The Low Carb Luxury Online Magazine: Volume IV / Number 24: December 18, 2003


December 18, 2003 PAGE 6 > About LCL Magazine > Cover Page > Inside Cover Feature Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Photographs: Proof of Life?

The Perfect Gift

A Homemade Christmas

Jo Cordi's Lifestyle Series

Snapshot: Ruby Tuesday

Baking Up Holiday Sweets

Wrench That Stole Christmas

But For The Grace of God

Travel: Memories of Madrid

Party Food!

Cooking with Jarret Hughes

Holiday Treats or Traps?

ISSUE ARCHIVES

Baking Up Low Carb Holiday Sweets by Ginger Weigel

"Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it
by giving the light of love to those who need it most."
— Ruth Carter Stapleton

Norma Jean's Coffee Cake

Every year at Christmas, my mother makes this wonderful coffeecake.
This is my (low carb) way of making it.

Walnut Filling:

3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
6 Tbsp Granular Splenda
2 tsp Ground cinnamon

Coffeecake:

1 1/4 cups vanilla whey protein powder
3/4 cup almond flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp coarse salt
6 Tbsp Butter at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup granular Splenda
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F and coat a 9-inch baking pan lightly with non-stick spray.

To make Walnut filling, combine all ingredients and blend together (I put it all in my mini food processor).

To make the coffeecake, combine the protein powder, almond flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and blend with a wire whisk. To "sour" the cream, add the lemon juice. Dissolve the baking soda in the soured cream mixture.

Place the butter in the mixing bowl and beat until light & fluffy on medium-high speed. Cream in the Splenda and vanilla. Add in the soured cream. Add in all the dry ingredients until well mixed. Last, add the eggs, beating in one at a time.

Place half the batter in the pan, sprinkle half the walnut filling mixture over the batter, and then add the rest of the batter. Top with the remaining filling. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely, and store remaining coffeecake in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes 20 servings. Each serving has 4 grams of effective carbohydrate.

Low Carb House Marble Squares

Another recipe from my Mom. These are named after the famous chocolate chips, but now they're low carb so that we can enjoy them too.

1 cup high-gluten flour
1/4 cup vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup (or 1 stick) butter at room temperature
3/4 cup Splenda
1 tsp Powdered white stevia
1 large egg
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped pecans
4 sugar free milk chocolate bars, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.
Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and blend with a wire whisk.

Place the butter, Splenda & stevia in the mixing bowl and beat on medium-high until creamed. Add the egg & vanilla and beat for one minute. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough sticks together. Add the pecans and blend.

Press the mixture into the pan; sprinkle the chopped chocolate on the top.

Place in the oven for two minutes. Pull out, and using a butter knife, swirl the melted chocolate in through the batter. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for about 15 more minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares once cool.

24 servings. 5 grams of effective carbohydrate.

Coconut Macaroons

1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup Splenda
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 Tbsp Atkins Bake Mix
2 egg whites
1/8 tsp Salt

Combine coconut, Splenda, Atkins Bake Mix, and salt in a bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond extract; mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes or until brown around the edges. Remove from baking sheet at once.

Makes about 18 cookies. 0.5 grams of effective carbohydrate per cookie

Macadamia Nut Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
1 cup finely chopped roasted & salted macadamia nuts
1 cup Splenda
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover at least two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone-baking sheet.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and continue heating just until the butter solids at the bottom turn deep golden brown (not black), about 5 to 7 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and pour the melted butter into a small bowl, making sure to scrape up all the brown bits. Let cool for about 5 minutes.

Combine all the other ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until blended. Slowly add the melted butter and stir until all is incorporated.

Drop the batter by slightly heaping teaspoons on the baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool.

Make approx. 36 cookies. Less than 1 gram of effective carbohydrate per cookie.

Chocolate Roll

Cake:

1 1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 Tbsp Splenda
2 Tbsp warm water
Bake mix or soy flour for the pan
9 large eggs separated
1 cup Splenda granular
6 Tbsp Dutch processed cocoa, sifted
1/8 tsp coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of an 18x13 pan with butter, line with parchment paper, grease parchment paper with butter, and then flour lightly. Set aside.

In a double boiler, melt together the chocolate, 3 Tbsp Splenda and water. Let cool to room temperature.

Whip eggs yolks with a hand mixer until light in color and they begin to thicken, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the Splenda and whip until very thick and pale in color, about 2 minutes. Turn speed to low and blend in the chocolate mixture. Mix in the cocoa and salt until blended.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with the mixer until they start to get frothy and increase in volume. In a steady stream, slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of Splenda and whip on medium-high until soft peaks form.

With a rubber spatula, fold in the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in three additions. The first addition stir in vigorously, as this will lighten the chocolate mixture. Then fold in the rest of the egg whites slowly as not to deflate the volume.

Pour this into the lined pan, smooth with a spatula. Bake at 350°F for 22 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch.

While the cake is baking, spread out a clean tea towel on the counter and dust with cocoa powder. As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, flip it over onto the tea towel and roll remove the parchment paper. Roll the cake up in the tea towel from one of the short ends, and then let the cake cool.

The Filling:

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated Splenda
Generous pinch of salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp, completely softened
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Fill a wide pot with 1 to 2 inches of very hot water. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites, Splenda and salt until blended. Set the bowl in the hot water and whisk until the mixture gets hot, about 90 seconds.

Take the bowl out of the water and using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip the whites until cool and thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce to medium speed and add the butter one tablespoon at a time until completely incorporated. The filling will be somewhat loose. Blend in the vanilla bean seeds and the vanilla.

Completely unroll the now cooled cake, and spread the filling over it, about 2 inches from each side. Re-roll the cake, without the tea towel.

The Icing:

3 Tbsp Heavy cream
1 cup granular Splenda
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 Tbsp Water
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil then reduce to low, whisking often until it's very thick, like fudge sauce, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let the icing cool until thick, then ice the cake. Trim the ends to be smooth. Refrigerate uncovered at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving.

Serves 10. 8.9 gram of effective carbohydrate per serving.

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