Monday, April 25, 2011

Low Carb/Sugar free/Dairy Free/ Gluten Free Dutch Speculaas Spice Muffins

Missing speculaas cookies since becoming gluten free and now recently eating low carb helped me to create this recipe.  Low carb, good amount of protein and high fiber help you to battle those cravings without cheating on your diet!




Speculaas Muffins 



Speculaas Spice Mix

4 tablespoons ground cinnamon,
1 tablespoon ground cloves,
1 tablespoon ground ginger,
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon ground cardamom.

Mix all the spices well together & place in a fitting bowl & screw the lid well on. Shake well until all combined.


4 eggs
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/3 cup sugar free syrup, such as Da Vinci vanilla
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp Almond flour (ground almonds)
1 ½  cup flaxmeal (ground flaxseeds)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp. speculaas spice mix (above)

In a medium, bowl, beat the eggs with a fork. Beat in oil, syrup, water and vanilla. In another small bowl combine remaining ingredients (mix very WELL you don’t want chunks of baking soda), then stir into egg mixture.

 Let stand 5 minutes. Spoon into well greased muffin cups or paper liners.

Bake at 350 F 12-15 minutes.

Remove from tin at once to cooling rack. Store in fridge!

Optional:  Serve with cream cheese icing.

Mix cream cheese and  sf vanilla syrup.  Front when muffins are cooled.  Store in fridge.

Low Carb/Sugar Free Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie


  Lemon Filling

1/2 cup Stevia in the Raw
4 packets Truvia
2 packets plain gelatin
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cold water
6 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter  (Earth Balance for dairy free)




Meringue

1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup Stevia in the Raw
2 packets Truvia sweetener
6 large egg whites
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Almond/Flaxseed Crust

1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
2 packets Truvia sweetener
8 Tbsp (1/4 lb) unsalted butter (Earth Balance)


1)  FOR THE CRUST:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix almond meal, flaxseed meal, sweetener and softened butter until crumbly.  Press into a buttered 9 inch pie plate.  Pre-bake for 12-15 minutes, until just starting to slightly brown.  Remove from oven and let cool.

2)  FOR THE LEMON FILLING:  Mix sweeteners, gelatin, salt and water in a large nonreactive saucepan.  Bring mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat.  Slowly add egg yolks, one at a time, making sure to whisk constantly.  Then add lemon zest, lemon juice and finally 2 Tbsp of butter.  Continue whisking until mixture is brought up to a good simmer.  Remove from heat, and cover with plastic wrap to keep mixture warm.

3)  FOR THE MERINGUE:  Mix the cream of tartar and sweeteners together in a large mixing bowl.  Add egg whites and vanilla and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.

4)  Pour the hot lemon filling into the cooled pie crust.  Using a rubber spatula, immediately distribute the meringue evenly around the edge and the the center of the pie to keep it from sinking into the filling.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the meringue is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  The lemon filling will still be loose.  Then transfer to the fridge and allow pie to chill for at least 3 hours to allow the lemon filling to set.