Posts Tagged ‘diabetic friendly’
Boozy Peachy Pear Streusel Coffee Cake
April 7th, 2013 | 
Author: 
This cake… you can just smell the peachy-ness. This just SCREAMS SUMMER!!! But what I love about it is the subtle hint of pears in the background. And let’s take a minute to talk about the booze in it. When I was making the glaze I seriously ‘taste tested’ WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more than I should have but damn this stuff was so good!
Now the recipe calls for Peach Extract and while you can substitute vanilla extract in for it it’s just not the same. I had to order mine online as my stores here in no-man’s land didn’t carry it. Honestly am THRILLED that I did get it as THIS is what makes the cake!
Another thing you’ll notice is that I put options in the recipe for those that love sweets but due to diabetes may not be able to eat the standard version. With having family members afflicted with Diabetes I do my best to make 2 versions of a recipe when it comes to stuff I know they’d love.
| Boozy Peachy Pear Streusel Coffee Cake |
|
Cake
- 2 sticks butter, unsalted and softened *Can use equal amounts of softened but not melted coconut oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar (If you using Spelnda Granula Sweetner it’s the same amount. If using Splenda Sugar Blend, use 1/2 cup)
- 2 extra large eggs
- 3 tsp peach schnapps *can use vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour, sifted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups vanilla greek yogurt
- 2 1/2 cups peach pie filling (can be sugar free)
- 1 can (15 1/4 ounces) pears (not whole) in light syrup, drained
Streusel Topping
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar (or 1/2-1 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
Boozy Peach Glaze
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar (for sugar free use 1 cup Splenda and 2 Tbl cornstarch – put in a food processor until a find powder)
- 1 Tbl milk
- 1-2 Tbl Peach Schnapps *or vanilla extract
- 1 tsp peach extract
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Spray 2 9” round spring form pans with cooking spray (no flour).
- If your pans do not have a tight seal, wrap the bottoms and sides with aluminum foil.
- Set aside.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Beat in the peach schnapps.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Alternately add the dry mixture with the greek yogurt to the egg mixture.
- Beat just until combined.
- Place enough of the batter (it’ll be thick) to coat the bottom of the pans about a ½” thick. Do not go up the sides. I found that if I used wet hands I could just push the batter into place.
- In another bowl, gently mix together the peach pie filling and the pears.
- Divide evenly into the pans.
- Using 2 tablespoons (or one tablespoon and another wet finger) drop the remaining batter over the filling. It won’t cover it all; that’s ok.
- Make the streusel by combining the brown sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon in a bowl.
- Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and the size of peas.
- Sprinkle over the batter.
- Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Place the pans on a wire rack and immediately take a thin knife and run it along the inside edge of the pan (between the pan and the cake).
- Cool for an hour.
- Remove the outside ring of the pan and allow to cool for another 30 minutes.
- While cooling make the glaze by mixing the confectioners’ sugar, schnapps, peach extract and enough milk to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over coffee cake.
Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Cream Drizzle
Who has a nice hot cup of coffee, perhaps lovely spot of tea (wait.. why do they call it a ‘spot of tea’???) or just a big ol’ glass of frothy milk?
There are days when I just don’t feel like making cinnamon rolls. They aren’t terribly hard; actually pretty easy but even yours truly needs a break. Well this past weekend Mr. Fantabulous was hinting around for some cinnamon rolls. Now before I go on, he has a constant complaint about them. “They’re too big, you make too many and I’m forced to eat them all myself…” Yeah, most people should have such problems, huh? LOL Well okay I can do something about the size and quantity but when I initially started making them for him I would make at least a dozen at a time and each one was the size of a saucer (think like 4-5″ round by 3″ high). Yeah… that big! But hey in my defense growing up we had to cook for a ton and we had to cook big. My brothers were athletes and big ol’ boys with very hearty appetites. I learned to cook en masse so when Mr. Fantabulous and I got married it took me quite some time to learn how to tame it down considerably. So now I make him 6 at a time and yes they are still big but that’s just how I roll yo… LOL
So when he asked me to make these I made the ‘ugh’ face to which he responded with the pouty “That’s okay, <insert ridiculously long sigh> you don’t have to…” Since I knew we were getting company for the weekend and I know how he really does not like to share his cinnamon rolls, I went for more of a coffee cake type of schtick. All the yummy goodness of a cinnamon roll but in a coffeecake form that I knew he would share… or so I thought!
