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7/7/11

Low Carb Red Velvet Cake


I'm not sure whether this recipe is going to be posted as a thumbs up or a fail.  I took a recipe that sounded half way promising but there were two ingredients I didn't have on hand;  erythritol and coconut flour .  What I DID have on hand was Splenda and Red Mill Low Carb Baking Mix so I decided to play with the recipe.  The original plain yogurt was substituted with sour cream as well.  Everything else, I had on hand or used as noted.

The reason I would call it a 'fail' on my part is because I'm not currently doing low-carb.  If I want a 'regular' cake I could have it.  I wasn't craving this, didn't want this and really, wasn't even in the mood to bake the night I made this.  Since I love original, real, traditional Red Velvet Cake, I was of course, comparing it to the real thing.  BUT!  Read on...

The reason it could be a 'thumbs up' is because my daughter - who WAS doing no sugar, low carb - loved it and it cured her intense craving for something 'sweet'.

My oldest daughter has been doing low carb, no sugar and came home from work one afternoon begging me to make something 'sweet', gooey, chocolately or rich. I pulled out my binders of low-carb recipes and she started to flip through them.   She settled on some chocolately gooey brownies, or the Red Velvet Cake.  Judging each recipe by the number of ingredients we DID have on hand to use; Red Velvet Cake won out.

She was so thankful to have a 'dessert' and something that was sweet yet low carb, she declared it a hit and thanked me.  I, on the other hand, thought it was fairly "eggy" with the 9 eggs it took and compared it to a Red Velvet Cream Puff.

I'll post it here... but I can't completely endorse it unless you have been doing low carb for awhile and are craving something sweet - even if it does resemble a Red Velvet Cream Puff.

Low Carb Red Velvet Cake

1/2 c butter
1/2 c sour cream
9 large eggs
1 c Splenda
1 individual packet stevia
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 t vanilla extract
1 1/4 c low carb bake mix
1 t xanthun gum powder (probably not needed)
2 T cocoa powder
1 T red food coloring
3/4 t baking powder


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 round 8 or 9 inch cake pans with shortening and dust with cocoa.  Whisk together eggs in a bowl until a bit foamy, and add vanilla extract to eggs. In another bowl, sift baking mix and stir in salt and cocoa powder.

Mix together sour cream and red food coloring in a third bowl. In the largest bowl, cream butter for about 30 seconds to make it fluffy. Add erythritol in a steady stream and cream together for 2-3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Slowly stream in beaten eggs, beating continuously.  Add dry and wet ingredients alternately until everything has been added but the baking soda. Mix in baking soda last and scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes in the center of the middle oven rack, or until batter is completely set and springs back.  Remove cake and let cool.

Transfer bottom cake layer to a serving dish lined with strips of wax paper hanging off the edges. Frost cake, laying over a thin crumb coat first. Then pile on the frosting spread outward from the center of the layer. Add top layer to cake and cover completely with frosting.


Cream Cheese Frosting

2-8 oz packages cream chees
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup erythritol, powdered  (I used Splenda)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon pure stevia extract
1 stick unsalted butter

Bring cream cheese to room temperature. Beat until smooth and creamy, then add powdered erythritol and beat for about 2 minutes, or until erythritol is dissolved and the mixture does not feel gritty to the touch. Beat in butter just until smooth and incorporated.




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