Dark Chocolate Pudding: Low Sugar

This week I tried a new recipe for chocolate pudding by Melissa Clark that was featured in the New York Times. The recipe I worked out earlier with Choco Perfection was very tasty, but every time I made it I enjoyed it so much I ate a big bowl full, and the next thing you know I was suffering from horribly uncomfortable bloating. Not worth it! So I decided to figure out how to cut down the sugar and carbohydrate for this new recipe. Immediate score! Deep, dark, luscious, rich, tasty - a cross between mousse and the best pudding you've ever had .... and no tummy issues!

Dark Chocolate Pudding

Group I
2 TB butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz 85% or higher chocolate, chopped

Group II
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup xylitol or Swerve
1/2 tsp stevia extract powder
2 TB coconut palm sugar
2 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TB cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt

Group III
2 large eggs

Equipment: an immersion blender or food processor

1. If using an immersion blender, put all of the ingredients from group I into the bain marie or heatproof bowl. If using a food processor, place in the bowl of the food processor.

2. In a large saucepan, combine all of the ingredients from Group I and whisk to combine. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a low boil, whisking frequently. Continue to boil for 1-2 minutes; overcooking causes the cornstarch to stop working.

3. Meanwhile, crack the two eggs into the heat-proof measuring cup from the milk; beat lightly with a fork.

4. Pour a small quantity of the hot milk mixture into the eggs and whisk with the fork to keep the eggs from curdling. Add more hot milk mixture and whisk again. Now pour the egg mixture back into the hot milk mixture and whisk into the whole. Put the heat back on under the pan, and bring it just to the boil again.

5. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour over the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Process until smooth. (The hot milk will melt the chocolate.)

6. If in the bain marie or heatproof bowl, let cool to room temperature, then chill. If using the food processor, pour into ramekins, small bowls, or a large heatproof bowl and chill.

Serve with optional whipped cream, lightly sweetened creme fraiche, and/or chocolate shavings.

Sugar-Free Clafoutis

Blueberry Clafoutis

I remember the first time I tried Clafoutis. "Cla - what now?" was my first thought. But one bite and I was a believer!

Clafoutis is a traditional French dessert, a cross between an egg-y pancake and a coffee cake, loaded with lovely fresh fruit. In Limousin, the region of its origin, fresh cherries are used, pits and all. Equally delicious are blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apricots, pears or plums. Served warm, it is perfect for dessert, breakfast, or afternoon tea, and comes together with ease and speed, and very few dirty dishes.

One day I just had a flash of inspiration - what if I made this (sugar-free, of course!) with coconut flour? Lately I've been experimenting with coconut flour, an ingredient with many possibilities. It is very smooth and fine, super high in fiber, and pleasantly sweet tasting. Being so high in fiber, it absorbs moisture like crazy, so when substituting for wheat flour, you need to use a smaller amount of coconut flour. I played with the proportions, and the first batch was fantastic, right off. (I can't always count on that.)

There's only one problem with this recipe .... it's gone in a flash. My daughter and I ate a whole batch of this, made with blueberries, for breakfast last week. Fortunately, it's so fast and easy, I'll just make another one!

Sugar-Free Clafoutis

1 pound berries, or 1 1/4 pound of other firm fruits, as listed above, pitted and sliced

1/4 cup sugar substitute (I like Swerve)

2 TB coconut sugar (optional, but delicious - very low glycemic)

1 cup whole milk (or coconut, almond or other milk, or substitute 50% of it with heavy cream)

The immersion blender is the perfect tool.

4 large eggs

¼ cup coconut flour + 2 TB

¼ tsp salt

3 TB unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 TB vanilla

1). Pre-heat oven to 400 F

2). Butter shallow 2 quart baking dish or pie pan generously

3). In a blender, food processor, or, if using an immersion blender, a bain Marie, combine eggs, milk, flour, salt, butter, vanilla, and sugar. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

4). Sprinkle the fruit over the bottom of the baking dish, then pour batter over it.

5) . Bake until puffed and golden, 35 to 45 minutes

This batch was made with full cream coconut milk - delicious!

 

Serve warm

Sugar-Free Clementine Cake

My friend Shiela is very fond of the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, in which, interestingly, Clementine Cake is featured prominently. After multiple viewings, she became so intrigued with the idea of this cake that she Googled it, immediately found a great recipe from The New York Times, baked it, and raved about it. I have never seen the movie, but when she described the recipe to me, I knew immediately that it was a winner, and one that I could easily adapt to sugar-free goodness. The results? Oh, this is good. The crumb is moist, the flavor intense, the crust chewy.... Excellent for breakfast or afternoon tea; full of protein and fiber. I can see making this into individual tea cakes, too....

