Milk Chocolate Cake - Similar but not quite Red Velvet Cake (low carb and sugar free)

This is the recipe I said on Twitter I wanted to 'get around' to posting but life was getting in the way!  This morning I have my coffee in hand and am determined to get it typed out.

This is an interesting recipe to me.  Mainly, because it's basically like most low carb and sugar free cakes that are loosely based on the traditional Red Velvet, however this one had no butter in it.  Instead, it uses 1/3 c oil and 1/2 cup sour cream.   I pondered that for awhile when I was mixing it.  I even debated putting in a 1/2 cup butter instead of using oil; because frankly, I have never made a Red Velvet Cake in 30 years that I didn't use butter as the main source of fat and I have never seen a true Red Velvet Cake that used oil.  In the end, I went with the oil and didn't improvise that - although I did improvise a few other things.  I always do.  I hope you do too - play with your food.  Make it your own.

My opinion of this recipe is that it makes a very, very delicious cake.  It does not have the traditional Red Velvet flavor that it should - but I think that is because bakeries, Sam's Club, Costco and companies like Pillsbury and Duncan Hines have ruined the name Red Velvet by releasing products that are little more than chocolate cake with a lot of red food color in them.  The flavor of those products are not Red Velvet Cake.  But I digress.  This is a very good cake that is just a smidgen under what I would call "milk chocolate" flavored.  But good none-the-less and worth making again.

Milk Chocolate Almost Red Velvet Cake
(low carb and sugar free)

1 c  Oat Flour
1/2 c vital wheat gluten flour
1 c Almond Flour
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 T baking powder
1 c Splenda
1/2 c Erythritol
1/2 t salt
8 eggs, separated into 8 whites and 4 of the yolks
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/4 c cold water
1 T vinegar
1 t baking soda
1/2 c sour cream
1/3 c oil of choice
2 bottles (1 oz ea.) red food color
2 t vanilla
1 t liquid sugar substitute of your choice

Grease 2 round cake pans.  Flour with almond flour or oat flour.  Preheat your oven to 325.  In a large bowl whisk or stir the dry ingredients;  oat flour, vital wheat gluten flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, splenda and Erythritol and salt.  Set this aside.

In another bowl whip the 8 egg whites to soft peak.  Sprinkle in cream of tartar and continue whipping on high until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.

In another bowl mix the cold water with the 4 egg yolks.  Add oil, vanilla and liquid sweetener.

In a small cup or bowl, mix the sour cream with 1 T vinegar and 1 t baking soda.  Add the food color to this and stir well.  Mix this sour cream mixture into the egg yolks.

Mix the sour cream/egg mixture into your dry ingredients and beat.  Add 1/2 of the whipped egg whites to the bowl and beat about 1 minute.  Add the last half of the egg whites but fold in by hand, with an 'over' motion to incorporate the egg whites but not break them down.   Divide batter into 2 cake pans.  Bake 20-30 minutes until they are done in the center.  Let them cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and cooling complete.

Use your favorite sugar free frosting to fill the center and frost the tops.

This recipe freezes well.


*Note*
I chose a frosting that used egg yolks in it in order to use up 2 of the leftover 4 yolks from the cake ingredients.  If you wish you can use this one too.


2 egg yolks
2/3 c Splenda
1/3 c Erythritol
5-10 drops liquid sweetener
1/4 c cream, heavy
2 t vanilla extract
1/2 c (1 stick) butter

In a microwave safe bowl beat the egg yolks and Erythritol.
In a small cup or bowl mix the cream with the splenda.  Slowly pour this into your egg yolk mixture, whisking well by hand.  Microwave this mixture 1 - 1 1/2  minutes, removing every 30 seconds to whisk well.  When it's very hot and small bubbles are formed in the mixture, stop cooking.  (Do not overcook!  Also, do not cook the entire 1 1/2 minutes without stirring or you are liable to get scrambled eggs.)  Whisk smooth again and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth.  Slowly drizzle in the liquid mixture down the side of the bowl into the butter while continuing to beat.  Add vanilla and liquid sweetener to taste. 

Frost your cooled or chilled cake.  This freezes well. 










You might also be interested in the products;
         

Revisiting the healthy, sugar free, wheat free, chocolate chip cookie!

Have I posted this one before?  You bet I have.  Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies?  Even if you can't have wheat or sugar?  I thank Dana Carpender for the inspiration behind this one. I knew my husband would love some chocolate chip cookies but I also knew he was serious about wanting to do 4 weeks of no-sugar and low carbs. Thumbing through my copy of 500 Low-Carb Recipes, I spied this one and even though I didn't have all the ingredients it called for, I knew I could improvise. (Ok readers, what do I always say? Play with your food! Improvise! Use recipes as a guide and then make them your own!)

