Easy Ice Cream, literally – it is frozen cream

I really have missed ice cream.  But last week saw a recipe for Mason Jar Ice Cream so I tried it… O.M.G.  (Here is that recipe… Low Carb Chocolate Mason Jar Ice Cream)

I changed things a tad (of course) and used a quart jar instead of a pint, but I found the jar to be annoying to eat out of.

I substituted dissolved saccharine tablets for the sweetener called for.  This was the first time I used artificial sweetener in anything – I don’t get an aftertaste with saccharine, so decided to try.  I used too much so scaled it back a lot when I did this second version.

I decided to make a bigger batch and use a hand mixer, and to freeze in a container that was convenient to scoop out of!  I also changed the proportions of ingredients a bit to suit me.

So this is the way I made it today…

LCHF Chocolate Ice Cream

Put your bowl and the beaters in the freezer while you assemble your ingredients – you’ll get quicker results when you start beating!

You’ll need a lidded container of at least one quart capacity to freeze this in.

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp of SIFTED unsweetened cocoa (I will be increasing this for future batches to probably 1/3 to 1/2 a cup – I like rich dark chocolate.  But this batch was made with 3 tbsp.)

5 saccharine tablets completely dissolved in less than 1/2 tsp of BOILING water

2 cups of whipping cream (33% or higher m.f.)

Add all the ingredients to the cold bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer (or use a stand mixer.) Start low as the cocoa powder will want to fly around, once mixed in put on high and beat until it has doubled in volume and is stiff.  Add any extras at this time and mix just enough to blend through.

OPTIONS:  finely chopped 85% cocoa dark chocolate, toasted nuts, unsweetened peanut butter (drop into the cream in tiny bits), etc.  You could also skip the chocolate and use other flavour extracts or, if you aren’t worried about sugar content, you could add fruits.

Using a rubber spatula transfer to your quart container and smooth out the top, put on the lid and freeze for at least three hours.

You could also put into a popsicle mold to make fudgesicles!  That’s my next batch.

I’m not sure how long this keeps in the freezer… I haven’t let it stay in there long enough to figure out.

I don’t have an ice cream scoop so dug it out with a teaspoon and made a bit of a mess! Could have waited for it soften a bit… but, well…  I had it with one of my Chocolate Pecan Cupcakes that I made on Saturday.

YUM!

Cake… Chocolate Cake… I’m in Heaven

I am sitting here trying NOT to have a third piece of my happy accident of a chocolate cake.

It actually started out as a recipe for Brownies – I saw a recipe for Almond Butter Brownies that was described as Paleo and I had the main ingredients so figured I’d throw it together as there was nothing really on television I was interested in.

Of course I left out the maple syrup that was in the original recipe (I don’t use any sweeteners) and then misread and used baking powder instead of baking soda, also added mascarpone cheese to add some level of sweetness.  I was also a bit short on the almond butter  so figured the cheese would compensate for that.

O.M.G.  I did not make brownies… I made a moist, tender, fluffy DELICIOUS chocolate cake!  When the toothpick came out clean I took it out – it had risen quite a bit more than I expected but I anticipated it would fall as it cooled.  It didn’t.

When I cut a piece to try, the texture was perfectly cake like, not brownie like at all. It was so good!  The mascarpone and the almond butter had a sweetness and the added 70% chocolate chips also added some.

LCHF Gluten Free Almond Butter & Mascarpone Chocolate Cake (UNSWEETENED)

Ingredients:

1 cup Almond Butter

1/3 cup Mascarpone Cheese or Cream Cheese

2 tbsp Coconut Oil or butter

1/2 cup Whipping Cream (33% fat)

3 eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/8 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Chopped Pecans or other nuts (optional)

1/2 cup 70-100% Cocoa Chocolate Chips or chopped up baking chocolate or Lindt bars etc. (optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F
2. In a mixing bowl combine the Almond Butter,  Cheese, Coconut Oil/butter and cream them together till they are smooth.
3. Then add the Whipping Cream, Eggs and Vanilla and mix well with an electric hand mixer (if you don’t have one it can be done easily by hand too.)
4. Sift the Cocoa Powder, Baking Powder and Salt together, then add a bit at a time to the wet ingredients mixing well before adding more.
5. Continue to beat with the mixer for a minute, or whip with a hand whisk – ensure there are no lumps in the batter.
6. Stir in the Pecans and Chocolate Chips by hand.
7. Spray an 8×8″ baking pan with non-stick spray and dust with a little sifted cocoa powder, shake it around to coat the pan.
8. Scoop the batter into the pan and spread out evenly.
9. Put on the centre rack of the oven for approximately 15 minutes. I can usually tell it is done when the sides start to pull away from the pan, but check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the centre, if it comes out clean it is done (remember… if the toothpick hits a chocolate chip it will have melted chocolate on it – be careful not to over bake.)
10. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

I didn’t top it with anything but I’m sure a drizzle of melted chocolate and/or whipped cream would be awesome.

p.s. It is great for breakfast too!