Sugar-Free Clementine Cake

Adapted from The New York Times

• 5 medium clementines or tangerines (1 pound)
• Spray cooking oil
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar substitute (I am loving Swerve!)  
  ¼ cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups almond flour or meal (Bob's Redmill and Trader Joe's are great sources)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  

 

Poached Clementines

PREPARATION

1. Place whole unpeeled clementines in a medium-sized sauce pan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 2 hours, adding more water as needed. Remove clementines with a slotted spoon and, once cool enough to handle, halve and remove any seeds or other hard bits. Purée in a food processor, immersion or conventional blender and set aside. (May be done up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.)
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking oil, line bottom with parchment paper and spray paper with oil.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together with the melted butter, sugar substitute, salt and clementine purée. Add the almond flour and baking powder and stir until just combined.
4. Pour into prepared pan and bake until edges are golden brown and starting to pull away from sides of pan, about 1 hour. Transfer to wire rack set over baking sheet. After 10 minutes, run a knife around edge of pan to loosen cake; remove cake from pan. Peel off parchment paper and return cake to wire rack to cool completely. Decorate with dusting of powdered sugar or with chocolate glaze or candied clementines, or both.

Sugar-Free Classic Chocolate Pudding

Rich, creamy, home-made chocolate pudding. Yay! What could be yummier? I love the recipe in the Gourmet Cookbook; it whips up in no time at all and is supremely delicious. But of course, there's the whole sugar thing. Yup, sugar. Carbohydrates. Diabetes. It all sucks.

But - ta-da! Here is my sugar-free adaptation. I promise that this is just as delicious as it would be made with sugar. Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

1/4 cup sugar substitute (I love Swerve, but you can use xylitol or another)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
pinch of salt
*2-3 TB cornstarch

2 cups whole milk (this is the richest tasting, as well as lowest in carbs)
1 large egg
4 oz best quality semisweet sugar-free chocolate, chopped finely (I like ChocoPerfection)
OR a mix of sugar-free and low-sugar chocolate

6 small to medium-sized ramekins or custard cups

Whisk together the sugar substitute, cocoa powder, corn starch and pinch of salt in a 2 quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk. (Please note that you may need a spatula to get some of the powder from the perimeter of the pan to incorporate.) Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and boil, whisking, until the pudding is thick, 3 to 5 minutes.

Place the egg in a medium-sized bowl, and whisk it. Gradually whisk the hot pudding into the egg. Add the chopped chocolate to the pudding, then whisk until it is melted and well-incorporated.

Pour the pudding into the ramekins. Let cool until room temperature, then cover and put in the refrigerator. Chill for at least two hours. Devour!

Chocolate notes:  Most of the sugar-free chocolate on the market is sweetened with maltitol.  In fact, most of the sugar-free products on the market are sweetened with maltitol. Unfortunately, according to my online research, maltitol causes insulin to spike. Therefore. its usefulness as a sweetener for diabetics is limited. There are several nice non-maltitol-sweetend chocolates out there. ChocoPerfection, which is sweetened with inulin (chicory root) and erythritol, Coracao, which uses xylitol, and Xyla, which also uses xylitol. None of them are cheap, but it's worth it!

*Cornstarch Notes:  For reasons that are unclear to me, many of the sugar-free chocolates have a completely different thickening behavior in the pudding. While pudding made with regular chocolate requires only 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch, most sugar-free chocolates require 3 TB. If you use a mix of regular and sugar-free chocolate, the lower amount works up until approximately 50% regular chocolate. Otherwise, if using all sugar-free chocolate, I recommend using the higher amount. You will certainly find on the first batch (and I assure you, you will make more within a day or two!) whether you hit the right amount. If it's too thin or too thick, it's still completely delicious. Just adjust it on the next batch.

ChocoPerfection

New: Sugar-Free Banana Bread

Even after I have created a new recipe and found it delicious, I continue to tweak it; I work on lowering the carbohydrates and raising the deliciousness. And frankly, sometimes I lose confidence in ingredients that I was fond of; soy  - not so thrilled with how it's raised.  These days, I'm pretty excited about working with coconut flour. It is low in carbs, very high in fiber and protein, and has a fine crumb and a lovely sweet base flavor, perfect for cakes and cookies. However, all that fiber tends to suck up the liquid, and creates a strong drying effect. This is where a fruit quick bread is the perfect pairing; the moisture in the fruit binds with the coconut fiber. This, plus the addition of almond meal and additional eggs creates a moist, flavorful loaf. In this case, the new formula is so much more delicious than the old, I decided to do a new posting. One word of warning: the lower the wheat content, the lower the gluten. The lower the gluten, the lower the crown. This recipe is completely delicious, but it has a lower profile than you might be used to!

