Old Fashioned Low Carb Hot Chocolate (based on Tasha Tudor’s recipe)

Before the invention of processed hot cocoa powder mix in a box, when you wanted hot chocolate, you got out your saucepan! Sadly, hardly anyone makes real hot chocolate from scratch anymore, which is too bad because the powdered mix is a pale comparison to the real thing! Recently, I was reading my first edition copy of Take Joy! by Tasha Tudor, one of my favorite holiday books since childhood, and her book The Tasha Tudor Cookbook. Her recipe for hot chocolate, made the old fashioned way, inspired this sugar free, low carb version. This hot chocolate is so rich, creamy and decadent, you’ll never guess it is sugar free and only 3g net carbs per serving. (I prefer using a combination of sweeteners in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever zero carb sweetener you like and have on hand equivalent to 6-8 tablespoons, or to taste.) Add some of this hot chocolate to your coffee for a mocha that is out of this world!

Old Fashioned Low Carb Hot Chocolate

Makes 4 servings

2½ cups low carb milk of choice

½ cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 ounces unsweetened baker’s chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons allulose

2 tablespoons powdered erythritol sweetener 

½ teaspoon stevia powder (or add an additional tablespoon erythritol)

A pinch of salt

1 cup boiling water

1½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

10 drops monkfruit extract or stevia drops, to taste

1. Place the milk and cream into a sauce pan and scald over medium low heat. Add the xanthan gum and whisk until combined. Set aside and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, pour 1 cup of water into a sauce pan and bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Place the chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set it over the hot water until the chocolate has melted. (You can use a double boiler for this step, if you have one.)

3. Stir the sweeteners, salt and cocoa powder into the melted chocolate. Slowly whisk in the boiling water until the sweeteners and cocoa powder have dissolved. Pour the chocolate mixture back into the sauce pan. Boil the chocolate mixture for five minutes over low heat, stirring frequently.

4. Add the chocolate mixture to the hot milk and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and monkfruit extract (or stevia drops). Whisk again until frothy and taste. Adjust sweetness to your liking. Serve warm topped with whip cream, if desired. (If you have any leftover, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat to serve.)

Nutritional Information per 1 cup serving: 212 calories, 8 g carbohydrate (2.8 g dietary fiber, 0.2 g sugars, 2 g sugar alcohols), 18.7 g total fat (11.8 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 39 mg cholesterol, 163 mg sodium, 284 mg calcium, 33 mg potassium, 2 mg iron, 118 IU Vit A, 5 mg caffeine, 3 g protein. Net carbs per serving: 3.2 grams

Recipe and photo by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2022

All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate without the author’s permission.

Keto Decorative Snack Cakes with Ganache Topping

This post describes a technique for making adorable, miniature snack cakes using a decorative, silicone baking mold. You can use any low carb, sugar free cupcake recipe or boxed cake mix. I recently bought the Wilton Winter Snowflake Baking and Candy Mold and Heart Mold and, as you can see, the results are impressive! The warm ganache icing is poured into the mold, topped with a previously baked and cooled cake and then placed in the freezer to set. Later, when the cake is unmolded, the ganache topping is beautifully embossed!! These snack cakes may look fancy, but they’re really quite easy to make. Try this same technique with any silicone baking mold for a healthy, sugar free, low carb dessert that can be customized for any occasion!

Keto Decorative Snack Cakes with Ganache Topping

Number of servings depends on your baking mold

Directions:

1. Use any low carb, sugar free cupcake or cake recipe or boxed cake mix to make the mini cakes. Depending on the number of cakes in your mold, the recipe may need to be halved. Since my molds have six snowflakes or hearts, I halved my recipe to make six cakes. Follow the recipe, but be aware the baking time may need to be shortened. Bake until the top springs back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean. Do not make the frosting, if included in the recipe, because it’s not needed. Here are a few links to my favorite recipes I’ve tried in the past and can recommend:

Low Carb White Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Low Carb Hot Cocoa Cake

Low Carb Yellow Cake

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Other Ingredients:

Decorative sprinkles

1 cup Lily’s sugar free baking chips (any flavor)

2½ ounces heavy cream (6 tablespoons)

2. Spray the silicone baking mold with non-sticking baking spray. Follow the directions in your recipe or on the box to make the cake batter. Spoon batter into each cavity until 3/4 full. Tap the mold on the counter to level out the batter and remove any air bubbles. Bake according to recipe or package directions, until the tops spring back when lightly touched in the center and a toothpick comes out clean. After the cupcakes are baked, take them out of the baking mold and cool completely on a wire rack before proceeding. 

3. Once the cakes are cooled, wash the baking mold to remove any crumbs or oil and dry thoroughly. Spoon 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sprinkles into each cavity and set aside. 

4. Make the Chocolate Ganache: In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until beginning to simmer. Stir to make sure all of the cream is heated through and bring to a gentle simmer again. Meanwhile, place the sugar free baking chips into a heat-proof bowl. Once the cream is hot, pour over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. (Note: Lily’s Sugar Free Baking Chips come in a variety of flavors. If you use plain white chocolate, you can add ½ teaspoon of any flavor extract to the ganache to create your own flavor. For example, add caramel extract to make a caramel flavored white chocolate ganache! Also, you can color the ganache with a drop or two of gel food coloring.)

5. Carefully, pour the chocolate ganache into the baking mold, covering the sprinkles, until about 1/4 - ½ inch deep (see photo above). Take one of the cooled cakes and insert it into the mold (like a puzzle), on top of the warm ganache, and press down gently. Repeat with the remaining cakes. Place the baking mold on a flat tray or baking sheet and tap on the counter to help settle the warm ganache into the grooves and lines of the mold’s design.

6. Place the mold into the freezer and allow to set for a minimum of 3 hours, and 4 hours is even better. (This is important! You want the chocolate ganache to be completely frozen to make unmolding the cakes easier.)

7. Remove from freezer and, while the cakes are frozen, unmold them and place them, cake side down, on a platter. The cakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. For the best flavor and texture, remove from the refrigerator and allow the cakes to come to room temperature before serving.

Nutritional Information per cake varies, depending on the recipe used.

Photos and recipe by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2022

All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate without the author’s permission.