Chapter 13

Dazzling Low-Carb Desserts

In This Chapter

Indulging in sweets within the low-carb limit

Fitting fruits into your dessert repertoire

Becoming a master of sweet meringues

Puffing along with low-carb French pastries

Chomping on chocolate in the low-carb life

Recipes in This Chapter

Fruit Kabobs with Pineapple Dip

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler

Raspberry Ribbon Pie with Meringue Crust

Chocolate Cinnamon-Walnut Meringue Cookies

Basic Meringue Shells with Berry Filling

Meringues with Chocolate-Strawberry Whipped Cream Filling

Puffies

Chocolate Fruit Pizza

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Dirt Cake

T he word dessert doesn’t have to instantly introduce thoughts of deprivation and sacrifice in your low-carb healthy lifestyle! There are very creative and healthful ways to satisfy your sweet tooth without experiencing the dreaded guilt that comes with that last bite of a carb-laden dessert. In this chapter, I provide you with tips on selecting and preparing low-carb desserts. I introduce you to one of my personal low-carb favorites, the meringue, I take some of the guilt out of oldfashioned favorites like cobbler and bread pudding, and I help you indulge in your desire for the good stuff — chocolate.

Fitting desserts into your low-carb lifestyle can take some creativity. But in this chapter, I take a lot of the guesswork out of the process. Now, I know all about the infamous time factor in today’s lives. But if you can make mouthwatering and delightful low-carb desserts at home — and many rather quickly — does that get your attention? I thought so.

Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth

The secret to low-carb dessert success is replacing most of the refined sugars in your sweet creations. With that slight of hand, desserts can be light on the carbs but still sinfully sweet and delicious. You can have your low-carb cake and eat it too! But keep one little thing in mind — variety, balance, and moderation are the keys to success in all healthy lifestyles.

Choose your sweets wisely: Just because a dessert is lower in carbs doesn’t mean eating a ton of the stuff is a healthy choice. Remember: Calories count too. Also, beware of sugar alcohols because they can cause weight loss to stall for some folks and also create bloaty and uncomfortable tummies for others (see Chapter 2).

Eat sweets as dessert after your meal: After a healthy, low-carb meal, you’re no longer experiencing pangs of hunger, and you’ve consumed tons of good-for-you nutrients. Therefore, the urge to throw caution and moderation to the wind isn’t as strong. Try to avoid eating sweets as a snack. I know this isn’t going to always happen when you’re having a craving for something sweet. Just be selective when you give into those cravings. (And check out Chapter 14 where I present all kinds of other low-carb snacking options.)

Drink tea or coffee with your sweets: I’ve found that drinking a cup of hot tea or coffee when I want something sweet helps me not want so much of the sweet food.

There are a gazillion low-carb sweet products, including prepackaged brownies and cheesecakes, cookies, muffin mixes, candy bars, and ice cream out there. Always read the labels on these sweets (see Chapter 3 for a label- reading lesson). Sometimes these products are very high in calories and are loaded with sugar alcohols and nasty additives. Just because it says low-carb doesn’t make it friendly to a healthy lifestyle.

Sugar is more than sweet

Sugar can be a huge contributor to obesity, chronic diseases, everyday weight gain, and a bunch of other maladies. Sugar is high in calories, and it has absolutely no nutritional benefits. Those are the facts. But it’s also a fact that most folks, including yours truly, enjoy the sweet stuff. But sugar also does so much more than just sweeten and enhance the flavor in cooking. Especially in baking, sugar performs a number of what I consider important “mechanical” or “technical” functions:

Under heat, sugar caramelizes, which makes your food a pretty golden brown and makes it smell wonderful while it’s cooking and baking.

Sugar makes your cookies and cakes tender, moist, light, and airy.

Sugar produces structure in baked goodies by interacting with proteins and starches during the baking process.

Sugar provides nourishment to yeast and therefore speeds up the growth of the yeast.

Sugar acts as a preservative in jams and jellies.

Sugar not only enhances the flavor of ice cream but also adds to the smoothness and texture of ice cream.

Sugar provides you with a mouth-feel that’s difficult to duplicate. Mouth-feel is about the texture of food. With your low-carb lifestyle, you may miss that certain crispness that you used to get from a potato chip or a pickle, the chewiness of soft candies, or the fresh soft feel of cakes and crunchiness of cookies. The texture or mouth-feel of the foods that are baked with sugar is one that you may certainly miss — it’s what makes certain foods (especially sweets) so appealing and satisfying.