Group 1
4 small, very ripe bananas, or 3 large, mashed
3 large eggs
1/3 cup erythritol
2 TB xylitol
1/4 tsp stevia extract powder
1 TB coconut palm sugar (optional, but delicious - for flavor)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

OR:
2/3 cup xylitol or Swerve
1 TB coconut palm sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp stevia extract powder

Group 2
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup almond meal
2 TB flax meal
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Group 3
1/2 cup walnuts, broken into medium pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease loaf pan. (Gotta love spray-on coconut oil!)

2. Combine mashed bananas, eggs, sweeteners and vanilla in a large bowl and stir well to combine.

3. In a medium bowl, combine flours, salt and leavening. Whisk to combine, carefully breaking up any lumps of meal or flour. (Coconut flour does have a tendency to lump.)

4.  Stir flour mixture into banana mixture. Stir until all lumps and dry spots are well incorporated.

5. Stir in walnuts until well distributed.

6. Scoop batter into greased loaf pan and smooth top.

7.  Place pan on middle rack of preheated oven. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, around 50 minutes to 1 hour.

8. Cool on rack until cool enough to tip out of pan. Cool completely on rack out of pan.

Sugar-Free, Low-Glycemic Pecan Pie

My daughter requested a pecan pie as a special reward for all of the hard work she'd been doing for school. I have a recipe from Cook's Illustrated which calls for maple syrup instead of corn syrup - super delicious! And having made it for her, once again I found myself feeling a little sad about how I was never going to get to eat that delicious item again.... or was I?

I started thinking about yacon syrup, a nutritious, super low-glycemic syrup made from a South American tuber. Yacon syrup has been shown to have amazing properties as a product for folks with diabetes and metabolic disorders. I've been eating it in the divine chocolates created by Coracao Confections for several years now, and it has recently become the darling of Dr. Oz. Yacon syrup is dark, thick, sweet, but at the same time tangy. It reminds me a bit of maple syrup, but even more so of tamarind. I decided that it could be the perfect substitute for corn syrup or maple syrup in a pecan pie. But first I had to get my hands on some... I have yet to see it on grocer's shelves - even health food stores. My friends at Coracao turned me on to Raw Food World, which they have been doing business with for some time. That took care of that issue, and it was on to recipe creation.

You know, sometimes when I try a recipe the first time, it's just a complete fail. Sometimes it needs some tweaking. And sometimes, rarely, it's fantastic the very first time. That's the story with this pie, my friends. Go forth and enjoy the yumminess once more!


Sugar-Free, Low-Glycemic Pecan Pie

1 batch of whole grain Foodier Than Thou pie crust  and a 9" regular (shallow) pie dish OR
1 batch of Foodier Than Thou almond meal crust (skip the almond extract) and a tart pan


1/4 cup coconut palm sugar OR an additional 1/4 cup of sugar substitute
1/4 cup of your favorite sugar substitute: Swerve, Lakanto, Splenda OR erythritol
1-2 tsp stevia powder - to taste. (You may want the higher amount if you use erythritol, which is less sweet than the other sweeteners.)

1 cup yacon syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream

4 TB unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 tsp salt 

6 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups toasted, chopped pecans or walnuts

1.  Preheat the oven to 450 F.

2.  In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, sugar substitutes and stevia powder until well combined. Add the yacon syrup and heavy cream, place over medium heat, and stir occasionally, until the solids have dissolved, about 5 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and let mixture cool for 5 minutes. Add the butter and salt and whisk until incorporated. Then whisk in egg yolks until well incorporated.

4. Put pie crust into pan and crimp the edges. If using the almond meal crust in a tart pan, press the crust well into the pan with your hands and/or a wooden spoon. If using the almond meal crust and tart pan, you will have some extra crust and filling. If so, use them to make some small ramekins of pie.

5. Sprinkle the chopped, toasted nuts into the bottom of the crust. Carefully pour the liquid filling over the top. Use a rubber spatula to get all of the yummy stuff into the pan.

6. Carefully place the pie onto a baking sheet and place on the central rack of the hot oven, and immediately reduce the temperature to 325 F. Bake until the filling is set and the center jiggles only slightly when the pie is gently shaken, 45-60 minutes.

7. Remove pie from oven and cool on a rack for at least an hour. Then refrigerate until set, at least another hour, and up to one day, or just cool on the rack for several more hours. If you rush to cut it, it will not be solid! (It's hard to resist; believe me, I know!) Bring to room temperature before serving.

8. Serve small wedges, with optional Bourbon Whipped Cream - which really adds a lot to the party!


Bourbon Whipped Cream
(Adapted from Cook's Illustrated)


1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 TB bourbon

2 TB coconut palm sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whip until stiff peaks form.  Serve with pecan pie. Yum!

