Category: Desserts and Breads

Keto friendly desserts and breads.

Desserts and Breads

Low Carb Carrot Cake

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This was a total hit in my house on Easter! Tasted extremely similar to your traditional recipe, without all the sugar and carbs! Wish I had made two, because it was GONE!

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 12 Tbsp softened butter, or a stick and a half
  • 3/4 Cup powdered monkfruit sweetener or equivalent (swerve, allulose, etc)
  • 5 eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 Tbsp molasses, totally optional and you might worry about the carbs but it only adds like 1 net carb per slice (if that) and it deepens the flavor so much. Trust me. Use it.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 Cups almond flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt (I used pink Himalayan)
  • 2 Cups grated carrots (I don’t have a grater, so I used a food processor, which was incredibly easy) measure loosely, don’t pack it!
  • 1/2 Cup of crushed walnuts for your batter, and another 1/2 Cup for topping

Icing:

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 4 Tbsp butter, softened
  • 1 Cup powdered monkfruit or equivalent
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 Tbsp heavy cream (you can adjust to your liking, but I like a smoother icing)

Directions:

Cake:

  • Preheat your oven to 350 F, and grease two 9 inch round baking pans. Or if you have parchment paper, line with that. Much easier to get the cake out unscathed!
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sweetener until smooth. Takes a few minutes. Once that happens, add in the molasses, vanilla, than one egg at a time. This ensures you won’t have any whites not combined.
  • Add in your dry ingredients SLOWLY to avoid a smoke bomb in your kitchen. Beat on low until well combined. Then fold in your carrots and nuts.
  • Add equal amounts of your batter to each cake pan. This batter is pretty thick, so it was really easy to separate them for once. If you’re OCD like myself, invest in a food scale.
  • Bake for 30 minutes, and let cool completely before even touching it.

Icing:

  • While the cake is in the oven, start your icing.
  • In a large mixing bowl add in your butter and cream cheese and whip it up until it’s nice and smooth. Then add in your sweetener. Then the vanilla. If your icing is the consistency you like, then you can 86 the whipping cream. I usually end up adding quite a bit, but I just go on looks and taste. So you can totally make it your own! Even if it gets too runny, you can add more sweetener in if needed. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.
  • Once cakes are cooled, add icing how you like it, top with your remaining nuts, and enjoy.
Desserts and Breads

Keto Copycat Samoas Cookies

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Although my full time job hasn’t closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and I’m not quarantined, I had a half day of work today! So naturally, I used it to make something sweet for you guys. Let me just say, holy moly, these have all the taste of the Samoas we know and love, but a lot fresher and keto friendly of course! Let’s dive into this recipe!

Ingredients for cookies:

  • 2 Cups almond flour
  • 1/2 Cup of confectioner’s monkfruit (I used Lakanto)
  • 1/2 tsp of baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for toppings:

  • keto friendly chocolate chips (a little bit of coconut oil too)
  • unsweetened coconut flakes
  • Walden Farms caramel dip (or you can make your own, but sometimes I like working smarter and not harder)

Instructions for cookies:

  • Preheat your oven to 350
  • add all cookie ingredients to a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl and use a hand mixer. Mix until well combined.
  • use a cookie scoop and you should get 16-18 cookies, and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
  • when you plop them on the paper, use the back of the scoop to flatten the cookies. (optional, but if you wish, use the end of a wooden spoon to put a hole in the middle of the cookies)
  • bake for 10-12 minutes
  • let cool completely!

Instructions for toppings:

  • add about a cup of your chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl, and a plop of coconut oil and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. (my microwave sucks, so I go old fashioned, and make a double boiler)
  • once cookies are completely cooled, start dipping the bottoms into the chocolate, just coating the bottom, and put them back on your parchment paper (as long as the pan isn’t still warm from earlier)
  • in a separate bowl, combine your desired amount of coconut flakes and caramel dip. I liked mine a little stiffer, so I used more coconut than dip. But, you can do what you like. Add that to the tops of the cookies.
  • then use a fork and drizzle some more of your melted chocolate on the tops, and let the cookies sit until all the chocolate sets, then ENJOY!
Desserts and Breads

Keto Monster Cookies

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My best dessert recipe to date! (Sorry for the lack of posts recently) These were FABULOUS! They were crispy on the bottom and edges, and delicate and chewy in the center. Gotta give this a try!

