Pumpkin Egg Loaf–Low Carb

I know, there’s a lot of low carb recipes on here.

Unfortunately that has become a way of life for me now. Fortunately I feel a whole lot better now as well.

This is the famous Egg Loaf that has circulated throughout the low carb community.  This version has added pumpkin and spices for that ‘dessert’ feel.

Yup, doesn’t look much like a loaf either, but it originated from the Egg Loaf recipe, so that what we’re calling it.

Personally, I’d call it the Pumpkin Egg Cheese Thingy.  Yeah, I like it.

This is actually the first time I made this in a pie plate. Previously I would always use a 9 x 9 square pan.  Feel free to do the same.

I found that the recipe cracks more in a pie plate and stays whole in a square pan.

Keto Brownie Cheesecake

ABSOLUTELY SCRUMPTIOUS

I found this recipe online from Ditch The Carbs.  It’s definitely something that I’ll make again and again.

I might slightly vary it in the future but make no mistake, this recipe is yummy as is.

Garnish it with a big dollop of Cool Whip or your favorite NSA ice cream, or cut it and eat it piping hot out of the pan like I did.

For those with dietary restrictions, this recipe contains, no flour, no sugar, no coconut, no nuts. 

Libby at Ditch The Carbs is a girl after my own heart.  She doesn’t like long lists of ingredients either. She keeps it simple.

I like simple.

Maple Pecan Scones

Not my recipe… but a great one that I had to try.  It’s a keeper.

I’ve been all over the board with non-sugar substitutes.  I am literally trying everything I can find.

The author of this recipe swears by Swerve and for some reason I have yet to try that one.  So even though the recipe calls for SWERVE, I used Xylitol.  They still taste wonderful.

Cranberry Orange Biscotti

I love this recipe.  So flavourful and so festive.

Gingerbread Biscotti

I looked through over a dozen Gingerbread Biscotti Recipes and this looked to be the best.  And it was !

I’m not much of a dunker, but I’ve heard they’re excellent for dunking.

Peanutbutterscotch Crunchies

I’m not sure where I found this recipe on the internet, but I’m glad I did.  It’s a goodie!

Three ingredient recipes are always keepers.

Berry Trifle

We all know trifle can be done a million and one ways.  There really is no right and wrong.

Here is a simple version of fruit trifle.

Mmmmm… soo good.

Ingredients:

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries

Angel Food cake ( we used about 1-1/2 ready made cakes)

1 pkg ( 135 g) Vanilla Cook and Serve Pudding

Light Cool Whip

Preparation:
Prepare your cook and serve vanilla pudding as per package instructions.   You’ll need to do this ahead of time as the pudding needs to cool completely before assembling in the trifle.  As it cools place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper over the pot or bowl to make a creamier pudding as well as prevent the top from getting hard. Stir periodically to allow steam to escape.
Wash all your berries and allow to dry.
You can cut your angel food cake or just rip into bite sized pieces.
Start with cake on the bottom of your dish, layer with some pudding then cool whip and berries.  Layer in that order so that the pudding can soak into the cake.  Keep layering and arranging. 
Arrange the top any way you like.  Be creative!

Enjoy!

 

Coconut Macaroons & Treat Skewers

My daughters love to be in the kitchen.  They’ve become amazing cooks.  I believe their interest might branch out to baking very soon.  My youngest, Nadia, loves coconut macaroons, so today we made them together.

Personally I’m a fan of a simple macaroon recipe, no eggs, no fancy stuff.  Lightly browned on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.

You just can’t get any simpler than this.  This makes about 48 macaroons.

Ingredients:

6 cups flaked coconut

1 can (300 gr) Eagle Brand Condensed Milk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine coconut, condensed milk and vanilla in a large bowl.  Mix until all coconut is moist with condensed milk.
Using a teaspoon, place rounded spoonful onto baking sheet.
Bake for 12- 15 minutes or until browned around the edges.
Do not remove from baking sheet for at least 5 minutes.  Then place on wire rack for cooling.

Since she was taking these for an occasion, she paired them with some sweet skewers that she saw on Pinterest.  They were fun to make and totally delicious.

Sweet strawberries, marshmallows, 2 bite brownies and some drizzled chocolate. 

Easy to make, fun to eat.

Enjoy !

 

 

Cookie in a Cup

Also called,  The Quick Fix, PMS Cure in a Cup, Comfort in a Cup…you get the idea.

When you need a little something, but don’t want to bake 24 cupcakes or a whole cake… this is for you.

I was looking for just such a recipe and this one fit the bill.  Why?  Chocolate Chips.

I’m not sure who originated this recipe but whoever you were, thank you.

Makes 1 comforting cookie in a cup.

Ingredients

2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp brown sugar

4 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp chocolate chips

pinch of salt

Ice cream  or Light Cool Whip (optional)

Preparation

Mix together all the ingredients in a cup until combined.  I like to combine everything in separate bowl and scoop it into a cup when mixed.

