with my towel on the sides, baking it at 345 degrees for 30 minutes.   I also mix the Splenda in with the liquid ingredients to further insure that it was dissolved.  You can see that the cake  raised beautifully, and there is no mountain in the middle.  I seriously don’t think that I can do any better than this.  At least for me, it is time to stop dink’n around.

The depth of the layers are about 1 1/2 inches, making a perfectly acceptable cake for a great presentation.  Look’s is everything, you know!  🙂

I hope you with try the recipe.

Both cakes, the yellow (pineapple version) and the chocolate have gotten rave reviews from my family.  No one can believe that they are low carb.

By the way, I think I will add a bit of cinnamon to my chocolate whipped cream frosting when I put it together this afternoon.

Happy Baking!

I added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to the whipped cream frosting, and sprinkled a bit more on the top.  Yum…….!

This recipe would work just fine in 9 inch pans, although it would be slightly less in thickness- but it’s the taste that counts.

I also think that next time I might try adding some mint extract in the cake and icing, as chocolate and mint go so…. good together.

J

What a Temp Change can Do

Last post I share the “towel wrap” trick.  I also told you that I baked the cake at 340 degrees for about 40 minutes.  This time I tried baking the same recipe (single layer) at 345 degrees, for 30 minutes- the difference was very evident, cracks.

However, these are definitely crack you can live with, as they are not more than a 16th of an inch deep.

I did not grease or flour the sides of the pan, as I have found that the recipes I make with Splenda and lots of eggs raise better just using a parchment insert.   Since this pan is 2 inches in depth, you can see that the cake rose nicely.

Here is a side view of the layer.  It baked very even.  You can also see that the few drops of yellow food coloring took care of the “oat flour” color quite nicely.  They’ll never know!  🙂

J

PS-Today I have made a peach filling, and will combine it with the Citrus whipped cream frosting.  Yummmmmm!!!!!  I can’t wait to get into it.

Here is the one layer version to practice with.

One layer version of Pineapple Cake

Pineapple Cake Update

As always I am constantly striving to improve my baking skills, so I tried a couple of things using  half of this recipe.  The minor ingredient amount changes  are in my recipe book page on this website.

The biggest discovery and great results came as I tried baking my single layer, surrounded by a towel strip that I pinned around the sides of the pan.  Not only did it eliminate the cracking, but also took care of the bulging in the middle.

The crumb of the cake was excellent, it was moist, and  baked evenly throughout.

I also baked this cake at 340.  Next time I will up it to 345 and see if it makes a difference.  I will let you know.

Below is the website that explains it a bit better.  Take the time to look it up.  It really works.

Baking an even cake!

Happy baking!

J

J’s Pineapple Cake

My husband says this is a winner. He was most happy to sample it this afternoon, and complained that the piece was too small. 🙂

You will notice that the cake is yellow, just like it should be.  This is a result of one of the tips I gave you on my last post.  To change the beige look of the oat flour, I add a couple of drops of yellow food coloring.  They won’t know the difference.

This creation is a result of tweaking the cinnamon chocolate cake recipe I uploaded to this sight some time ago.  I replaced the cocoa with finely ground powdered milk, used nutmeg instead of cinnamon, and Sugar Free Pineapple Gourmet syrup, instead of milk.  The filling is simply drained “no sugar added” crushed pineapple in it’s own juice, mixed with a bit of Splenda and Guar gum to thicken.  I used the 9 inch pan portions and baked it in my 8 inch pans, but you could use the 9 inch, as you are filling it with yummy pineapple.

You will notice that the pineapple is squeezed between to layers of the whipped cream icing.  I accomplished this by icing the top of the bottom layer, spooned on the filling, then iced the bottom of the top layer before putting the two together.

One twelfth of the cake is equal to about 14 carbs.  Still well under an average piece of bread.  If you leave out the pineapple filling then it reduces it to about 11.5.  Those few carbs aren’t worth it to me, so I will enjoy my pineapple, thank you!

The recipe is in my e-book.  Just click on the tab above, and go to page 27-28.

j’s Pineapple Cake

Enjoy!

J

Baking Tips for Sugar Free Cakes

This will be a short post, but I needed to pass these tips along while their are still lodged in my aging brain.

1)  I find that if you measure your Splenda, then place it in a processor to grind it finer, it dissolves in your recipes better, and will lessen the chances of your cakes cracking on the surface.

2)  No matter what tweaks that have been tried, using sugar substitutes affects the rise of the end product.  I have tried the various suggestions from the company, but I still notices that my cakes don’t rise the same as when I use real sugar.  Oh well!

The question is then, does it taste great?  Yes!!!!