As this was baking the smell of brown sugar and cinnamon filled my kitchen and hallways. The aroma was intoxicating. Actually it woke up Sleeping Beauty with the biggest of grins and the “Oh honey, you do love me! You’re making cinnamon rolls!” Um… apparently my love is measured in cinnamon rolls now?? LOL Well when I told him no and had him peak at what I was making, the pout returned, the look of HOW DARE YOU!? overtook his beautiful face and once again he sulked. LOL Yeah.. he’s that spoiled! I have no one to blame… well not true, I do blame Mama Fantabulous *love you Mama!* but you spoiled him first… I just picked up where you left off *wink*. As I took this out of the oven and helped ‘whoff’ the aroma down the halls, I could hear pitter patter of feet down the hall and the *sniff sniff sniff* I knew I had him. He made some coffee and asked if he could have a piece. Now normally I would have said no and that it was for company but there was no way I was disappointing him again. So I cut him a piece, drizzled on the cinnamon cream and waited with baited breath. Well apparently I made something magical because all was forgiven, the heaven’s opened up, a light shined down on the cake and angels were singing “Hallelujah!” LOL He LOOOOOOOOOOOOVED it!
Next time you’re craving Cinnamon Rolls but don’t want to deal with the dough, the rolling, the proofing and all that jazz, try this. It’s really, really simple and super yummy!
Now for those that need to watch their sugar intake, I did my best to incorporate a lower sugar method.
| Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Cream Drizzle |
|
Cake
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar or 6 Tbl Splenda Sugar Blend
- 3/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbl vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp table salt
Cinnamon Filling
- 1 stick butter, soft but not melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed or 1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped *optional
Cinnamon Cream Drizzle
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 Tbl butter, softened
- 2 Tbl cream
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
- 1 cup 2 Tbl confectioners’ sugar, sifted – see note on how to make this Sugar Free
- 1/2-1 tsp cinnamon
- Cinnamon chips for garnish
Make the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease and flour all sides of a 9-inch springform pan (at least 3” high). Do not use a 9” cake pan as it’s too shallow.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and white sugar until pale, light, and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium-high to high speed.
- Add the yogurt, eggs, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and beat until smooth and incorporated,~3 minutes.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder salt, and beat until just incorporated and batter is smooth, about 1 minute on medium speed.
- Spread batter into prepared pan; set aside. The batter will be thick.
Make the Cinnamon Filling
- In a bowl, add the softened butter and whip it until it’s very smooth. If your butter is softened to begin with you can use a spoon to get it all smooth.
- Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and beat with a spoon or whisk until combined. If you are using pecans, add them now and mix to combine.
- Spread filling over the top of the cake batter in an even, smooth, flat layer going almost to the edge of the pan.
- Now take a table knife and swirl back and forth to marble the filling into the cake batter. The more you swirl, the more your cinnamon filling will be dispersed. Try to get a good swirl going, trying to get to the bottom of the batter (be careful not to scratch your pan though).
- Place the pan on a baking sheet (in case your springform pan doesn’t have a perfect seal) and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until topping has set and a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean. Just keep an eye on the cake so the top of it that has of the brown sugar filling exposed that it doesn’t burn.
- Allow the cake to cool in pan and rest on baking sheet for at least 30 minutes before removing sides from the pan. While the cake is cooling, make the glaze.
Make the Cinnamon Cream Drizzle
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter beating with a whisk until light and fluffy.
- Add in the cream, vanilla bean pulp and whisk until combined and smooth.
- Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar, whisking to incorporate and until smooth. If it’s too thick, add a tad more cream. If it’s too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar.
- Add in the cinnamon starting with 1/2 tsp and adding the rest per your tastes.
- If serving immediately, slice the cake into pieces and drizzle with glaze.
- Garnish with cinnamon chips.
- Store the leftover glaze in the fridge and the cake in an airtight container.
How to make Sugar Free Confectioner’s Sugar:
Take 2 cups Splenda Granulated Sugar with 4 Tbl of cornstarch and put both ingredients in a blender container, cover and blend until a very fine powder forms.
(Bourbon) Sugar Plum Crisp Bars
I made up my list – 2 columns – front AND back filled. *giggle* I had stuff on there that I normally wouldn’t buy but had coupons for and with the discount I figured I could get it. Well one of those things were ‘dried plums’ – ya know, prunes. Now prunes are not something we need in this house yet *haha but since I love cooking with dates I figured I’d give these a shot.
