Flourless Orange/Lemon Cake

[theislandgirl]

Originally Posted by Soobee

Jude, then could you compensate and add soluble fiber to the recipe for low fiber fruits? Maybe one of the ingredients you suggested or oat fiber?

I lean to the soluble fiber gums like not/Starch or not/Sugar -- definitely. I would try the oat fiber in a pinch, though (and sorry for the late reply, I've been busy...) The fiber definitely adds to the body. The low fiber fruits also have more moisture.

ps: y'all, my training tells me that eggs, in a recipe, are always "large" size unless otherwise described; this may help you determine the egg size/volume of your recipe. 6 Jumbos, well you have to make up for it somewhere...

[CarolynF]

I know about the eggs..I just had the jumbo (by accident). I do think it makes a difference in the recipe..the size of the egg.

[Tater Head]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

I know about the eggs..I just had the jumbo (by accident). I do think it makes a difference in the recipe..the size of the egg.

I agree, I am making it again this weekend with only 5 XL eggs instead of 6. A Tablespoon or 2 of extra almond flour, 1-2 T protein powder. I will be using only pureed lemons this time, because of how bitter the orange made the last batch. To test for bitterness, I will start with 1/2 cup of puree and work my way up to the 1 1/4 cup if needed. I am also bumping up the baking powder to 2 tsp.

This tatse is so good with a hot cup of coffee

Deb

[CarolynF]

You know..I was thinking..the bitter part of citrus is the white part between the skin and the meat. That is probably why "thinskinned" fruit works better..less white part.

Debbie, I think that 5 XL's may be about right and adding a bit of other things might help, too.

I wonder how it would be using a jar of SF jam would be?...Like apricot???

[Charski]

I've got another strawberry in the oven - used a bag of frozen unsweetened berries from Trader Joe's, defrosted and pureed; and to the regular ingredients I added 1.5 tablespoons of Thicken Thin Not/Sugar and a scoop of strawberry-flavored Designer Whey protein powder. I'm baking it in a 9 x 13" pan.

Will report back tomorrow after it's iced and cut!

[ElleH]

Originally Posted by Melle

I found this recipe on Martha-Rose-Shulman's website. It sounds very good. I just need to convert the sugar to sugar-twin, or something:

I just made an orange cheesecake today using grated orange zest and some orange extract. (The orange sections will go on top of the cake, along with a glaze.) You should be able to get good flavor for little carbs using those, if you don't mind "wasting" the fruit, or if you have someone in your home who can eat the orange sections.

[theislandgirl]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

You know..I was thinking..the bitter part of citrus is the white part between the skin and the meat. That is probably why "thinskinned" fruit works better..less white part.

Debbie, I think that 5 XL's may be about right and adding a bit of other things might help, too.

I wonder how it would be using a jar of SF jam would be?...Like apricot???

Yep, I was thinking about the SF Marmalade I like so much. Depends on the brand, check to see what the jam is thickened with, if there's added pectin in the jam...the more pectin and vegetable gums (acacia, xanthan, guar, etc.), the better prospect it is for this recipe.

[Tater Head]

Made the cake again today with 3 lemons, much better. After 2 hours of boiling there really wasn't much pith left. I used 1 cup puree and that seemed to be enough. It still didn't rise much after adding 2 tsp baking powder. The taste is great, no bitter

I made the frosting with 1/2 pk lemon jello instead of lemon pudding, I liked it even better. I wish I could figure out why it doesn't rise much. New can of baking power didn't help either

Debbie

[theislandgirl]

No gluten (because it's almonds not wheat) to trap the bubbles from the baking powder and then "set" as a protein does. It is supposed to be a dense cake, ergo little or no rise.

If other ingredients are added that would act as the gluten does, then you'd get a keeper rise of sorts.

[Melle]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

I made my banana version..Two squished bananas and a bunch of banana extract (maybe a tsp. and a half). I used 5 jumbo eggs and about half pecan flour and half almond flour (2 cups total), Sweetener, 1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder. I baked it in my bundt pan and it was great!

Now, I love banana bread. I'll have to try this version. Thanks!

[Tater Head]

Originally Posted by theislandgirl

No gluten (because it's almonds not wheat) to trap the bubbles from the baking powder and then "set" as a protein does. It is supposed to be a dense cake, ergo little or no rise.

If other ingredients are added that would act as the gluten does, then you'd get a keeper rise of sorts.

If that is the problem with the rise, then I will be adding some wheat flour next time. It is good as is (dense), but I want a lighter cake.

[rexsreine]

Deb, since Kevin's flour blend has so much gluten in it, maybe a couple of spoons of that would do it?

Ginny

[Tater Head]

has anybody with masterchef done the carb count?

I used,
1 1/2 cup almond flour
6 XL eggs
3 lemons
3/4 cup E
2 tsp sweetone
some liquid splenda to get it sweet enough for my taste.

On the frosting I used:
8oz. cream cheese
1 pk splenda quik pk
1/2 lemon pudding
2 T cream

Also, I don't count SA's as free, I count SA's as 50% less but not free. I may use all splenda quik pk from now on if this is too high in the count. Maybe a drizzle of glaze instead of frosting the whole cake.

Anybody know the counts?

Debbie

[theislandgirl]

Hey, Taterhead, just curious, but after all this time and all your wonderful cooking experiments, haven't you set up some kind of counting for your most used ingredients, like the QP and almond meal and cream and the (50% count) SAs?

