Low Carb Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

 If you are on a Low Carb diet you know that your dessert options are few and far between, but one luscious treat you can eat is ICE CREAM!

Here is my first attempt at ice cream making -- Vanilla Bean Ice Cream...

My adventure into ice cream making began when I was given some Gourmet Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans.  If I wasn't on a Low Carb diet there would be hundred of things I could use them in, but since I was deep into induction my choices were limited.  I had just made mini cheesecakes, so I decided to give ice cream a try.

The ice cream begins with a custard base.  I just used my regular custard recipe and swapped out the granulated sugar for granulated Splenda, and used all heavy whipping cream instead of a half cream / half  whole milk ratio.  

In the first step I add 3/4 cups of Splenda, cream, a pinch of salt, the seeds from the vanilla beans, and the beans themselves to a saucepan.  Heat the mixture till it scalds and then cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks in a 1/4 cup of Splenda.   

You want the mixture to be smooth and creamy with no lumps.

Transfer the mixture to another pot and set aside.

Remove the vanilla beans and while whisking constantly, slowly pour the still warm milk mixture into the egg yolks.

Over medium heat, stir the mixture constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and starts to coat the spoon.  Do not allow the mixture to boil or it will curdle.  

When the custard base is cooked pour it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove all the bits debris from the vanilla beans.

You will end up with a smooth, creamy ice cream base / custard that is good enough to eat just as it is...

But no, into the ice cream maker it goes.  I use a Cuisinart ICE-21R Ice Cream Maker, and in about 15 minutes I have ICE CREAM.   Yummy, delicious, lovely, ICE CREAM.  Who said you can't have dessert on a Low Carb.

Open wide, here comes a spoon full....

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Low Carb Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup granulated Splenda, divided
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 vanilla beans, split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Over medium heat warm the cream, 3/4 cups of Splenda, and salt in a medium saucepan.
2. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla beans into the cream/Splenda mixture.  Add the bean skins to the mixture.
3. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and allow it to steep for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks and 1/4 cup Splenda until smooth and creamy.  Transfer the egg mixture to a second sauce pan.
5. Remove the vanilla bean skins from the cream/sugar mixture.  While whisking constantly, slowly pour the still warm cream mixture into the saucepan containing the egg yolk mixture.  Make sure you constant whisk the yolks as you pour the warm milk into it.  You will end up with scrambled eggs if you don't whisk the egg yolks as the warm cream is introduced.
6. Place the saucepan on medium heat and stir the mixture constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon. About 8 minutes. DO NOT ALLOW THE MIXTURE TO BOIL.
7. When the ice cream base is cooked to the appropriate consistency, pour the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve to remove any lumps and bits of vanilla bean bark.
8. Stir in the vanilla extract and leave bowl on the counter until it cools.
9. Once the mixture is cool, cover and refrigerate until completely chilled.  At least 8 hours or overnight.
10. When the ice cream base is chilled, churn the ice cream according to the ice cream makers instructions.

Yield: 1 quart

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Low-Carb (Chocolate-Chip) Peanut Butter Cookie - Disaster with Isomalt (or maybe not)

I was reading the recipe book: Low Carb Desserts by Martha McBride, and I noticed a lot of the recipes used Isomalt instead of granulated Splenda. The Isomalt is a sugar alcohol which has a lot less (net) carbs than the Splenda.

(Note: some sources believe that sugar alcohol should not be "netted out" and all the carbs from sugar alcohol should be counted in your daily intake.)

I didn’t realize I could bake with Isomalt so I purchased some crystals and immediately mixed up a batch of my yummy Low-Carb (Chocolate-Chip) Peanut Butter Cookies; subbing the granulated Splenda for Isomalt.

From the begining the cookie dough looked strange. The Isomalt crystals were large and were very obvious in the dough. (Note: Later I found that you could get Isomalt Powder. Stupid me.)

But at this point I still had high hopes. I figured the crystals would melt during baking, and my PB cookies would look fine.

Well let’s just say they didn’t look fine. Some of the crystals did melt, but not in the way I expected. After about 8 minutes in the oven I checked the cookies and found each cookie surrounded by a pool of ooey-gooey, bubbling mess. (Sorry I didn’t get a picture. I was too freaked out.) When I pulled the cookies out of the oven the gooey mess hardened and trapped my cookies into an Isomalt candy sheet. (Cool science experiment, but a depressing baking experience.) I roughly cut the cookies out of their Isomalt trap...

And then carefully trimmed the rubbery substance from the edge of each cookie. I wanted to cry. All that beautiful PB wasted.

