Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake (low carb)

So my intentions to have pictures of all the different stages of cake baking didn't quite work out for this post. It seemed one disaster, non-baking related, happened when I made the time to do this from a scissor mishap of a four year old the approximate size and shape of a paper cut but was the end of the world wound to uninvited door to doors and what not. I am sure I will be making this cake again in the very near future and when I do I will create an addendum page with more or better photos. At least I have a final product pic for you.


I have made a chocolate cake for some time now that is probably my most requested. It is moist and chocolaty and holds up well to rolled fondant decorating (another food related passion). The chocolate cake recipe is a slight derivation from the Butter Chocolate cake recipe from the Joy of Baking website. This chocolate cake is not a low carb cake but, as promised, I have come up with a low carb solution that I adore and so do a large number of people who have tried it so far. My teenage son, who has with much disdain tried the low carb versions of various things and has just been unhappy with the results in general, actually likes this. Not only likes, but likes the low carb version better than the "original" version! I can also stuff my grandson silly with chocolate cake with no guilt and still come across as the Nona that will let you eat anything.

Enjoy!

Buttermilk Butter Chocolate Cake

(not low carb)

4 - 1oz chocolate baking squares

1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder

1 cup water

1 cup room temp butter (takes about 25 to 30 minutes)

2 cups sugar (400 grams)

3 large eggs

2 1/4 cups flour (315 grams)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a half sheet with parchment paper and set to side. If you don't use parchment paper then prepare pan.


Chop the baking squares and place pieces into heat proof bowl along with cocoa. Pour boiling water over chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Set this off to the side to let it cool.


In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Sift all ingredients together and set off to side.


In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter, stopping one time to scrap down the sides. Once creamed add the sugar in a slow pour while mixing. Once again stop at least one time to scrap down sides. The butter sugar mixture will be fluffy when mixed properly. This will take about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time making sure they are fully incorporated. Add the vanilla. Add the melted chocolate and mix until well incorporated, scraping down the sides when necessary.


Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in approximately three additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix.


Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Alternately, two 9" or  8" round cake pans* can be used. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean.


Let the cakes cool completely before covering with frosting or icing.

Following the original recipe and figuring the flour-sugar-fat-liquid ratio and adjusting for the liquid/bulk differences that occur with many low carb ingredients, I was able to create a extremely close, still moist and delicious resemblance of the none low carb cake with a fourth of the carbs per serving! I ended up with a batter that left me a bit worrisome because of it's thickness and lack of spreading. I fought the urge to increase the liquid and cooked it. I was very glad I did because it was not in the least bit dry and had a great crumb that rivaled the original. Here is the recipe I used below.

Butter Chocolate Cake a la low carb

4 - 1oz chocolate baking squares

1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder

1 cup water

1 cup butter

100g erythritol 

100g coconut sugar

2 tsp stevia extract powder

4 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
165g carbalose 

55g soy powder 

90g my own coconut flour 

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

 226ml half and half

1 TB vinegar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a half sheet with parchment paper and set to side. If you don't use parchment paper then prepare pan.



Chop the baking squares and place pieces into heat proof bowl along with cocoa. Pour boiling water over chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Set this off to the side to let it cool.


In a separate bowl mix together the carbalose, soy powder, coconut flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Sift all ingredients together as best as possible and set off to side. The more you are able to sift the more air is placed between particles and will allow the gases to raise the cake more.


Stir the vinegar into the half and half mixture and set to the side. It will start to thicken and or curdle but don't worry.


In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter, stopping one time to scrap down the sides. Once creamed add the sugar in a slow pour while mixing. Once again stop at least one time to scrap down sides. The butter sugar mixture will not be fluffy like when mixing regular cane sugar. Make sure butter and sugars are mixed well but not too much. It should take about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time making sure they are fully incorporated. Add the vanilla. Add the cooled melted chocolate and mix until well incorporated, scraping down the sides when necessary.


Add the flour mixture and milk alternately in approximately three additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix.