Sugar-Free Stone Fruit Cake

SUGAR-FREE PEACH/APRICOT CAKE

The finished product - golden brown and luscious

Is this a cake, a tart, a pie.....? Call it what you will, this is the perfect use of all of the apricots, peaches, nectarines, and plums dropping off the trees at this time of year! This delicious recipe is so easy and so good, you may find yourself making it several times in one week. Not being very sweet, it makes a lovely coffee cake, breakfast, snack, or dessert. Try any stone fruit, and if you wish, replace a cup or so of the stone fruit with some fresh blueberries. As always, this recipe is sugar-free, high protein, and low-carbohydrate. Although this is perfect for folks like me who are diabetic or have a metabolic disorder, everybody else loves it, too. Only YOU will know that it's sugar-free!

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

PASTRY

Press the dough firmly and gently up the sides

1 1/4 cups almond meal
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Swerve OR 1/4 cup erythritol + 2 TB xylitol + 1/2 tsp stevia powder
6 TB unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tsp almond extract
1 large egg

Mmmm - super ripe Royal Blenheim apricots from my tree!

FILLING
2 1/2 pounds stone fruit, washed, dried, pitted and cut into fourths (apricot, peach, nectarine, or plum)
OR replace 1/2 pound of fruit with 1 cup fresh blueberries
2 TB almond liqueur
1/2 cup Swerve OR 1/4 cup erythritol + 2 TB xylitol + 1/2 tsp stevia powder
1 TB tapioca flour OR 1 TB tapioca quick-cooking tapioca

For the Pastry: 
1. Using a food processor, pulse the almond meal, flour, salt, baking powder, and sweeteners until they are just combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mix resembles coarse meal, with some pea-sized butter chunks. Add the egg and almond extract and pulse until it just comes together.

2. Using floured fingers, press the pastry into a spring form pan, flattening with the palm of your hand, and coaxing it up the sides of the pan until it reaches half way up the sides. (You want the pastry to be as least as high as the fruit.)

3. Chill the pan in the refrigerator until firm, at least 15 minutes.

For the Filling:

1. Meanwhile, prepare the fruit. Wash, dry, pit, and cut the fruit into chunks. Add the almond liqueur and stir to combine.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the sweeteners with the tapioca flour thoroughly (available from the bulk section of Berkeley Bowl or in packages from Bob's Red Mill), or, if you are using quick tapioca, whirl the sweeteners with the tapioca in a spice mill until the tapioca becomes a flour.

3.  Sprinkle the fruit with the sweetener mix, and stir gently to combine thoroughly. Spoon the fruit mixture evenly into the chilled springform pan. Cover with foil, place on a baking sheet (the butter does tend to leak out the bottom.) and bake, covered, for around 1 hour and 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown around the edges.

The filling should come just below the pastry line

4. Cool, uncovered, on a rack, for at least 1/2 an hour. Carefully remove the sides of the springform and put on a platter. Wait until the cake is thoroughly cooled before serving; the filling will firm as it cools.

Creamy, Delicious, Low-Carb Cheesecake

For some time I have been enjoying the delicious, low-carb "breakfast" cheesecake I invented a while back; it's very yummy, and nice and easy to make. However, I really was missing the delightful contrast in texture and flavor you get from a classic graham cracker crumb crust cheesecake. For the life of me I couldn't think how to make something that would work.... make low carb, sugar free graham crackers, just so that I could make crumbs out of them? That didn't seem like a good idea. What to do, what to do?

I recently had a flash of inspiration..... what if I used almond meal, just straight up almond meal, but toasted it in a saute pan? Immediate smash hit!

This is so yummy, and really straight-forward and easy. You may have a little leftover "crumbs"; if so, they store well in the fridge for your next batch - which I predict you will be making very soon! However, they are quite tasty sprinkled on the top of the cheesecake, or even eaten straight up with a spoon.


PREHEAT OVEN TO 325 F

ALMOND MEAL "GRAHAM CRACKER" CRUST
 

almond meal before toasting

2 cups whole almond meal (I use Trader Joe's)

1 teaspoon stevia extract powder
1 tablespoon xylitol
2 tablespoons erythritol
1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
1/4 tsp salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons coconut oil

In a small bowl, whisk the sweeteners until well combined.

In a medium-sized skillet, toast the almond meal, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. When the almond meal is just lightly golden and fragrant, remove it from the heat. Be careful not to overcook the almond meal - it will continue to darken and toast in the hot pan even after you have removed it from the heat.

Whisk the sweeteners into the toasted almond meal until well-combined.

Finished Crust

Add the butter and coconut oil, using the residual heat from the pan to melt them. Stir until all is well-combined. Set aside.









CHEESECAKE FILLING


2 cups full-fat cottage cheese (full fat is the lowest in carbs)
1 cup full-fat cream cheese (lowest in carbs)
1/2 cup full-fat Greek yoghurt (lowest in carbs)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 tsp stevia
1 tablespoons xylitol
2 tablespoons erythritol
3 tablespoons coconut palm sugar

Bring all of the ingredients to room temperature.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sweeteners until well-combined.