After I dried my tears I tasted a cookie.   Hmmmm...   Not too bad.  A little chewer than they normally are but still good. I had another, and then a third (and possibly a fourth). Maybe the Isomalt did have a place in my kitchen.

But then the rumbling in my tummy started. My gut started to twist and cramp. It dawned on me that the Isomalt was SUGAR ALCOHOL, and I had eaten four of those little cookies. If any of you have overindulged in sugar-free candy, you know what I was going through. The warning on the bag of Russell Stover's Sugar-Free Candy states: “Excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect.”

Believe you-me, that warning is no lie.

After my gut returned to normal I decided to make another batch just so I could get a picture of the melting Isomalt in action. But guess what?  The cookies baked up fine the second time !#@!

You can  see a little bit of the Isomalt "candy sheet" on the bottom and outer edge, but nothing like the first time.

What was going on????

The only difference with the second batch was that I cut it down in size (1/4 batch), AND I forgot to put the vanilla extract in the mix. Could the vanilla extract have caused the Isomalt to ooze, or was something else at work?  It is a mystery of cosmic proportions. 

But the mystery will have to remain unsolved cause I'm all out of peanut butter, and I have a ton of PB cookies to eat.  But I learned my lesson!!  Only 2 cookies a day.  That sugar alcohol is a killer.
 

Below is my tried-and-true PB cookie recipe.  Substitute Isomalt if you are curious/brave.

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Low-Carb (Chocolate-Chip) Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 30 cookies, 67 g total; 2.2 g carbs each 

Ingredients:

1 cup low sugar peanut butter (I use Simply Jif at 2 net carbs per Tablespoon) -32 g carbs
1 cup granulated Splenda -24 g carbs
1 large egg, beaten - 0.5 g carbs
1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream - 1 g carbs
1 tsp vanilla - 1.5 g carbs
1/2 cup Hershey's Sugar Free Semi-Sweet Baking Chips (optional) - 8 g net carbs (add 56 g if you don't believe in subtracting out the sugar alcohol)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a bowl combine peanut butter, Splenda, egg, cream, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
• Add the chocolate chip and gently stir until evenly mixed.
• Drop 1 tablespoon of cookie dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Allow two inches between cookies.  (I use a small ice cream scoop to get them all the same size.)
• Gently flatten the cookie tops..
• Bake for 12 minutes are until golden brown.

Enjoy...

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Low Carb - Macadamia Nut Cheese Cakes (mini)

Over the last three years I have packed on the pounds, and after creeping up four pants sizes I’ve declared “Enough Is Enough”. I stood on my groaning scale and declared, “I will not buy a size 16 pants”.

So now I’m back on my low carb bandwagon and have sworn off all baked goodie. Ummm scratch that... I’ve sworn off all baked goodies made with sugar and flour. Now that doesn’t sound QUITE so bad.

So what kind of dessert doesn’t contain any flour or sugar? Jello? Pudding?

How about Cheesecake?

I love cheesecake, and these little cheesecake gems are allowed on my diet. With a short list of ingredients (cream cheese, Splenda, egg, and vanilla) they pack only 4.7 carbs per serving. If you add the macadamia nut crust they zoom to 5.5 carbs per serving.

Be still my Low-Carb heart.

The recipe starts out with a nut crust.  I use macadamia nuts nuts because they have the lowest carb count, but you can also use almonds, pecans, cashews, or a combination of all four.  I can never find unsalted macs (at a good price) so I just buy the regular and wash and dry them off before chopping.

I chop the nuts, mixed them with a little butter and Splenda, and then evenly divide the mixture between the 7 cupcake liners (use the aluminum liners because the paper ones will absorb the butter and make a mess in your pan).  Next I press the chopped nuts firmly into the liners.  I have a vitamin  bottle that is the perfect shape for this.  Just wrap it in an aluminum cupcake liner and flatten the nuts against the bottom of the pan. 

Bake the crust for 8 minutes...

And then cover with the filling... 

Just out of the oven they a high and puffy...

 

But they will deflate as they cool...

Hope you like these as much as I do.  They are a sanity saver when you are on a low-carb diet.  These little bit of sweet, baked goodness keeps me strong and helps me avoid the really bad (really good) stuff.