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup granulated white monkfruit
  • 1/2 cup granulated golden monkfruit
  • 1 cup Carbquik (amazon or some walmart stores carry it)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • stick of butter
  • 3/4 cup no sugar added peanut butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • keto friendly chocolate chips (I used Let’s Bake Believe)
  • atkins M&M’s

Directions:

  • Preheat your oven to 350
  • Either in a big mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or a stand mixer, cream the sugars and butter together for about two minutes until well combined and creamy.
  • Add in the peanut butter, vanilla, and egg and mix.
  • Slowly add in your dry ingredients.
  • Once well combined, fold in half of the chocolate chips and M&M’s
  • Take a cookie scoop or a spoon, and overfill it. (these are monster cookies for a reason) Place the dough on some parchment paper, and flatten out with the back of your scoop or spoon, and top each one with more chocolate chips and M&M’s.
  • Pop them in the oven for about 12 minutes.
  • Let cool completely, then enjoy.
Desserts and Breads

Keto Birthday Cake

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Here in a few days I’m going to be hitting five months into a low carb/keto lifestyle. Today, however, is my birthday! I am 27, and probably haven’t weighed what I weigh now in like 13 years. It is absolutely incredible, sometimes I forget exactly how far I’ve come in such a short amount of time. As of today I have lost 41 pounds since I started on August 20th, 2019.

I have had quite a few people ask me if I was going to have birthday cake on my birthday, and of course I said hell no! I figured I’d just treat myself to some Rebel Creamery ice cream or something. (which if you’ve never heard of or have had….OMG) Most of their flavors are under seven net carbs for a whole pint! My favorite flavor is the butter pecan. It is so decadent, and I know I said the whole pint has under seven grams of net carbs, but I have never been able to eat the whole thing in one entire sitting.

ANYWAY…I’m rambling, but did I mention my favorite dessert in the whole world is a yellow cake with vanilla buttercream icing and sprinkles on top? Well, that’s what I have on my birthday nearly every year. I got to brainstorming, and had to figure out how to recreate a birthday cake for myself. After searching on the internet for the perfect recipe, I had to wing it and combine parts from others’ recipes, along with some of my ideas. So here is what I put together! Enjoy!

Ingredients for Cake:

  • 2 sticks of butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 Cups of granulated sweetener of your choice (I used monkfruit)
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 Tsp of vanilla extract
  • 2 Tsp of cake batter extract
  • 2 Tbsp of grapeseed oil, (olive works too)
  • 1 Cup of almond milk
  • 1 Tsp of xanthan gum
  • 4 Tsp of baking powder
  • 1/2 Cup of coconut flour
  • 4 Cups of almond flour

Ingredients for buttercream:

  • 1 stick of butter, softened
  • 1 block of cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup of Confectioner’s Swerve or equivalent
  • 1 heaping Tsp of vanilla extract
  • 3 Tbsp of heavy cream

Instructions for cake:

In a mixer, or mixing bowl, cream together butter and granulated sweetener until smooth.

Then add in your other wet ingredients, and after it’s lightly combined start slowly adding in your dry ingredients. (which if I haven’t mentioned before, SIFT your dry ingredients. It helps everything mix better and combine equally)

After it’s all combined, divide batter equally into two well greased, or parchment lined, 9″ round cake pans.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes depending on your oven. Always check doneness with a toothpick if you’re unsure! Set aside, and let cool completely before doing anything with them.

Instructions for buttercream:

While waiting on your cakes to cool, go ahead and make your frosting! It’s the easiest one I think I’ve ever made.

Most important thing here is to make sure your butter and cream cheese is completely room temperature, if they aren’t, pop them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to soften them up.

Other than that, throw all of those ingredients in a stand up mixer, or a mixing bowl and whip the crud out of it! If you like your buttercream more stiff, you can add in more confectioners sweetener. I like mine a bit looser because it makes it easier to spread out, and will set up harder in the fridge later. Also, if you want to add some color to your cake add in your choice of food dye.

Instructions for stacking and/or decorating:

Once your cakes are cooled completely, you can get really fancy if you have a cake leveler, and level them out. I do not, so I just shaped each layer as flat and even as possible.

Put your first level on a cake stand or whatever you’re using to house it in, cover the top with a very thin layer of your buttercream. This keeps your top layer from falling or slipping off so easily.

Add on your top layer, scoop the rest of your buttercream on the top, and work it as even as you can get in on the top and the sides. Put love into it, and I promise you it will be gorg!

If you’re feeling like it needs a little pep in its step, you can add nuts, keto friendly chocolate chips, or keto friendly sprinkles like I did! I got them off amazon for like $5 give or take. There’s all sorts of different color combos, the possibilities are endless.

Here’s the finished product below, I hope you try it and enjoy it like I did! Happy Birthday to me!

Nutrition Info:

It’s hard to gauge because it depends on the size of your slices, the sweeteners you decide to use, the oil you pick, etc. I could probably get 10-14 pieces out of the cake depending on what my guests want. I wouldn’t estimate it being more than 7 net carbs for a good size piece? I’d suggest plugging the ingredients you use into a calorie/macro tracking app and see for yourself. Hope you enjoy, I know I am.