Using an immersion blender, blender or food processor,  process the cottage cheese until smooth. Add the cream cheese, yoghurt and vanilla and process until smooth. Add the eggs and sweeteners and process until smooth.


PUT THEM ALL TOGETHER

Using your ramekin collection, put 2-4 tablespoons of the "graham cracker crust" mix in the bottom of each cup, depending on the size of the vessel and your taste. Press the crumbs down using the back of a spoon.

Spoon the filling on top of the crumb crust. The number of ramekins you make depends on the size of the ramekin and how much of the crumb mixture is in it.

When you have used all of the filling up, put them into a large roasting pan, and carefully pour boiling water all around them.

Place into your pre-heated, 325 F oven and bake until firm, around 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Devour!




 

Zucchini Fritters

Last week my husband went from letting me know his feelings about zucchini by looking unenthusiastic, to finally flat out telling me like it is; he does not like it.

I like zucchini. It is satisfying in summer soups, good grilled, tasty sauteed with onions and garlic, and I love slicing it, roasting it, and using it in place of noodles in lasagna. However, all these dishes that I enjoy leave Joel cold - and I planted two highly productive plants in my community garden plot this year!

I did make a number of friends happy when I gave them some squash (in foggy, cold-summered Berkeley, zucchini is hard enough to grow that no one secretly drops it on your doorstep and runs away in the middle of the night!) But I wanted to eat some of it, too.

As I was sharing this sad tale with my friend and neighbor Natalie (as I offered her, and she declined, a squash at our community garden plots) she mentioned zucchini fritters. She briefly described grating them, tossing them with salt, and frying them up, and that they were yummy with a meat main course. That description alone gave me inspiration - I could tell they'd be great. I went right home and figured out how to make some. O. M. G. These are just fantastic. When Joel came home that night and saw me cooking them up, he wondered what they were, and at my conspiratorial grin... and didn't recognize the zucchini part of it until I spilled the squash after we'd snarfed them right up.

So, this is my recipe, but let's give it up to Natalie, whose inspiration revealed a whole new level of deliciousness - and a way to make zucchini that makes everybody happy!

Zucchini Fritters
yield: about 10 fritters

2 medium zucchini, grated coarsely
2 - 2 1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 TB freshly grated lemon zest (1-2 large lemons)
10 sprigs fresh Italian (flat-leaved) parsley, finely chopped
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
olive oil for frying
Fresh lemon wedges for serving

1.  Preheat the oven to the lowest setting and put a large plate or baking sheet on the middle rack to keep the cooked fritters hot while you prepare the rest.

Freshly grated zucchini

 

 

 

2. After grating the zucchini on the coarse holes of your grater, put into a colander and toss with the salt. Let sit in your sink for 10 minutes. This will draw out the excess moisture. (Most of the salt will go down the drain.)





 3. While the zucchini sits, put the 2 eggs, garlic, pepper, lemon zest, and minced parsley into a medium-large bowl. Stir well with a fork to combine.

4. When the 10 minutes are up, squeeze the zucchini well with your hands to rid it of the excess moisture. When you are done, add the zucchini to the bowl of other ingredients, and stir well.

5. Gradually add the flour, sprinkling it over the zucchini mixture and stirring after each addition to avoid lumping.

Batter

 

6. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large skillet.

7. Add 2 TB of batter for each fritter to the hot oil, and fry until golden brown and firm on the first side. Turn and repeat. Add the cooked fritters to the heated plate in the oven. Serve with fresh lemon wedges.

Artemesia Ginger Rogers Cocktail

Just in time for the heat wave - a truly refreshing and delicious cocktail!

The Ginger Rogers is a classic cocktail, and after sampling one at Absinthe in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, I decided to adapt it for use with my organic liqueurs. There's only one problem with this cocktail - stopping at one!

Last night we had an important discussion; which is better, a classic gin and tonic, or a Ginger Rogers? My father-in-law and I agreed that Ginger Rogers is our gal.

Artemesia Ginger Rogers Cocktail

1 large sprig fresh mint - at least 8 or 9 leaves
3/4 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 ounces Artemesia Organic Ginger Liqueur
1 1/2 ounces gin
Best quality ginger beer/ale, such as Cock and Bull,  Bruce Cost's, Reed's, etc.

Put the mint leaves in the bottom of an old fashioned or large drinking glass. Add the lime juice, and using a muddler or a wooden spoon, muddle (pound) the mint leaves until they are well bruised and release their minty goodness into the lime juice.

Fill the glass with ice cubes, then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir. Serve with a straw. Optional garnish: a mint sprig and a lime wedge.

