Keto Mini Cranberry Orange Bundt Cakes (Nut free!)

Every year I make a batch of sugar-free dried cranberries to use in my recipes and baking for the holiday season. (Click here for the best recipe I’ve found and the one I have used for years, by Carolyn Ketchum.) These little cakes are a great way to use these tart, ruby red berries. I love the combination of orange and cranberry, especially around Christmas time. Serve these cakes as a dessert or with coffee for breakfast. Either way I think you and your family will love them as much as I do! (Tip: Double the recipe to make 4 mini cakes and triple the recipe if you’d like to make a full-size bundt cake and extend the baking time accordingly.)

Keto Mini Cranberry Orange Bundt Cakes (Nut Free!)

Makes four servings. (1/2 mini cake per serving)

Cakes:

1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons coconut flour (32 grams in weight)

1/4 cup erythritol or allulose sweetener 

2 tablespoons unflavored whey protein powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

A pinch of salt

2 tablespoons sugar free dried cranberries, chopped

Zest of 1/2 orange (reserve 1/2 teaspoon for glaze)

2 eggs, room temperature 

2-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (or orange spice herbal tea, brewed and cooled, for slightly lower carbs, see note*)

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon orange extract (or 3-4 drops orange essential oil)

Glaze:

1/4 cup powdered erythritol or powdered allulose sweetener 

1/2 teaspoon reserved orange zest

1/8 teaspoon orange extract (or 1-2 drops orange essential oil)

1 tablespoon coconut or almond milk

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease two (4” wide by 2” deep) mini bundt cake pans well; set aside. (This recipe can also be baked into muffins or donuts, just reduce the cooking time accordingly.)

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, whey protein powder, baking powder and salt. Add the dried cranberries and orange zest and stir until the cranberries are coated in the flour mixture.

3. In a medium or larger bowl, beat the eggs well. Add the melted butter, orange juice or tea, water and orange extract until well combined. Add the dry ingredients all at once and beat just until there are no lumps and the batter is smooth. Do this quickly before the coconut flour absorbs the liquid and thickens the batter.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and spread to the edges. Smooth the tops with the back of a small spoon. Bake 25 to 28 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges and the tops are just firm to the touch and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. (The baking time may be different if using a metal baking pan, so watch carefully and do not overbake.)

5. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before flipping the mini cakes onto a wire rack. Cool completely before drizzling the glaze over the top, allowing some drips to cascade down the sides.

6. To make the glaze: Whisk together all of the glaze ingredients until a pourable, but slightly thick glaze is created. If too thin, add more powdered sweetener. If too thick, add more milk, a tiny bit at a time.

7. When is the best time to drizzle the glaze? If you glaze the cakes too far ahead, the glaze will soak into the cakes as it sits and become translucent. Still quite delicious, but not creamy looking and cascading beautifully down the sides. If you want the glaze to be quite noticeable, as in the picture, then glaze the cakes just prior to serving. The best alternative is to use half the glaze and allow it to soak in to keep the cakes moist and then, just before serving, drizzle the remaining glaze over the top for a beautiful presentation.

*Note: The 2 tablespoons of real orange juice add 3 carbs to the entire recipe, so 3/4 (0.75) carb per serving. If you wish, you can substitute orange spice herbal tea that has been brewed and cooled and subtract 0.75 carb from the nutritional information provided.

Nutritional  Information per serving (1/2 mini cake): 147 calories, 8.4 g carbohydrate (3.5 g dietary fiber, 1.4 g sugars, 1 g sugar alcohols), 11 g total fat (6.6 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 112 mg cholesterol, 174 mg sodium, 111.4 mg calcium, 61 mg potassium, 1 mg iron, 113 IU Vit A, 5 mg Vit C, 5.7 g protein. Net carbs per serving: 3.9 grams

Photos and recipe by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2021

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