Place the batter in the pan and spread it as evenly as possible to the edges. Alternately, two 9" round cake pans* can be used. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Caramel Coconut and Ganache icings
all low carb

This low carb chocolate cake will easily serve 24 at 7.2g net carbs per serving. As shown in the picture LC caramel coconut layer (inspired by All Day I Dream About Food) and the LC ganache topping it comes out to 13.75g net carbs per serving. 


*In case you haven't learned this neat little trick for cooking a level cake, for any pan I use that has depth, I cut strips of an old towel to match the pans depth, then trim the length to wrap around the outside plus a few inches so I can pinch the ends together with binder clips . When I prepare the pans I saturate the strips with water and wrap the outside of the pans and clip into place. When ready to bake, place the batter filled pans into the oven with the wet strips. The wet strips slow the cooking on the outside of the pan allowing the cake to cook with a nice level top. No trimming off the hump in the middle or having sloping sides when creating your works of art. You can buy kits online that do the same but my way works great and it costs a fraction. Besides I use binder clips for closing packages, sealing off parchment boats and various other items in the kitchen. You can order a gross from Amazon for about $6.00 and if you are a prime member, shipping doesn't even cost and you'll get them in about two days.

Dumplings

Pate a choux is a delicious pastry dough that makes an aerated roll that is crunchy on the outside and soft inside when baked and is used as a vessel to fill with savory or sweet cream fillings.


I make my dumplings for chicken and dumplings from a pate a choux base. It makes a rich flavored, dense dumpling that everyone in my family enjoys. When I decided to go low carb, I felt confident that this would translate into a satisfying low carb dumpling and was I ever right. It was so successful that my leftovers were eaten by a non-low carb individual in my house who claimed they didn't even know they were different.


Listed below are the original recipe that I have used for years, followed by the low carb recipe that is extremely satisfying and delicious as well. The herbs are the seasonings I use. These can be changed or omitted to suit your own tastes.


Dumplings (for chicken and dumplings)
1 stick  butter (113g)
1 cup  water (226g)
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 tsp rosemary (optional)
1/2 tsp sage (optional)
1/2 tsp onion powder (optional)
1 scant cup flour (approx 113g) (1 scant cup is what the original recipe called for?!)  
4 large eggs (226g)


In a medium size saucepan, heat the butter, water, salt and seasonings to a boil. Add the flour and stir vigorously until the dough begins to pull away from the sides. Continue to stir and heat for an additional minute to help evaporate the water.


Remove the pan from the stove and place the dough in your mixer or place bottom of pan in a pan of cool water to remove the heat from the pan before adding the eggs. The dough should be hot but we don't want the eggs to cook before incorporated.


With your mixer going, add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Give each egg time to mix in well. When done, either wrap well and store in refrigerator for up to 24 hours or use immediately by dropping by spoonfuls into chicken broth to make dumplings.


Low Carb Dumplings
3/4 cup Carbalose (90g)
1/4 cup soy powder (30g)
4 tsp vital wheat gluten (10g)
1 tsp guar gum
1 stick  butter (113g)
1 cup  half and half (226g)
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 tsp rosemary (optional)
1/2 tsp sage (optional)
1/2 tsp onion powder (optional)
4 large eggs (226)




Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl and set to side.



In a medium size saucepan, heat the butter, water, salt and seasonings to a boil. Add the flour and stir vigorously until the dough begins to pull away from the sides. Continue to stir and heat for an additional minute to help evaporate the water.


Remove the pan from the stove and place the dough in your mixer or place bottom of pan in a pan of cool water to remove the heat from the pan before adding the eggs. The dough should be hot but the eggs should not cook when incorporated.


With your mixer going, add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Give each egg time to mix in well.


When done, let the dough sit for about 30 minutes until it thickens. The dough needs to be able to be scooped by tablespoonfuls without sliding off completely. Drop into simmering broth in one dump to make the dumplings. I use the tilt-the-spoon-while-pushing-batter-off-with-my-finger method. Use whatever works for you :)


The dumplings in both recipes will begin to float when they are done. Sometime the broth needs to be stirred a bit to loosen any that may get stuck on the bottom.