Sugar-Free Plum Butter

Plum Tree at our Community Garden

 It's early July, and plums are dropping like sticky rain all over Berkeley. From the tiny maroon fruits that blend into the leaves on the street trees, to the teeny bright red ones landing in the back yards, the full-sized purple and deep red ones, everyone with a plum tree has more than they can possibly manage.

Our neighbors Lisa and Brooks put out the call: come pick some plums - please! Naturally I hustled right on over, not having any idea what kind of plums were on offer. If they were large, I was thinking of galette or German pflaumenkuchen, if small, plum butter.  When I arrived, I found tiny ruby fruits covering a gigantic tree in their back yard, plonking all over the patio and grass, squishing under foot. Plum butter, here we come!  Good thing I bought some more canning jars.....

When the fruits are small, there is no need to do anything to them but rinse and drain them, sort out any rotten ones, and put them on the stove to cook with a little lemon juice and some calcium water.  You can filter out the pits and skins later using a food mill. If you don't have a food mill (I don't) a colander and a big pestle, wooden spoon or muddling stick will do just fine.

There are several flavor directions you can go in with plums to enhance their flavor; this recipe uses vanilla, which rounds out the flavor beautifully. I have also seen recipes calling for a piece of cinnamon stick instead, which sounds very good.  I wonder about star anise......

This recipe is completely, utterly delicious. I wonder if Lisa and Brooks have some more plums to spare....

Sugar-Free Plum Butter

6 pounds plums
2 vanilla beans, split OR 2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup lemon juice (I used Meyer variety)
4 TB calcium water
2 TB low-sugar pectin

2 3/4 cups erythritol
1 1/3 cups + 2 TB xylitol
1 tsp stevia extract powder
1 tsp unsalted butter

If the jars are brand new, wash them and the rings and lids to remove any chemicals left from processing. If they have been sitting in the basement, check them for dust, and wash off any you find. Put the jars and rings into a very large stockpot or canning pot and fill with hot water to cover by an inch or two. Put them on the rear burner of the stove over high heat and bring them to a boil. When they come to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and keep them hot and ready.

Following the instructions in your low sugar pectin kit, make calcium water. (I use Pomona brand.)

Prepare the fruit: wash and dry the plums. If large, cut in quarters and remove the pits. If small, put the whole fruits in an 8 quart, heavy stock pot, along with the calcium water and the lemon juice. If using vanilla beans, cut them in half lengthwise and add them to the pot. Put it on the stove and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is completely softened, to the point of puree.

While the fruit cooks, measure the sweeteners into a medium-sized bowl.  Add the pectin to the sweeteners and whisk them all well to combine.

My antique pestle works great!

When the fruit is ready, turn off the heat and put the whole mixture into a food mill or colander placed over a large bowl or another stock pot.  If using the colander, use a large pestle, muddler, or wooden spoon to force the plum flesh through the holes and leave behind the skin and pits and vanilla beans. Be as thorough as possible, and be sure to scrape off the exterior of the mill or colander to get all the good flesh that is left on it.

Here it is after removing the pits and skin.

Put the filtered puree back in the stock pot and bring it back to a full, rolling boil over medium-high heat.  When it is ready, get a long-handled wooden spoon ready, and gradually add the sweetener mix to the hot fruit, stirring constantly as you pour in the sweeteners. Stir well and frequently to dissolve the pectin and the sweeteners with the fruit and to prevent lumping. Add the vanilla extract and the butter. (The butter is optional, but keeps the foam in check.) Bring it back to a full boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Taste and adjust sweetness as necessary.  Turn off the heat.  Get ready to can. (Don't worry if it isn't as thick as jam; it thickens as it cools.)

Clear a good sized work surface near the stove, and cover it with clean dishtowels (preferably ones you don't care about!)

Turn the heat off under the pot of jars and move it to the front of the stove so you can reach them easily, and move the jam to the back of the stove so you don't get water into it by accident. (Put the lid on the pot of jam if necessary.) Using tongs or a jar lifter in your dominant hand, and a clean dishtowel in your other hand, carefully remove the lids and rings and drain them on the towels on your work surface. Lift each jar out of the hot water, dump the hot water back into the pot, and carefully guide and transport the hot jar over to the work table, using the towel in your non-dominant hand to support the jars until you get it safely to its destination. Turn it upside down to drain out the extra water. Repeat until all of the jars are drained and ready. Scald your best ladle and wide-mouthed funnel in the boiling water and have them ready with your jars.

Turn the heat back on medium high underneath the pot of water and bring it back to a full boil while you jar the jam.

Now, again using your tongs (or a clean towel, oven mitts, or tough hands!) turn the jars right side up, and line them up to be ready to fill. If you have a wide-mouthed jar funnel (which I so highly recommend - available at any good hardware store, Bed Bath and Beyond, well stocked grocery stores, etc., for less than $5) put it on top of one of the jars.