Desserts and Breads

Keto Banana Nut Muffins

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Original recipe from Joe Duff. https://www.thedietchefs.com/banana-nut-keto-muffins/

Tomorrow is my three month keto/low carb anniversary. In those three months I haven’t cheated once. I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t think about it though. What got me through, and continues to get me through, are keto friendly desserts. I had no issue getting rid of pasta and bread, but I am addicted to sweets! The first recipes I found were all from Joe Duff. Peanut butter cookies, ice cream, now banana muffins. If you’re not following him, give him a follow on IG or YouTube. He’s fantastic. Anyways, here’s the recipe and instructions:

There are quite a few different measurements in this recipe, so make sure you have a few mixing bowls, and plenty of measuring spoons and cups ready!

  • just short of 1 and 3/4 Cup of almond flour
  • 2/3 Cup confectioners erythritol
  • 1/4 Cup crushed walnuts (I didn’t have, I used peanuts)
  • 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
  • 3/4 Tsp ground cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 Cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk (didn’t have, so i used plain unsweetened, and added 1 tsp of vanilla extract to it)
  • 1 stick of melted butter
  • 1/4 Cup full fat sour cream
  • 1/2 Tbsp banana extract
  • 1 Tbsp keto maple syrup
  • 1 Tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.

Have a bowl for wet ingredients, and one for dry ingredients. In your wet ingredient bowl, add your 3 eggs, and whisk together until well combined. Add your melted butter, and the rest of the wet ingredients (including sour cream) to that bowl and whisk together until combined, and set aside.

In another bowl, preferably a larger size, add your dry ingredients (except walnuts) and whisk those together. I prefer putting my dry ingredients through a sifter. Since almond flour has a fat content, if needs to be froze or refrigerated or it can go rancid. In doing this, it can get lumpy and clumpy. To ensure the best results in baking, always sift those dry ingredients! Trust me.

Once dry ingredients are well combined, add in your wet ingredients to the dry ones, and fold ingredients in. Once a thick batter forms, add half of your crushed walnuts to the batter, then fold again.

Spray a cupcake mold pan with a non stick spray (I prefer olive oil spray) and add batter to the slots. This recipe can make 12 small muffins, or 9 large. Go big or go home, folks! Take the rest of your crushed walnuts amd sprinkle over the tops of the muffins.

Throw them in the over for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely, and enjoy! Joe recommends keeping them in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.

These muffins were so close to the real thing, with only 210 calories, and only 1.5 g of NET CARBS holy crap! So moist and delicious! I recommend cutting in half, microwave just enough to get them warm, and spread some butter on them. Great sweet snack, or a good breakfast alternative when you get sick of eggs!

Desserts and Breads

Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake

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Makes about 8-10 servings depending on your slices. Only 6 grams of Net Carbs per slice!

Oh. My. God. I have been making keto friendly desserts for only like eight weeks or so now, and I’ve made this three times already. It is an absolute hit, even with people that eat real sugar on a regular basis. I forget what recipe I found, and where, but I tweaked what I found, and I think it’s perfect. So, without further ado, here is my first official dessert recipe I’m adding here. The whole reason I started Not Without Sweetness!

Ingredients for crust:

  • 2 tbsp of confectioners swerve (or erythritol)
  • 2 tbsp of grass fed butter
  • 1 cup almond flour

Ingredients for filling:

  • 2 blocks of softened cream cheese (16 oz)
  • 1 cup of confectioners swerve
  • 1 cup of pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp of pumpkin spice mix, or 1 tsp, and add a shake of each: ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground cloves. (this is what I do to give it more flavor)

Instructions for crust:

  1. Preheat your oven to 325F, and spray a 9″ pie pan with non stick spray (I prefer an olive oil spray) set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine melted butter and swerve with a whisk until it has an even consistency. Then add in the almond flour, whisk together until the flour is evenly coated and has a crumbly texture.

3. Transfer mixture to pan, and press firmly into the pan as even as you can get it. I use the flat side of my measuring cup to do so. Then bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool. Keep your oven on, and while you’re waiting for it to cook, you can prepare your filling.


Instructions for filling:

  1. Make sure your cream cheese is all the way softened or it will result in a lumpy texture!
  2. Add pumpkin puree and half of your cream cheese in and beat until smooth, then add in your other half of cream cheese. Once that is mixed well, add in swerve, eggs, vanilla, and spices. Beat until very smooth, and combined.
  3. Pour into previously made crust, spread top evenly, and bake for 40 minutes. Remove, let sit for 20 minutes, then cover, and let chill in the fridge for at least 5 hours. That allows everything to set completely.
  4. Top with whipped topping of choice, serve, and enjoy!