Sugar free, Wheat Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c butter
1 1/2 c Splenda
1 1/2 t black strap molasses (yes it's molasses but it's it's the lowest sugar/carb and it helps for flavor)
2 eggs
1 c ground almonds or almond flour
1 c vanilla flavored why protein powder
1/4 c wheat bran (or oat bran)
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1 small package sugar free chocolate bars or sugar free chocolate chips
(I banged the mini candy bars with my rolling pin to break them up into pieces and crumbled them into the dough in place of chocolate chips)


Preheat your oven to 375. Beat the Splenda with the butter and molasses until well mixed. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. In another bowl stir the ground almonds, whey powder, wheat or oat bran, baking soda and salt. Add this to the butter/Splenda mixture about 1/2 cup at a time to incorporate.

Stir in the nuts and chocolate chunks. Drop by tablespoons onto a sprayed/greased cookie sheet or parchment paper. Form into nicely shaped rounds and flatten a bit with your hand. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then remove to a rack or counter to cool. The original recipe said each cookie yields about 3 carbs.







The dry mix; almonds, whey powder, oat bran, etc.


















Forming into rounds (a bit sticky)

















Great with coffee... My husband dunks his in half & half.

You might be interested in some of the products I use from Amazon as well;

                                  

My Very Best Cole Slaw Recipe

Since my recipe blog has been around since 2006, I've posted this before, but I decided to re-post because I truly think this recipe tops all of the restaurant cole slaws I've had.  I had a chance to compare again, as I had a couple bites of a very good cole slaw last night with dinner when we ate 'out' for Mother's Day.  Since I'm not doing sugary foods right now and cole slaw traditionally has sugar in it, I only opted for 3 bites; enough to compare the restaurant version to the one I make at home.  My homemade version won.   Any time I need to prepare a side dish for a bbq, event or summer dinner and want to make cole slaw, this is the recipe I turn to time and time again. Since the mid 1990's this is my all time favorite way to prepare cole slaw.  It's very similar to the taste of KFC's or Long John Silver's versions and just so good with everything from BBQ to Burgers, from Fried Chicken to Fish...  well, anything!

You can use a sugar substitute of your choice instead of sugar and if you do not have buttermilk, you can sour 1/4 cup milk with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar and let it set until the chemicals react and you see it get thick. Also, if you want to skip chopping the cabbage, you can buy the cabbage/carrot mixture pre-packaged at the store to equal about 6-7 cups of shredded or finely chopped cabbage.  It will be dry at first mixing but after it chills for 2 hours it will have formed its own juice.  Stir well and serve cold.


The Best Cole Slaw

1 head finely chopped cabbage
1 medium carrot, grated
1/3 cup granulated sugar (optional: sugar substitute equivalent)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup milk
1½ T white vinegar
2½ tablespoons lemon juice


Combine everything but the cabbage and carrot and whisk until smooth. Add the cabbage and carrot. Chill 2 hours and serve.

Green Beans with Almonds

This is one of those sidedishes you don't really use a recipe for, but just throw together when you need something quick and easy to go with the meal.  The other night we had crab stuffed salmon and I love green beans, broccoli or peas when we have seafood.  The thought of caramelized butter with fresh garlic and green beans just sounded perfect so that is what we had.

Like most foods of this sort I will tell you to "play with your food".   It doesn't matter if you want to use whole almonds, sliced almonds or blanched almonds.  Use what you have on hand.  Also, the amount of salt and pepper and the amount of garlic you use is completely up to you.  A little bit of garlic for those that aren't sure and a lot of yummy garlic for those of that are!


Green Beans with Almonds

Green beans, fresh or frozen
Olive Oil
Butter, real
Garlic, fresh peeled and minced or in a jar
salt and pepper
almonds
optional: a dash of brown sugar or brown sugar substitute

In a saucepan on the stove over medium high heat, place your green beans with a bit of water.  Cover and steam or simmer until just tender and still bright in color.  Drain if there is any extra water.  Add a bit of olive oil and a pat of butter to the pan and stir fry style the beans.  Add your garlic.  Start with a small amount if you aren't a big garlic lover; perhaps 1/2 teaspoon or 1 small clove.  This will give barely a hint of garlic flavor to about 2-3 cups of fresh beans.  I would suggest about 2 or 3 teaspoons.  If you wish, add a dash or sprinkle of brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper.  The brown sugar will give it a caramelized hint in flavor and is delicious but not necessary.  Keeping the heat at about medium, stir every minute or so until the beans start to show a little golden brown.  Do not over cook or your beans will be whimpy and your garlic can turn bitter if burned.  Now you can toss in the almonds as is - or - remove the green beans to a serving dish.  Add the almonds to the pan and toast them over medium heat until just starting to turn golden and then serve over the beans.   Serve hot.