Pancakes!

While I would have to say I miss potatoes the most, I get the occasional craving for pancakes.  We used to have them every Sunday for breakfast and sometimes for dinner.

I tried three or four different LCHF/Paleo/Keto recipes for pancakes and was NOT happy with any of them.  They had to be teensy cause they wouldn’t flip, fell apart, were greasy because of the amount of fat that had to be in the pan to stop them from sticking, the mouth texture was unpleasant, etc.  I ended up throwing all those attempts out.

A couple of weeks back I was thinking about pancakes, again, and had an epiphany.  What if I BAKED them?  They should dry out and not need flipping… and  I could come up with my own recipe.

So I sat and wrote out a recipe from scratch, using what I have learned from trial and error, and personal preference.

The first time I didn’t photograph it as it was a test run but they were great!  But just a tad on the dry side.  This morning I made them again – adding an additional ingredient and a little more of another and they are perfect!  Light, fluffy, the texture of “normal” pancakes.  I would put money on people not being able to tell they aren’t “normal” pancakes actually.

Here’s my recipe.

LCHF/Gluten Free Baked Pancakes

Preheat oven to 400F

2 ounces of butter

4 ounces of cream cheese

4 large eggs

1 cup almond flour

2 tablespoons of coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

2 tablespoons of water

1. Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. In another bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed until well incorporated.
4. While the mixer is running add the dry ingredients a bit at a time until all combined.
5. Add the water and beat on high speed for about a minute.  If the mix appears to be too stiff add a bit more water – it should look like normal pancake batter at this stage.
6. Let the batter rest for about five minutes – at this point it will thicken up a bit which is fine.
7. While the batter is resting, cover a large baking sheet with baking parchment.
8. Scoop out batter with a spoon/cup, etc. onto the cookie sheet and spread out to your desired size.  I made mine (this time) about 6 inches across like regular pancakes!
9. Place on the centre rack in a pre-heated 400F oven for 10 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and serve with your desired toppings.

This recipe made five pancakes. They did spread a bit when baked and ran into each other, so the edges had to be cut, but that is easily fixed next time!  And… first time I used parchment, this time I didn’t… USE THE PARCHMENT PAPER!  Or silicone pad, etc.

I drench my pancakes in butter.

I like mine with peanut butter or cheese – I couldn’t finish though.  I did eat the left over stack later for lunch, and the remaining two are in the fridge for tomorrow.

These keep in the fridge and you can freeze and reheat in the toaster for a quick breakfast too.  Or even use for a sandwich or pizza crust, etc.

Bison Stroganoff… Yum!

For dinner I made Bison Stroganoff.  And it is YUMMY!  Extremely rich so only a small portion was able to be consumed today – and I have dinner for the next several days. Which is always a good thing.

Stroganoff is one of those easy dishes that doesn’t require exact measurements – I hate using measuring cups and spoons as it is just more stuff to clean up.  When I give a measurement it is more of an approximation – I eyeball everything.  But don’t worry, I am accurate!

Bison Stroganoff

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup olive oil (or any kind you want) **Note – I added the oil as bison is extremely lean, if you are using regular ground beef you could probably skip the oil if you prefer.

1 medium sliced onion

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1 pound of ground bison (or any meat/protein – I’ve done this with soy “ground round”)

1 pound of sliced or chopped mushrooms (any type – I used 1/2 button and 1/2 crimini)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp sea salt (adjust to taste)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup cream (coffee cream or whipping cream)

8 ounces of cream cheese

1/2 or 1 cup of sour cream (to your taste.)

To a large skillet or dutch oven add the oil and butter. Heat up on medium high heat.  Add the onion and cook until it is starting to brown, add the garlic and the ground meat. Stir and watch until meat is starting to brown well – you want it to be browning on the bottom of the pan because that’s all the good flavour!

Add the mushrooms and all the seasonings and stir well.  Turn the heat down to medium. Add the water and put a lid on for five minutes or so.  Stir, make sure to scrape up any brown on the bottom of the pan. If the mushrooms still need a bit more cooking you can add more water if needed, and put the lid back on for a few more minutes.  (The crimini mushrooms stay a lot firmer and hold their shape, compared to the button mushrooms.)

Then add the cream and the cream cheese (cut it up into chunks to make it easier to work with) and stir until blended in and melted. Let the mixture start to bubble.

Last step is to add the sour cream and stir it in.  Let it start to bubble, and immediately remove from the heat.

In keeping with LCHF, I served it over steamed cauliflower.  It would also be good on zucchini, spaghetti squash or steamed cabbage.