Microwave for about 1 minute and 40 seconds.  Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

You can choose to eat it like this, warm and plain..

But it’s MUCH better with a little comfort topping ~

THIS is truly Blissful.

Enjoy !

Autumn Pumpkin Pie

This Thanksgiving I made an Autumn Pumpkin Pie.  The pumpkin pie was made from canned pumpkin mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cream.   E.D. Smith Pumpkin is my pumpkin of choice.   Pastry is homemade using Tenderflake and following the recipe on their box.  I’ve tried other pastry recipes but I like Tenderflake.

The real reason I wanted to post this is just to show you how to dress up your pumpkin pie.

Using the same leaf cookie cutters I used on the Fall Apple Pie,  I cut pastry leaves with the smallest cutter for the edges and a couple of larger for the centre.   Remember to brush your pastry with milk and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar before baking. 

Just and idea for your own Thanksgiving.   Gobble Gobble !

Enjoy !

Fall Leaves and Apple Pie

I’m a HUUUGE fan of Fall and  I especially like to bake at this time of year.  What else says FALL more than beautiful leaves and apple pie? Leafy Apple Pie ?

I made my own pastry the night before.  Bring your pastry to room temperature and set aside a small piece to color later on.  Size up your bottom shell and trim off excess.  Flute or crimp your pie crust with your fingers.

I also cooked my apples ahead of time and let them cool so they wouldn’t be hot when I placed them on the pastry.  The filling is simply apples, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and a little flour to absorb the liquid when cooking.  I do it by eye, so I have no exact measurements.   Fill your shell.

I thought about just placing the leaves right on the apples, but I thought a background piece of pastry might be nicer.  I used a bowl to cut out a circle smaller than the pie dish so that there would be a rim of apples around the pie.

Color the piece of pastry you set aside with GEL food color.  If you use liquid your pastry will be too moist and sticky.  I left the color semi mixed in leaving an uneven marbled look.  I made the orange vivid enough to allow for the pastry to brown and still show color.

I’ve been wanting to make some fall leaf cookies with these leaf cutters, but for now I used them on the pastry.  I used all the sizes. 

When you’re done placing all the leaves brush your pastry with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar.

This is the cookie cutter set I used. 

(The actual leaves are from the vines on the front of my house)

mmmmm … and it was good too !

Enjoy !

Boxing Gloves Cake

So, my last cake for a while is for my daughters boyfriend Lucas.

Luca trains in M1 Thai Boxing and Nadia thought this would be a great cake for his birthday.

As I know NOTHING about sports, let alone boxing gloves, I looked around for the proper Thai Boxing gloves. We noticed that these gloves were flatter and more squared off at the top. 

In any case, I started off with a couple of rectangle simple butter cakes.  I made two separate cakes and cut each one into two layers.

This simple butter cake is one of the tastiest of the heavier cakes that is very easy to carve.

I made a paper template that I cut the cakes around.  Because there are two using a template keeps both cakes the same size and shape.

A very simple template and very simple to cut.

Crumb coat the prepared cakes with buttercream icing and refrigerate for about 20 minutes. I used half butter/half shortening buttercream because today is hot and humid!

Thankfully for this project I was able to get ready made RED fondant. What a treat that was. That sliced about 45 minutes and about 2 buckets of sweat off my day.

 

Just a few finishing touches and we’re done.

 

 

Happy Birthday Luca !

 

 

 

Banana Cupcakes

I’ve been looking for a good banana cupcake recipe for a while. I have a wonderful banana cake, banana bread recipe, but I wanted a cupcake with bananas.

This is a great recipe.  It’s more cakey… or cupcakey (?)

Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Enjoy !

 

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, bananas and buttermilk.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to banana mixture. Fill 18 paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove to wire racks to cool completely. In a small mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and enough milk to achieve desired spreading consistency.

Frost cupcakes any way you like.

 

*  Keep in mind that these are cupcakes and not your typical banana bread muffins.

** For a great article on using butter vs. shortening in baking, click here.

adapted from allrecipes

This Little Piggy – Pig Cake

This one is for Sara.

For Sara’s birthday she requested a pig cake.  Seems she has something in common with my daughter… the love of pigs!

After all who couldn’t love a face like this?

Thankfully Sara had something a little different in mind. She gave me pictures of the pigs she wanted on her cake. It was… a piece of cake!

Here was my main model. Top Pig, as it were.

 

I started out with the Simple Butter Cake recipe. I can’t stress enough how delicious this cake is.  The recipe makes 7-1/2 cups of batter, perfect for a larger cake and it is the perfect cake for carving and dense enough to hold heavy fondant.

Anyway…this little piggy went to Sara’s house.

with a few assorted pigs

And a little pink velvet on the inside

 

Happy Birthday Sara!