The whole batch has a mere 36.6g net carbs. Depending on how many servings you make of the dumplings will determine your per serving amount. This meal easily makes into 6 servings for me so mine come out to about 6.1 per serving.


Yummmm!

Pizza Dough

Half cheese-half pesto chicken ricotta

So, here is my perfect example of a recipe gone wrong and everyone turning a blind eye to the obvious flaws or else, a great majority of low carbers just have an affinity for a gray pallet.

While researching psyllium husks I came across a supposedly wonderful pizza dough recipe. People were oohing and aahing and touting how wonderful this recipe was and how it was going to change their lives. It consisted of psyllium husks, olive oil and an egg.

After checking ratios for pizza dough and adding a yeast proof to the ingredients given in the message board recipe, I created a pesto chicken three cheese pizza on floppy cardboard disaster! The crust was bland and difficult to impossible to choke down unless each bite was followed by a drink. Blah! Has no one discovered carbalose or other low carb flours? I'd rather not eat "pizza" if this was my option.

Luckily, with a little tweaking and experimentation, here is a recipe I feel is worth sharing, trying and ENJOYING! Although this pizza does not have the typical white yeast dough flavor or appearance of commercial pizza dough it is similar to a whole wheat crust. Depending on how thin you roll out your dough will help determine your crusts final texture. I really like to roll mine out extra thin, probably around an 1/8" for a crisp thin crust.

I will apologize now for how the recipe is written. As you get to know me you will see that I prefer to weigh and NOT measure. The only real use my measuring cups receive is for holding the contents I am weighing. Some recipes I have actually gone to the trouble of estimating measurements because someone I knew wanted it but  this is not one of those.


Pizza Dough
135g Carbalose
 55g Soy powder
 55g Coconut flour (my own)
 25g Vital wheat gluten
 1tsp salt
 1/2 cup (113g) water @ 115 degrees (105 to 115 degree is good, no more, no less)
 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
 1 tsp molasses
 2 1/2 TB olive oil (I have also used butter and bacon drippings)
 1 large egg
 1/2 cup water


Mix together slightly the 115 degree water, molasses and yeast in mixing bowl. Nothing has to dissolve or be fully incorporated. Let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes, until completely foamy.

While waiting for the yeast proof mix together the five dry ingredients in a bowl or food processor. Add oil and blend into flour mixture.

After yeast mixture is finished proofing, add egg and flour mixture. In your mixing bowl with the dough hook mix ingredients on med-low, scraping down the sides as needed. Give the mixture time to form a dough. If dough seems too dry, add water by 2TB at a time. In high humidity or rainy weather you may not need to add much. If you live in drier conditions then you may find you need to add the full amount and possibly more. Make sure you don't over saturate the dough. If it becomes to stick then you will have to add more flour or meal of some sort to make it workable.

When the dough pulls away from the sides and begins to form a ball that still leaves a little stickiness stuck to the bowl beneath it you can stop mixing. If the ball forms and pulls away from the bowl leaving it completely clean it is probably too dry. The dough will be slightly sticky but not too difficult to handle. Regular pizza dough would be more sticky because you would want to work flour into the dough during the kneading and sheeting stage. Cover bowl to let dough rest for about 30 minutes. You can use the dough immediately or, if refrigerating, coat the dough ball with olive oil and store in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap. When using after refrigerating, let the dough come to room temp before working.

Knead, roll out and shape. I like to roll mine out and then brush butter over the entire surface and then flip the dough before I create the well. It helps my crust have a better crunch when cooked directly on rack. Dock your pizza crust before baking. If you don't have a pizza docker then pierce it with a fork really well. This helps to eliminate air bubble where gases get trapped and expand the dough. If you don't do this then your crust will have a more bread like texture. Pre-bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (on silpat or pizza pan or pizza stone) before putting on toppings to help prevent the dough from possibly getting soggy.

Add your toppings, meats already cooked, to your pizza dough and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. I place mine directly on the rack once loaded so the bottom will crunch up nicely. I haven't invested in a pizza stone yet but I just might do that before long.