Grab your best ladle, and bring the pot of hot jam over to your work surface. Carefully fill each jar, leaving 1/4" of space at the top. If you have a wide-mouthed funnel, the bottom should come to just the right spot. If you don't, do your best! If necessary, spoon some out to reach the right level. After you have filled all your jars, use a clean, moist towel to wipe the ring area and the top surface of the jars clean. Again, if you have a wide-mouthed funnel, you are much less likely to spill the jam onto the jars and need to clean them. If you have less than a full jar of jam, put that one straight into use and don't bother to can it.

Put the lids on, followed by the screw tops, and screw them down.

When the water bath comes back to a full boil, reduce the heat to low, and again using your tongs, carefully lower the jars back in one at a time. (The shock of the boiling water can break the jar, which is a big messy bummer.) Boil them all for 10 full minutes, then remove them with your tongs, using the same tong/towel technique described above, and let them cool on the toweled work area. If necessary, work in batches.


Notes from Christine:

* Why the range of xylitol quantities?  The fruit varies widely in how sweet it is; if you have sweet fruit, use the lower amount, if tart, use the higher. You can always start with the smaller amount and add more if it needs it, but you can't subtract it once it's in!


"What's with all of these obscure sweeteners?" Erythritol and Xylitol are sugar alcohols; super low-glycemic, super low-calorie, super low-carbohydrate, and good for your teeth.  

Xylitol is low in carbohydrates and is about as sweet as cane sugar.  It has a fairly neutral flavor, but a little bright, almost pepperminty quality. It can be found easily at a well-stocked health food store or really good grocery store.

Erythritol has 0 carbohydrates and is very neutral in flavor - yay! But it is about 60% as sweet as sugar and is very difficult to find in stores, except in individual packets. As it is 60% as sweet as sugar, it takes quite a bit more to reach the right level of sweetness in a recipe, and this makes proportions difficult.  However, its very neutral profile - and 0 carbs! make it a natural for blending with xylitol and stevia, especially since stevia is so highly concentrated.  It's worth tracking it down by mail-order, or you could make a special request to a grocer to order some for you.

Stevia is a natural, calorie-free leaf extract, super concentrated and very sweet, but with a weird, bitter aftertaste and no volume; due to its highly concentrated state, one teeny-tiny scoopful (which comes in its container) is equal to a teaspoon of sugar. It is easily purchased at Trader Joe's or any grocery store.

Be aware that some Xylitol and Erythritol brands in American packaging are actually imported from China and repackaged. That is why I buy all of these directly from Xylitol USA, http://www.xylitolusa.com/ which manufactures them from North American sources.

(Sugar-Free) Fresh Apricot Crostata

Sugar-Free Fresh Apricot Crostata

Apricot feast or apricot famine! Last year - famine.  This year - feast!  I went to the farmer's market and bought seconds; ripe, delicious, and cheaper than firsts. First came multiple batches of jam, then a batch of apricot liqueur. I saved all the pits, smashed them open, and put them into some organic Prairie vodka to make almond extract. (The kernel in the pit is a "bitter almond," poisonous to eat, but what almond extract is made from; it's far more almond-y than almonds are!) I was feeling pretty satisfied, the larder was full and I had enough to weather the next famine; no need for more.  But.....then my friend Kate scored yet another massive batch of organic apricots at the farmer's market; the first time she scored 25 pounds and hustled to use it all, soliciting recipes from all her friends in the longest Facebook exchange I've ever seen.  Then she scored another 36 pounds - yikes!  This time she was ready to share some, so we traded; some Artemesia Organic Blood Orange Liqueur for 10 pounds of apricots.  The ripest ones needed to be used right away, so I just went straight into jam mode.... there went five pounds.  A few more went into the jar of liqueur, with more vodka to cover.  And that left me with about 3 more pounds.  Hmmmm...... Apricot Crostata!

If you notice any similarity between this and my recipe for sugar-free Linzertorte, you are a clever and observant reader.  I changed my recipe for the dough ever so slightly (almond meal only instead of hazelnuts, a little vanilla), and the filling recipe here is essentially a quick jam recipe.  In fact, if you don't have any fresh apricots on hand, you can use some sugar-free apricot jam - preferably home-made. Both commercial varieties of sugar-free apricot jam I tried truly had no discernible flavor at all, so if that's all you have available, I would doctor the jam; see below* for instructions.

The recipe would work perfectly with cherries, using exactly the same proportions (I riffed the filling recipe off of a cherry crostata recipe in the Gourmet Cookbook.)  If you use cherries, eliminate the almond extract.

Sugar-Free Fresh Apricot Crostata

Time to add the thickener

Dough
I.
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg yolks
Finely grated fresh lemon zest from 1 lemon
1 tsp apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla

II.
1/4 cup erythritol
3 TB xylitol
6 tiny scoops stevia extract powder  (the little measuring spoon in the container)

III.