So….. what we are really talking about here is a visual thing.  When I give someone a piece of cake, I often am told, “Why, it’s simply delicious, but, it isn’t very high.”

Of course, right away my ego is deflated, and in my mind I am assuring myself that I’ll never share my cake with that person again! So there!!!   Then I began to ponder the “real” problem.

The answer-Just make the 9 inch recipe, and bake it in a 8 inch pan.  The only difference is that you will bake it longer-30-35 minutes.

Now, just let them give me that look, when my layers are 1 1/2 inches high.   What they don’t know, won’t hurt’m.  Problem solved.

Here is the cinnamon chocolate cake  using the 9 inch pan recipe, baked in  8 inch pans.   These layers are 1 1/2 inches plus.  I adjusted the sugar on this cake to 2 cups, and also increased the cinnamon to 2 tsp.  Those option are included in the e-book.  I had to bake this about 35 minutes.  It turned out great.  This has become my mother’s favorite cake.   She can’t believe that it is sugar free.

3)  Because I try to use Arrowhead Oat flour in all my cake recipes, it will always have a slightly beige color unless I am working with a recipe that adds cocoa.  So,  to fool the masses, I just add a bit of yellow food coloring to the batter  and tell them it is a yellow cake.

I will share my lemon cake recipe soon, and update the cookbook using this method.

🙂

J

J’s Moist Sponge Cake

I have been working on a recipe for a moist sugar free sponge cake, and I think I finally have it.  Sticking with the Mayonaise idea I share with you in making my Chocolate Cinnamon cake, I blended it with some melted butter and infused it into a simple sponge cake recipe.

Next, I added a sugar free citrus flavor to my whipped cream frosting, and got the fork out.  Yummmmm!!!

My husband just loved it.

Another reason that this is a winner, is that it can be flavored with whatever you wish- lemon, orange, vanilla etc, using zest or extract. You can also add a packet of the Citrus- on the go to your dry ingredients.

The carb count for this creation works out to 6 carbs per serving, or 1/12th of the cake-that includes the frosting.

* One thing that I did for this cake was to grind my Splenda in the processor before measuring it.  It seems to dissolve better with this method.

As for the assembly method, use what ever works best for you to get the most volume from your eggs.  I more or less use the foam cake process here, but you could separate your eggs and follow the American sponge cake method.

As you can see I served it with slightly thickened Manderine orange slices on the side.  I have included how I fixed them in the recipe.

Enjoy!!

J’s Moist Sponge Cake with Citrus Frosting

J’s Low Carb Recipe e-book

J’s Low Carb Chocolate Cinnamon Cake II

This version of the cake is iced with a combo of sugar free vanilla pudding, and whipped cream.  The icing can be made by adding 2 tablespoons of the pudding mix, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 cup of Splenda, to 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream.  Just blend this mixture with a spatula until smooth then pour in the remaining cream from your pint carton(1 and 1/2 cups), and beat  until fluffy.

Total carb count with 2 tablespoon of mix = 12, adding 1 carb to each portion of cake.

  You can increase the amount of pudding mix to a full package if you want a heavier consistency-either way, it tastes great.

Total carb count with whole package of mix = 24, adding 2 carbs to each portion of cake.

Note **  This time, before making my cherry topping with the can of sour cherries, I actually pour off the amount of water, draining the cherries, and measured the amount.  I found that the can had about 2/3 cup of liquid.  Using 1/3 cup of the water, I stirred in 1/2 tsp of Guar gum, and 1/2 cup of Splenda, returned the drained cherries to the mix, then place it in the refrigerator to cool and set.

If after refrigerating the mixture, you find it a bit runny, don’t hesitate to stir in a bit more Guar gum, just be careful, add only 1/8th tsp at a time, stir it in an let it set in the refrigerator before attempting to add more.  The least you have to add is better.

My husband loves both versions of the cake, and stands in the kitchen waiting for the finished product.  For him, this is afternoon snack and an after dinner treat.

Poor man!!

* Tip- serve this cake at room temp.

Here is an updated version of my e-book which includes this cake recipe for 9 inch pans as well.

J’s Low Carb Recipe E-book

Happy eating!

J

Chocolate Cherry Cinnamon Cake

I have been tweaking this cake recipe for some time and finally came up with a much moister version, so I had to share it with you.

What’s the secret- mayonaise.

It seems that most of the recipes that use artificial sugars are much drier than those that have the “real’ thing as an ingredient.  So….., to solve that problem I found that adding Mayonaise not only makes it more moist but does not add any carbs to the end result.

I works for me!  My husband noticed the difference right away.  In fact, that was his first comment.   He also loves the cherry filling.

Everyone should eat so well!

Here is the recipe.

Chocolate Cherry Cinnamon Cake

Enjoy!

J