Enjoy

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Low Carb - Mini Macadamia Nut Cheese Cakes
(yield 7 servings; 5.52 carbs per serving)


Crust  (optional) - total carbs: 5.5g; carbs per  serving: 0.79g

2 oz unsalted macadamia nuts , finely chopped;  (net carbs: 4;  8 carbs - 4 fiber) 
1 Tablespoon Butter, melted ( carbs = 0)
1 Tablespoon granulated Splenda (carbs = 1.5)


Filling - total carbs: 33.1; carbs per  serving: 4.73

1 block Regular Cream Cheese (8oz), softened (carbs = 8)
1 cup baking Splenda (carbs = 24)
1 large egg (carbs = 0.6)
1 teaspoon vanilla (carbs = 0.5)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Crust Directions:

• In a small bowl blend the chopped nuts, 1 TBL melted butter, and 1 TBL Splenda.
• Spoon the nut mixture evenly between the 7 cupcake liners.
• Press/compact the nut mixture firmly into the liner. I use a vitamin bottle wrapped in a foil cupcake liner wrap to compress the nut mixture. The vitamin bottle is the perfect fit for the cupcake pan.
• Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Note: it may smoke slightly

Filling Directions:

• While the crust is baking, prepare the filling.
• Cream the cream cheese and Splenda until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes
• Add the egg and vanilla, and mix until incorporated
• Spoon the filling on top of the hot nut crust.
• Bake 25 minutes until tops are golden brown.
• Store in the refrigerator or freezer after they cool.

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Peanut Butter Cookies - Low Carb

For our Labor Day barbecue I baked a lot of family favorites, but I have a nephew who is on a low carb diet so I whipped up some low carb peanut butter cookies just for him.



The cookies were tasty, but I found them very dry and crumbly (although by the second day the cookies were much moister so bake them a day ahead of time). If I make these cookies again I would definitely fiddle with the recipe some: add another egg and possibly some heavy cream or butter to add moisture to the cookies and help hold everything together.

But in the words of dieting my nephew, "I you are low carbing it, dry cookies are a small price to pay for the pure joy of sinking your teeth into a sweet confection that is actually BAKED!"

Click HERE for the recipe I tried.

Chocolate Soufflé with Crème Anglaise (low carb)

This weekend I was trying to stick with my low crab diet (I put on a few pounds in the last two weeks and my jeans are starting to get snug). But just because I’m low carbing it doesn’t mean I can’t bake! I had a recipe for Chocolate Soufflé with Creme Anglaise that I thought would work well with Splenda and sugar free chocolate. So I gave it a try…

Here is the end product. What do you think?


I know, I know, too many nuts, but I looove nuts. I had never made soufflé before, but based on pictures I thought it would puff up more. Maybe it was the Splenda. It was also dense, more like flourless chocolate cake than my idea of a soufflé. But I didn’t mind… it still tasted good. Especially when I soaked it in the Crème Anglaise. Yummmm....


Here is the recipe…

Chocolate Soufflé with Crème Anglaise (Low Carb version)

Makes 4 mini souffles

1/2 cup nuts, finely chopped

5 tablespoons pourable Splenda (the kind in the box that measures like regular sugar)

1 – 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for brushing

4 oz sugar free Dark Chocolate

2 large egg yolks

3 large egg whites

Pinch of salt

Vanilla Crème Anglaise (recipe to follow, make this first and allow to set in refrigerator)

• Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.

• In a bowl mix the chopped nuts and 1 tablespoon of Splenda.

• Brush four 4-ounce ramekins with butter and coat with the nut mixture (reserve some of the nut mixture to top the batter before baking).

• Place the ramekins in a 9 x 9 inch brownie pan and place in the refrigerator .

• In the microwave melt (at 30 sec interval) the chocolate and 1 - 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Stir until smooth. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

• In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with 3 tablespoons of Splenda until pale and thickened (about 4 minutes).

• Gradually beat in the cooled chocolate. IMPORTANT: if the chocolate is too hot it will cook the egg yolks.

• In another bowl, and using clean beaters, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Beat in the remaining 1 tablespoon of Splenda.

• Beat 1/4 of the eggs whites into the chocolate mix, and then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites into the chocolate mix using a rubber spatula.

• Spoon the batter into the ramekins and sprinkles remaining nut mixture over the batter.

• Rub your thumb along the inside rim of the ramekin to remove any stray batter.

• Half fill the brownie pan with water and place the pan in the center of the oven.

• Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are set but the center is still soft.

• Set ramekins on heat proof plates and immediately sever with chilled Crème Anglaise.

Vanilla Crème Anglaise

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup pourable Splenda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large egg yolks

• Prepare an ice bath the will hold a small sauce pan.

• Wisk egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of Splenda.

• In a small sauce pan combine all ingredients (whipping cream, remaining Splenda, vanilla, and egg yolk mixture). Stir until combined.

• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon (about 6 minutes). Note: the “coat” test will not work on a metal spoon or rubber spatula.

• Once cooked, submerge the bottom of the sauce pan into the ice bath and continue to stir. This will immediately halt the cooking process and prevent the cream from curdling.

• Store in refrigerator and allow to set before serving atop hot soufflé.