8 oz/2 fairly packed cups of almond meal
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (spoon and sweep measuring*)
1/4 cup + 2 TB soy protein
1/2 tsp salt

Filling
1 3/4 lbs ripe, fresh apricots
3 TB unsalted butter, divided into a few pieces

1/4 cup + 3 TB erythritol
3 TB + 1 1/2 tsp xylitol
6 tiny scoops stevia extract powder

1-2 TB fresh lemon juice (I used Meyer)
2 TB kirsch
1/2 tsp almond extract

3 TB corn or tapioca starch dissolved in 1/4 cup water

Tools: a 10" tart pan with a removable bottom, a mixer

Dough Instructions:
Using your mixer, beat the butter until fluffy.  Then add the remaining ingredients from group I and beat until well combined.

Measure all of the sweeteners from group II into a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add to the butter mixture and beat until well combined.

Next, measure all of the ingredients from group III into a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine.  Add gradually to the butter mixture until it is well mixed.  Form the dough into two equal balls, place each on its own sheet of waxed paper, and squash into large disks. Put them in the fridge to chill for at least 1/2 hour.

While the dough is chilling, make the filling:

 
Filling Instructions

Wash, dry, pit and cut the apricots into quarters. (Save the pits to make  your own almond extract!)

Add the butter to a 12" saute pan and melt over medium low heat. Add the apricots, lemon juice, kirsch and almond extract and stir to combine. While the apricot mixture cooks over medium heat, measure the sweeteners into a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Add the sweeteners to the apricot mixture and stir well.  Please note: the sweetener amount is calculated for really sweet, ripe apricots (Blenheims are sooooo delicious!) If your apricots are a little tart and under-ripe, up the sweeteners to taste, and go with the lower amount of lemon juice - perhaps even dropping it; it's there to balance the sweetness. Cook until the apricots have softened somewhat, and released their juices, about 8-10 minutes. Stir up the starch/water slurry to recombine and add it to the apricot mixture.  Cook until the whole batch thickens and no longer tastes of corn starch, about 10 minutes more. You will have a delicious, flavorful filling. Let it cool in the pan.

Meanwhile:

Remove the dough from the refrigerator to soften, and pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Put a silpat on a baking sheet, or cover it in foil, and place on the middle rack of the oven to heat.

When the dough is malleable enough to roll, remove one dough disk and set it aside so that you can use both pieces of waxed paper to roll the dough with.  (Of course you can use an additional piece of waxed paper, but I like to use as little disposable stuff as possible.) Placing one disk between two pieces of waxed paper, roll until the dough into a 12" round.  Put it in the tart pan, and press the dough up the sides of the pan. You can trim off the excess dough or fold it over to reinforce the sides of the tart.  Put it back in the refrigerator while you work on the second disk.

Using your two pieces of waxed paper, roll the second disk into another 12" round. Remove the top layer of waxed paper, and cut the round into 10 strips, each one 3/4" -1" wide. Put the whole thing on a baking sheet and put it in the fridge to firm up a bit - this makes it easier to handle - while you do the rest.

Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator, and fill it with the luscious apricot filling. You may have a tablespoon or two left over; don't over-fill the pan - it will overflow and make a sticky mess. This extra filling is the cook's treat while the tart cooks.  Well, of course. you could eat it right now, before you go to the next step; I did.

Take your dough strips out of the refrigerator, and being mindful that the outside pieces are the shortest and you will need to repeat the strips going the other way, lay the strips across the tart, either straight to make squares or on the diagonal to make diamonds.  You may need to use a spatula to remove the dough strips from the paper. Pinch the outer edges of the dough onto the dough rim in the pan and remove any excess.  Repeat going the other way.  You will likely have a few small pieces of dough; again, cook's treat. You can eat it raw, or put it on the cookie sheet to bake; it makes a tasty shortbread-like cookie. Just remember to take it out after about 10-12 minutes, or it will burn. (I've done this twice now; phooey.)

Put the tart on the heated cookie sheet in the middle of the oven, and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the crust is golden-brown and the filling is bubbling.

Cool the crostata for at least an hour and a half so that you can safely remove it from the pan and cut it without it breaking.

*Special instructions for doctoring commercially made jam:  Take 1 1/3 cups apricot jam. In a medium sized sauce pan, melt the butter, then add the jam and thin it by heating it a bit. Add the almond extract, lemon juice and kirsch in the proportions shown above, and heat and stir to combine. Taste it, adjust the flavors, and follow the directions from there.


GLUTEN-FREE VERSION:

To make this recipe gluten-free, simply substitute your favorite gluten-free baking mix for the whole-wheat pasty flour. All set!