White sugar isn’t included in a healthy low-carb lifestyle. As an old-fashioned Midwest cook, I’m the first to admit that baking without sugar is especially challenging. I have certainly had my share of flops of sweet treats made with artificial sweeteners that ended up in the trashcan! But sweet help is here!

Choosing a sweetener that fits your needs

Artificial sweeteners have come a long way, and I’m sure that you have your favorite. In the recipes in this book, I call for Splenda (either in packets or in granular form) or Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking. They work well for me in my cooking and baking, and they agree with my low-carb life. Just for the record, I’m a Splenda advocate, but in no way do I profit from your purchase of Splenda. It just works for me, and sharing what has worked for me in my low-carb lifestyle over the past ten-plus years is what a lot of this book is about.

Splenda works well for baking and cooking fruits and desserts because it has the capacity to stand up to high temperatures — it doesn’t break down. The recipes in this dessert chapter call for Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking because it works so well. Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking contains sugar. But 1/2 cup of Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking replaces a full cup of sugar. So don’t be mistaken that Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking doesn’t contain any carbs. Check out the comparison:

If you’d like to know all more about Splenda, check out Chapter 4, or for the complete story, visit www.splenda.com.

You can use any artificial sweetener as a substitute for any of the artificial sweetener ingredients the recipes in this chapter call for. I believe that artificial sweeteners are a personal choice in your low-carb lifestyle (get the scoop on artificial sweeteners in Chapter 2). But keep in mind that different artificial sweeteners react differently — especially in baking — so if you substitute suggested ingredients in the recipes in this chapter, the outcome may not be the same. I personally prefer not to cook with polyols and sugar alcohols. But I’m not here to try to convince you to do it my way. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” If it’s working for you, keep cookin’!

Some artificial sweeteners don’t hold up well in cooking and baking when heated and may actually be dangerous to your health. Aspartame is one of these artificial sweeteners. I encourage you to do your homework and research to make sure you’re using safe sweeteners. And, yes, there’s a huge controversy over artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols/polyols (see Chapter 2 for more on this controversy).

Picking the Finest Fruit Desserts

Have a look in Mother Nature’s recipe box, and you’ll find sweet treats sweetened with natural sugar. Mother Nature is clever in her packing methods of fruits, which contain no preservatives and are brimming with nutrients and vitamins. As a special added benefit, she bulks fresh fruits with fiber that fills you up and not out. The fiber factor is important to your low-carb healthy lifestyle not only for the health benefits but also for its help in lowering the net carb counts (see Chapter 2 for more on net carbs). Clever lady, Mother Nature!

While some fruits are higher in carb counts, such as pineapple and bananas, opt for a seed fruit like blackberries and raspberries, and the fiber count goes way up. When you subtract the fiber count from the carb count for these sweet berries, the net carb counts are very reasonable in your low-carb lifestyle. (See Chapter 3 for more on fruits that work in a low-carb diet.)

If you use canned fruits, you can reduce the carb counts even more if you drain the fruit and rinse it.

Choosing light desserts to end meals if you’re already full makes so much sense. There are a lot of wonderful fresh fruit recipes that can satisfy your sweet tooth after a great meal. One way to dress up fresh fruits and create scrumptious desserts is with low-carb sauces made from yogurts, sour cream, mascarpone, and cream cheese (see Chapter 14 for some specific suggestions). So get into fruit design and create some beautiful and healthy fruit plates for desserts.

Fruit Kabobs with Pineapple Dip

This fruit dessert is simple and refreshing, and the pineapple dip makes it shine. Feel free to include other fruits on your bamboo skewers; just remember that carb counts will vary. Did you ever think that something so pretty could be so good for your low-carb lifestyle? This dessert is a great dish to take to a summer barbecue. The pineapple dip here calls for plain yogurt. As always, look for the lowest sugar and carb counts you can find. And heads up: You need bamboo skewers for this one. Check out the dessert spread in the color section of the book to get a glimpse of these kabobs.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 12 to 14 minutes

Cooling time: About 1 hour

Yield: 6 servings

1/4 cup low-sugar apple juice

1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 cup small fresh strawberries

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 cup cubed cantaloupe

2 kiwis, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices

2 nectarines, with peel, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

1 To make the pineapple dip, combine the apple juice and pineapple in a small saucepan, and bring to a quick boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pineapple mixture from the heat and let it stand until cool (about 1/2 hour).