[Tater Head]

Originally Posted by theislandgirl

Hey, Taterhead, just curious, but after all this time and all your wonderful cooking experiments, haven't you set up some kind of counting for your most used ingredients, like the QP and almond meal and cream and the (50% count) SAs?

lazy

[Charski]

Report on the strawberry cake made in the 9 x 13" pan - I added 1.5 tablespoons Thicken Thin Not/Sugar, 1/3 cup strawberry-flavored whey protein powder, and "floured" the pan with raw wheat bran (after greasing it with butter) - it tastes good, just like the first one, but the texture is still very moist.

I may try pumpkin next - maybe it's closer in viscosity/fiber to the lemons?

[CarolynF]

Char: The strawberry sounds delicious.....I think we need to make the recipe..if it looks too loose, add some more almond meal. I'm betting the pumpkin will be very good..I would definitely do it in a 9 x 13 pan.

[Charski]

Carolyn, it really wasn't "too loose" - it was a beautiful batter! About the same consistency as the lemon one.

Who knows? On to other flavors for now!

[Grace]

On the bitterness issue...after cooking the oranges I carefully cut just the very top layer of the peeling from them trying to get only the orange part, leaving the thicker bitter white pith. I put the orange peeling into the processor. Then I peel off the pithy part that is left on the orange and discard. It comes off really easily. The end result has no bitterness whatsoever even when using thick skinned oranges. Incidentally I just made a double recipe (using 4 cups of almond flour instead of 3 but everything else exactly doubled) in my 10" springform pan and it's gorgeous. It's about an inch and a half tall and didn't fall in the middle (maybe because of the extra almond flour?). I glazed it with a warmed jar of Sugar-Free apricot preserves which gave it a lovely shine.

[CarolynF]

Thanks, Grace..I think I will try this with my next Orange one..

[Tater Head]

Easiest way to get rid of the pith in the orange is after boiling cut orange in half, scrape the orange part out carefully. Then scape the pith and discard it. What is left is the clean orange rind only, chop it and add it to the orange part and pulse to make puree.

Debbie

[cloos]

Did some more web research. Here is what I did, turned out great.
1 lb. citrus, I used 3 tangerines, weigh at store
1C.+2T. Granular Splenda
6 lg. eggs, separated, room temp.(important)
1t. vanilla extract
2 1/3 C. Almond meal/flour
1 1/2t. Baking pwdr
pinch salt
1/8 t. cream of tartar.

Oven-350 F.

Put citrus in saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil.
Turn down to simmer, cover, cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs.
Remove lid, let cool. Discard water, cut into quarters, discard seeds and hard end stems, if any. Pulse all in food processor, NOT to puree.
Add pinch of salt to whites, beat with hand mixer 1 min.
Add cream of tartar, beat until stiff peaks.
Cream yellows and sweetener. Add vanilla, baking power, almond meal,
and citrus. Mix well.
Add 1/3 beaten whites to batter to loosen. FOLD in additional whites in
2 more additions. Be gentle with whites, this will give your batter more
lightness.
Pour all into greased, parchment paper lined 9" springform pan.
Put in oven, raise temp. to 375 F.
Check @ 30 min, if starting to brown too much, cover w/foil.
Check with tester @ 45 min. Should be dry center, continue to cook as needed.
Let cool 10 min, run knife around edge to loosen, loosen springform side.
Cover and let stand on counter OVERNIGHT. (Prevents egginess taste.)
Top if you want to, I didn't.

Notes: I am at 6500 alt, in CO, so I made adjustments as to baking powder
and oven temp.
My cake did not fall at all, but I did not open oven for 30 min.

Hope this helps, this is one of the best low carb cakes I've had so far.
Sorry this is so long, but maybe I've covered everything!

[CarolynF]

This does sound very nommie. Tangerines don't have as much "bitter pith" as other citrus
does.

I bought a jar of SF apricot preserves today to try one with..I might try separating the eggs this time..and see what happens.

[theislandgirl]

The original (2006) version tweaked from the Nigella Lawson recipe, referred to earlier in this thread, used clementines -- which we call mandarines up here in the North. Which are very much the same as, if not identical to, tangerines...thin skinned with very little bitter pith and a lovely flavour.

[lene]

I made a variation of this cake last night, with great results.

In place of the fruit, I used 1 1/4 cups of whole fat "cream on top" yogurt. I used 5 jumbo eggs. I added 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder. And for extract, I used about 1/2 to 3/4 ts of Fiori di Sicila that I order from the King Arthur Flour catalog online (it's a vanilla-citrus extract, and it gives baked things the flavour of bakery goods you buy.) Other than these changes I just used the regular recipe.

I baked it in two smallish loaf pans lined with parchment paper so I could easily lift the loaves out when done. They didn't raise much, but didn't sink. The finished cake is very, very moist and has a great flavour. Reminds me of Twinkies, to be honest, only not chemically. Since I cut each loaf into 6 slices, and the slices were about 2.5 inches high, they actually even look like Twinkies. <g>

Made this way, I got twelve pieces. Per piece, it has 146 calories, 11 grams fat, 5 grams carb with 2 grams fiber (3 net carb), and 9 grams protein.

edited to add -- I'm considering trying this again adding some of the peanut flour I bought and adding some LorAnn (sp?) peanut flavouring, to make a peanut cake. I could drizzle it with some lowcarb chocolate ganache...