I have even made this pizza with a stuffed crust. Line just inside the edge with cheese and then wipe a ring of water just inside the cheese ring. Fold the dough over the cheese and press into the wet ring. Brush the the crust with butter and sprinkle with garlic powder if you'd like.

My four YO, Niko's pizza and my stuffed crust pizza. We have fun cooking together!

This pizza dough contains a net carb count of 45.3g. Depending on how many slices you cut your pizza into  or how many pizzas you make will depend on the amount of carbs you get from your slices. For a large, 8 serving pizza, the slices come to a mere 5.6g net per serving.


While this dough still may not be perfect, it however, IMHO a great low carb recipe so, it just might be time to invest in a kitchen scale of some sort. I bought an EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale just over two years ago from Amazon that works great for me. It measures in grams, kg, oz, and lbs, has a tare function, and will weigh up to 11 lbs. EatSmart makes some higher end scales but I haven't found a great excuse to make that investment, yet!

As always, I would love suggestion or comments. I am not a low carb automoton and love to enjoy my food. Better is always better! 


Bon Appetit!

123 Cookie aka Low Carb Shortbread Cookie

To make a basic cookie batter that can be altered to whatever you like all you need to know is 123: 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour. Using this ratio I learned about in the book, Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, I put together this little low carb gem of a shortbread cookie.



Ingredients
140g room temp butter (takes about 30 minutes)
70g coconut sugar
25 drops of Stevia extract liquid
100g coconut flour
55g soy powder
55g carbalose
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 TB half and half


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with non stick spray.

In a small mixing bowl combine coconut flour, soy powder, carbalose, baking soda and salt. Sift all ingredients as much as possible. Some meal will not be able to be sifted. Add unsifted parts to bowl. Set flour mixture off to side.

In a mixing bowl cream the butter. Add coconut sugar and Stevia to butter and mix well. Add vanilla and half and half to mix.

Add the flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until just mixed. Do not over stir.

Spread cookie dough in pan. Cover top with parchment paper and press dough to even out and smooth surface. Score the dough through the parchment paper to make 24 squares. Remove parchment paper. Alternately, you can scoop about one inch balls onto the tray to make individual cookies.

Place pan in oven and bake for 10 minutes or until top looks just browned. Set on cooling racks to cool for at least 10 minutes. Makes 24 shortbread style cookies with 3.8g net carbs per serving.

Make your cookie and eat it too :)


Bon Appetit!

Unsweetened Shredded Coconut and Coconut Flour

I had been reading quite a bit about coconut flour and how adding it to the low carb flours can help even out the flavor that some people find so off putting. I decided to try to make my own considering that unsweetened shredded coconut was half the cost of the coconut flour. Searching the net I found various discussions from its not possible to it works great, even on the same recipe. Gleaning the information from the various discussion I believe I found the best way to create coconut flour in your home from unsweetened shredded coconut. An exciting by line is that during the process it creates a bit of coconut oil and unsweetened coconut milk. Another pro is that, if you buy something labeled, coconut flour it apparently has quite a few carbs per serving, ranging from 19g to 28g per serving whereas the same amount of unsweetened shredded coconut has a mere net of 2g of carbs per serving, so this final product is much more low carb friendly. It also seems that coconut flour actually has different meanings to different producers as well, from finely chopped coconut to a ground coconut powder. The product I created in this recipe is a coarse ground flour similar to almond meal.

Ingredients:

12oz bag of unsweetened shredded cocount

1 quart of boiling water

Pour the whole bag of unsweetened shredded coconut in a large metal bowl. After the quart of water comes to a boil, I pour it over the coconut, stir it gently and cover. Place a large plate or cover of some sort over the top of the bowl and let it sit for about an hour. 

At the end of the hour, place a strainer over the top of a 2 quart pitcher and pour the coconut-water mixture through the strainer, pressing and squeezing as much of the liquid as possible from the flakes. When the strainer is full, empty out the flakes onto a half sheet. I read on some instruction that people used a cheesecloth for this part of the process which would probably work great but I don't have one.