2 shopping carts later (I swear it took an army to carry all the stuff in from the car) and a nap – there was A LOT of stuff, I wanted to jump on making something with these funky little things. Since they were dried I knew I had to reconstitute them.
Nerd cooking lesson – Reconstitute is the process of rehydrating dried foods by placing the food in water or some other liquid, in order to bring them back to a resemblance of their original size, shape and texture.
I originally went with a beta-test batch (essentially enough for just one) where I reconstituted them in water. The end result was awesome but you know me… I wanted, no, I NEEDED to give it that WOW factor.
Sugar Plum Crisp Bars meet Bourbon. Bourbon – work your magic and give me that WOW factor!
Folks, let me introduce you to WOW!
Now for those that watch their sugar intake, I did put some notes in the recipe on how to make this Diabetic Friendly. I would, however, consult our doctor on their recommendation regarding your ‘prune’ intake.
What I loved most about them is that aren’t overly sweet but they are just so yummy. I highly recommend you giving this a try; you will pleasantly be surprised.. and um “regular” LOL
| (Bourbon) Sugar Plum Crisp Bars |
|
- 1 1/2 cups prunes, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup bourbon (optional) – use only 1/2 cup water if using the bourbon
- 1 Tbl fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 1/2 cup quick oats
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2/3 cup butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a medium saucepan, add the prunes, water and bourbon.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.
- Stir the mixture a few times to prevent it from sticking. You want the prunes soft and malleable.
- While the prunes are softening, in a bowl mix the oats, brown sugar, flour, baking soda and1/2 tsp cinnamon together.
- Add in the butter to the oat mixture and mix.
- Scoop out 1 1/4 cups of the mixture and set aside.
- The remaining mixture press evenly into the bottom of a 9×13 ungreased glass baking pan. You can use metal but line with parchment paper first leaving a 1” overhang to help remove it.
- When the liquid has dissipated from the pan, add in the lemon juice, zest and remaining cinnamon.
- Spread the cooked prunes over the oat layer taking it within 1/4” from the edge of the pan. This will spread out during baking.
- Sprinkle the reserved oat mixture on top. It won’t cover it all, no worries as it’ll spread out.
- Bake 25-30 minutes or until the oats are a golden brown.
- Cool completely and then cut!
To make this Diabetic Friendly use 6 Tbl Splenda Brown Sugar in place of the regular 3/4 cup brown sugar. And sorry but I don’t believe Bourbon is diabetic friendly.
With regards to prunes, California prunes provide both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. About 60 percent of the dietary fiber in California Prunes is pectin, a type of soluble fiber that helps control blood sugar (glucose) levels in people with diabetes.
Prunes’ fiber (soluble) helps in normalizing the blood sugar levels by slowing down the rate of food movement in the stomach and delays the absorption of the glucose after the meal. The fiber also increases the insulin sensitivity and thus plays a key role in battling diabetes type 2. And also, prunes’ soluble fiber will provide a sense of satisfied fullness after taking a meal thus helping in preventing weight gain and over eating.
They have a very low Glycemic Index (GI) of about 29, which means that they keep you in full of energy for longer time. This product (Californian prunes) as part of a good and healthy well balanced diet.
Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal – Diabetic Friendly
| Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal – Diabetic Friendly |
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cloves *optional
- 1 cup quick oats
- Splenda Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon for dusting
- Place the milk, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a pot over medium-high heat.
- Whisk frequently, gently using your whisk to scrape the edges to not have the milk or spices burn on the sides of the pot.
- When the mixture comes to a boil, dump in the oats and mix with a spoon or rubber-tipped spatula for one minute or until it’s completely combined and most of the liquid is gone. ~1 minute.
- If you like your thinner, add 2-3 more Tbl of milk and stir in.
- Top each bowl with Splenda Brown Sugar (Start off with 1/2 tsp and about a 1/4 tsp of cinnamon).
If you use regular oats, cook for 7-10 minutes.
Posted in Breakfast, Diabetic Friendly, Recipes, Snacks n'at, Sweet Treats | 
Tags: breakfast, comfort food, diabetic friendly, healthy, Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, yummy | 
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Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffin Cakes
Oh dear Heavens-To-Betsy (um.. who’s Betsy anyway in this colloquialism? Why are we giving her Heaven???? – yes, these are the things that I ponder on.)…
sorry, I got distracted. As I was saying, these things are SINFUL with a capital “HOLY HELL YES” Sinful!
