Another Chocolate Cake?

Since updating my recipes I have been dying to try my idea for a Cinnamon Mint Chocolate cake, so today I indulged.

This cake measure slightly over 4 inches in height

What changes did I make to the original?

Bake 345 degrees for approx 30-35 minutes.
Prepare 8 inch by 2 inch high round pans with liner(parchment or wax paper.    Do not grease sides. Moisten and fold towel strips. Stretch strip around pan and pin. Set aside.

By the way,  this recipe with make two nice 9 inch layers as well.

Cake
Dry ingredients-
9 tablespoons pure cocoa powder (9)
2 cups of oat flour (Arrowhead flour = 108)
4 tsps baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp Guar Gum
1 tsp salt
2 teaspoon of Cinnamon

1/3 cup of dry milk powder

2 cups – Splenda ( measured then pulsed to fine powder)
6 large eggs
½ cup Bestfoods Mayonaise (0)
½ cup oil(0)
4 tablespoons Sugar Free Maple Syrup (0)

1 1/3 cup  DaVince SF  Mint Patty Syrup
½ tsp vanilla

How to’s-  the cake

Turn on your oven!

Beat eggs, Splenda, syrups, mayo, oil, and powdered milk together for about 1 min.  Set aside.

Sift and measure your flour.  Return measured flour to sifter and add in other dry ingredients.  Sift again.  Place in mixing bowl.

Prepare pans ( don’t forget the towel trick)

Lastly-  make well in center of dry ingredients, pour in liquids, beat no more than one minute.

Pour equal amounts of batter in each pan and bake.

Frosting

2 cups of heavy whipped cream

1 or 2 tbsp of SF vanilla pudding mix ( I use 1 tbsp)

1 tsp of mint flavoring ( or more, depending on how minty you want your frosting)

1/2 -2/3 cup of Splenda ( measured, then pulsed to fine powder)

How to’s- the frosting

Pour about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of your cream into mixing bowl.  Add in other ingredients and stir with a spoon or spatula to blend.   Beat  on high speed until mixture begins to feel heavy.  This will be a true “butter cream.”

Enjoy!

PS – Here is a tutorial for making your own baking pan jackets.

Baking Pan Jackets

 

 

J

 

Yellow Cake Success at Last

In my last post I share with you my “elevation” discovery, so this has been the week of baking cake 1-?  Each one I baked was getting lighter, so I knew I was on the right track.

As promised I have updated the recipe in my e-book, and also posted the new one here.

I was so excited as I watched it rise.  Having 2 inch high pans, it is not hard to tell that the edges are already at the 1 1/2 mark on the sides.

I even measured them, to make sure.  The best part of all, was the taste test.  The texture was moist but light, which was exactly what I was after.

I also baked it 39 minutes. * With the addition of the mayo and oil combo, you can bake it a bit more without drying out your cake.

Now it is ready for some strawberries, and whipped cream to be added later tonight.  Yum!!

You can upload the recipe at the end of this post.

One more thing- this time I mixed my eggs, sugar, mayo,oil, and liquids first, letting them set while I got the rest of the ingredients ready.  The longer the Splenda or any other sugar substitute has to dissolve before you stir it into your dry ingredients, the better.

**I suggest that you try this single layer version.  DO NOT DOUBLE THIS RECIPE.  Bake in small batches for additional layers.  I find that if I double the recipe, it does not rise as well.  Why?  I haven’t a clue.  So… if you like the cake, and want a double layer, just get the second one ready to put together while the first one is baking.

Just so you know-you can dink around with the baking powder a bit, as your elevation will make a difference.  If you need to experiment, try adding or subtracting be 1/8 tsps.  The same goes for the Guar Gum.  Nothing is written in stone here.  Less is better.

J’s Basic Yellow Cake

This single layer version is about 7 carbs per 1/12 the of the cake.  I you add fruit, then you need to add those carbs , too.  Even if doubled, this cake with whipped cream frosting, still is less than the average piece of bread.  I works for me.  🙂

Oh What Elevation Can Do!!!

I recently went to my friend’s house at an elevation of 3100 ft.  I bake my pineapple cake in her oven.  Wow!  I was the nicest cake I have ever baked, including those baked with white flour and real sugar.    The layers were over 1 1/2 inches high and the texture was much lighter than the one I baked in my oven.  So, I am back to experimenting with the basic yellow oat flour cake.  It stands to reason that if the rule of thumb for higher elevations is to decrease the leavening in the recipe, then the reverse must be true for us folks down in the valley.  *See my post on leavening oat flour.

I will let you know what I find out when my new oat flour arrives.

My Cinnamon Chocolate cake always comes out great at my elevation, so some chemical reaction is happening that needs to be altered for a lighter texture in the yellow cake version.

Cocoa and Flour Substitutions _ How to Substitute Cocoa for Flour _ Flour for Cocoa

Check out the pdf above.  I thought this was interesting info, and perhaps will help in our further cake exploits.

My friends think this version with the bananas is to die for.  I added an extra 1/2 tsp of baking powder to the original recipe per instructed by the info I previously posted.  I made the vanilla whipped cream frosting, and dipped my banana slices in orange juice, then drained them in a colander.   It was perfect. Yummmm!!!

I am no Guru on this issue, just sharing my experience.  I always have to remember that I am dealing with two issues-

1)  a flour that has no gluten

2) a substitute sugar that needs special handling

Till next time-

J

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

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

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

Tweaking a Recipe- Low Carbing It!

I recently came across a great chocolate chiffon cake recipe, but needed to down grade the carbs a bit.

Here is a link to the original recipe from “Joy of Baking.”

The first issue was making the cake four.

I substituted Arrowhead Mills oat flour for the 2 cups, sifted it, removed 1 tablespoon, and replaced that tablespoon with one tablespoon of cornstarch.  I replace the sugar with 3/4 cup of Splenda, then sifted all the dry ingredients together to get it as fine as possible.  With only these 2 changes, I followed the cake recipe adding the second half(3/4 cup) of the sugar(Splenda) to the egg whites.

The next major change was baking the cake at 325 for only 45 min.  As most of you know, using sugar substitutes sometimes requires altering the baking time.

The cake turns out great.

For the icing I used 4 ounces of unsweetened Bakers chocolate(broken into small pieces), with 3/4 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup Splenda, 1 tsp vanilla.  I microwaved it for 1 minute, gently stirring the mixture to melt the chocolate.   After adding 1 cup of Erythritol, and 1 tablespoon of butter( to replace the corn syrup),I return it to the microwave for 30 seconds, then stirred it again until it was smooth.

While the chocolate glaze was cooling, I mixed the chocolate whipped cream filling–here, again just substituting the sugar.

I assembled the cake as directed, but used all the cream filling in the center instead.  I finished it with the cooled sugar free chocolate glaze (Ganache).

Here is a photo of the finished product.

Total carbs for 1/12 of cake is about 10-11 carbs per slice.  Not bad!!

My husband thought it was really yummy.  He did suggest that the next time I make it (soon he hopes)that I double the filling recipe and ice the whole cake with it.  And….this is a guy who doesn’t especially like whipped cream.

*Note- I stored my cake in the refrigerator because of the whipped cream filling.  I always remove it when I am cooking dinner so that it come to room temp before I serve it.  This way the icing isn’t too hard.

Happy cooking!

J

Oat Flour Discovery

This short post is to inform you that up to this point in time I have discovered that Arrowhead Mills has the lowest net carb count per cup of oat flour.  Their finely milled oat flour boasts 18 net carbs per 1/3 cup, or 54 carb per cup.  That’s works for me!

Happy cooking!

J