After all the liquid and flakes are separated, cover the pitcher and place it in the fridge. When it is chilled, the coconut oil will sit on top. Scoop that out and place it in a resealable container and store that in the fridge until needed. The coconut milk can be used in recipes or sweeten it for a beverage.

The flakes on the half sheet should be spread as evenly as possible and placed in the oven set on warm. This process takes about 4 hours. A few of the instruction read that you could do this at 250 degrees but when I did this it started to toast the coconut before it dried.

Before storing or grinding the coconut it should cooled completely. It will make a better candidate for grinding. If the coconut flakes are the least bit warm the oils are too fluid and the coconut grinds into something more like a paste. Because the coconut and oils have been exposed to heating by boiling water and oven, it is probably best kept in the fridge or freezer.

When it's all done, my total weight comes out to around 11.2 to 11.3oz. Some of the coconut sticks to various things during the process and I just don't take the time to scrap and pick to get every piece. So, by my estimations this batch contains a total of 86.6g with 43.3g of fiber for 43.3g net carbs. 1 cup of coconut flour is approximately 4.12oz or 116g. This is the average of three similar weighings.


By the powers that be, the recommendation for using coconut flour in baking is that it should replace no more than 20% of the flour in a recipe and increase the liquid in the recipe by an equal portion (4oz coconut flour = 4oz  liquid). If leavening is an important part of the recipe you may need to add an egg or two. Keep in mind that eggs also add liquid so you might not need to add as much of other liquids to the recipe. Two large eggs will add approximately 4oz of liquid. If you scrutinize my recipes you will notice that often, more than 20% if my flour mixture. I guess it's something you just have to play with and see what you like. I like the flavor and meal of the coconut.


Many people claim to have a difficult time finding unsweetened coconut and so do I. I buy mine from Amazon, like many other items. They have Bob's Red Mill Shredded Coconut Unsweetended that I buy on subscription. It comes in four 12oz packages that I set up to be sent once every two months. The cost for the 48oz of coconut is only $9.93 and I don't pay shipping with my prime account. If that doesn't work for you, you might try Netrition. What I can't find on Amazon, I find on Netrition and vice versa.

Happy flour/meal making!

Maiden Voyage

I love food. I love to eat, cook, create and share food. It's even more enjoyable to me when I can share my experience and things I learn with others and they enjoy it as well.


Food and the creation of the edible bites therefrom encompass two of my favorite passions: science and art. I so enjoy the the chemistry of cooking, how ratios and order affect the final product, why it is necessary to incorporate specific ingredients to get the results that make it all satisfying; I find this most useful in the baking arena. Then there is the decorating, the presentations that make the first impression, the final touches that bring the complete satisfaction to fruition.


Considering all that I mention above and my new found love of all things low carb, my food experience is burgeoning on the edge of cult-ish but of course with one goal in mind: There is no use in trying to exist in a low carb existence if food is unsatisfying and limited.


I have found some low carb recipes that people seem to accept with glee that are absolutely terrible. The texture is all wrong, the flavor is below par and the digestibility leaves too much to be desired to even be considered food. On the other hand, I have found quite a few amazing foodies who must adhere to the same essential philosophy as myself who have created, collected and shared some tremendous recipes that spur my imagination and ingenuity to create, collect and share recipes of my own.  All Day I Dream About Food is a must for low carb enthusiasts who like food. I highly recommend following her blog. An experienced blogger and low carber, she has an amazing repertoire of recipes that will just blow your low carb mind.


And thus, The Edible Imagination is born. I will use this forum to write, share, and ask for advice in the realm of low carb cooking. I will from time to time share a non-low carb recipe because I do not make my family and friends convert to my beliefs but if there is a "regular" recipe, believe me I will rebuttal with my low carb and delicious alternative that will make you wonder, "Why not low carb?"


I hope you enjoy my future ramblings and I look forward to blogging this experience for one and all.


Edibly Yours,
Renee