I had found a straggler zucchini in the fridge from when I made that Tomato Zucchini Tart the other day and realized I had to use it. I didn’t want deep fried zucchini (well, okay I really, REALLY did but my conscious {and thighs} said no) and I didn’t want anything heavy with it. I was tired of roasted veggies, didn’t want zucchini Parmesan (though I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it) and I didn’t want to stuff it.
So I went about doing housework and just tossed around some ideas in my head. In the end I decided to go with muffins – 2 ways. One regular for you lucky ducks that can eat anything and everything without gaining a single friggen ounceand the other I would make lowfat and diabetic friendly (I have family members that are diabetic).
Today I took some into work (gotta love guinea pigs at work) to try but I didn’t let 2 people know that it had zucchini in them. Now before you go all “OMG what if they were allergic???” no worries. I knew these people had no food allergies as I always ask people about food allergies before they try something I’ve made. I took 5 in for people to try. One for moi (yes, even though I rarely eat sweets, I will partake in these as they are THAT friggen good) and 4 for others. 2 people knew about these per Facebook and the other 2 were pleasantly surprised with the treat on their desk when they arrived. The 2 that knew about zucchini absolutely LOVED them. They couldn’t get over how moist they were. So about 8am I get an IM from the one guy saying “OMG, these are the BEST chocolate cupcakes I’ve ever had! They don’t need frosting they are THAT good!” I chuckled and said “Well they aren’t cupcakes. They are Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffins.” His response was “Say what??? No <bleep> way there is vegetables in that! Seriously? Wow these are amazing! Can I have another???” lol
About 9am the 2nd person calls me saying “Oh wow, that was so aweseome! It was AMMMAAAAAAAAAAAZING!” So then I proceed to tell her what it was and dead silence…
I mean you could hear a pin drop dead silence..
Finally she goes “That’s not possible! I loathe zucchini. You can’t make stuff like this with THAT in it!” I laughed and said “No really, it has about 1 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini in it.” All of a sudden I hear a click and she hangs up. Well I swear she must have ran over to my desk in disbelief wanting me to look her in the eye, pinkie swear up down and all around that it really had zucchini in it. I’m not sure if she believes me still but I did tell her to read the website tonight as I’ll post the recipe.
So yes Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus! LOL
The recipe below shows both versions – regular and lowfat/diabetic friendly.
High Domed Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffins
| Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffin Cakes |
|
- 1 cup flour (all purpose)
- 1/2 cup dutch cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (not kosher or sea)
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or 1/2 cup natural apple sauce for lowfat version
- 1/2 cup sugar or 1/4 cup Splenda White Sugar for diabetic friendly version
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar or 1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar for diabetic friendly version
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup shredded raw zucchini (pressed) – *see note below*
- 1 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Using your stand mixer, beat the oil/(applesauce), sugars, eggs, vanilla extract and espresso powder for 3 minutes.
- Add the shredded zucchini to the dry ingredients and toss to coat the zucchini evenly.
- Add in both chocolate chunks and combine gently.
- In batches add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients using a spatula to incorporate everything until just mixed. Do NOT use your mixer.
- Cover the muffin cake batter with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (you can go overnight for this).
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425F
- Spray the tops of the cupcake pan with non-stick spray (you want to spray around the tops of the pan to prevent the muffin cakes from sticking when they rise).
- Line with cupcake liners – start off by lining 6 and add more as you go.
- Remove the muffin cake batter from the fridge and using an ice cream scoop, fill the tins almost to the top of the paper liners. Don’t go over. You want to see about an 1/8” of an inch of paper. If you don’t have enough batter to make 12 cupcakes, fill the empty cavities ½ way full with water.
- Bake for 9 minutes at 425.
- Reduce the heat to 350 and bake for 7-9 minutes or until a toothpick comes out barely clean (crumbs are OK). *IMPORTANT – do not open the oven door to drop the heat. Let the heat drop down naturally.
- Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 1 minute.
- Gently remove the muffin cakes from the pan and cook on rack. Do not leave them in the pan to cool completely as they bottoms and sides will become soggy. Leaving them in the pan builds up too much moisture.
Pressing zucchini
Put your shredded zucchini in a strainer and gently press down to remove any excess liquid. You won’t get a lot but you may get a few tablespoons. Discard the liquid.
Posted in Bread Basics, Cakes/Cupcakes, Diabetic Friendly, Recipes, Sweet Treats |
Tags: cakes, chocolate, diabetic friendly, healthy, lowfat, muffins, zucchini |
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