2 Place the cooled pineapple mixture in your blender, adding the yogurt. Blend the pineapple mixture and yogurt until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

3 Place pieces of fruit — strawberry, blackberry, cantaloupe, kiwi, and nectarine — alternating the fruits on the bamboo skewers and filling the kabobs.

4 Serve the fruit kabobs with the pineapple dip.

Tip : You can find frozen pineapple chunks very reasonably priced in the frozen section of your grocery store. That way you don’t have to attack a whole pineapple for this recipe. The produce section has fresh pineapple already cut up and sold in little clear boxes, but it’s very pricey.

Per serving: Calories 94 (From Fat 8); Fat 1g (Saturated 0g); Cholesterol 1mg; Sodium 10mg; Carbohydrate 22g; Dietary Fiber 4g (Net Carbohydrate 18g); Protein 2g.

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler

If you love berry pies and cobblers, you may think you can’t enjoy them with your low-carb lifestyle. Well, not with this old-fashioned Midwest cook at the low-carb helm! I’ve developed this incredible low-carb version of an old blueberry cobbler recipe I made years ago. It’s sure to please your cravings for cobbler. If you want to substitute peaches or a mixture of raspberries and blueberries, go for it — it’s your cobbler!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 to 35 minutes

Yield: 9 servings

Nonstick cooking spray

4 cups frozen blueberries, unsweetened

1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

2 tablespoons whole-wheat pastry flour

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 6 pieces

2 tablespoons half-and-half

1 1/2 teaspoons whole-wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8-x-8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix the blueberries, 1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, and 2 tablespoons pastry flour. Place the mixture in prepared baking dish.

2 In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup pastry flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking. Stir to combine dry ingredients.

3 Cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender (3 to 4 minutes) or a few quick pulses in your food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

4 Add the half-and-half, and stir until the ingredients are moistened. Mold the mixture into a ball with your hands (flour your hands a little if dough is a bit sticky).

5 Tear off a piece of wax paper about 18 inches long, so you have room to work, and sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons of pastry flour on it, spreading it out evenly with your hand. Place the dough on top of the floured wax paper.

6 Place another piece of wax paper on top, and roll the dough out to the size of the 8-x-8-inch baking dish. It doesn’t matter if the edges of the dough aren’t even. You simply want it to cover most of the fruit that’s waiting in the dish for the crowning glory of the dough topping. Use your baking dish as a guide by placing it over the top of the dough when it’s rolled out in a creative semi-square.

7 Pick up the piece of wax paper with the dough on it, and turn it over on top of the blueberries in the baking dish. Peel off the wax paper.

8 Combine 1 1/2 teaspoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Spray the top of the dough lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the dough (the cooking spray will help the cinnamon mixture to stick to the dough). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The topping will be semi-golden brown, but watch it, because you don’t want to overbake it.

Variation: Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or low-carb vanilla ice cream.

Variation: Instead of using the entire dough rolled out for the topping of the cobbler, use cookie cutters and cut out shapes if you’re celebrating something — Christmas tree shapes or hearts for example. Cut out 9 shapes, so each individual serving has a cutout.

Tip: If you haven’t used whole-wheat pastry flour, it’s so smooth it’s almost like silk, so you sometimes have to work with it a little differently. You need to be the judge of how mixtures feel. Sometimes you have to add just a tad more pastry flour, because it’s such a soft flour. You’ll get the hang of it after a couple times baking with it and will love it. It’s healthy, and it brings great light and airy results to your low-carb cooking and baking. You can combine whole-wheat pastry flour with white whole-wheat flour when you need a more substantial flour (not as soft a flour).

Per serving: Calories 137 (From Fat 53); Fat 6g (Saturated 3g); Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 110mg; Carbohydrate 21g; Dietary Fiber 2g (Net Carbohydrate 19g); Protein 1g.

For a quick dessert, slice up some fruit, such as apples, peaches, and nectarines, and add artificial sweetener, lemon juice, and cinnamon to taste. Pop it in the microwave to warm. Add a small scoop of low-carb vanilla ice cream and enjoy the decadence as the ice cream melts into the warm fruit.

Red, red wine and nectarines

Nectarines are a winner for a spirited treat. Allow one large, ripe nectarine for each person. Leave the skins on the nectarines and, right before dinner, slice them in a shallow bowl of red, red wine that’s been chilling all day (use the wine of your choice; a light red table wine works, as does Merlot). By dessert time, you have a chilled, spirited treat. Serve in something tall, clear, and stemmed for an elegant presentation. Add a sprinkling of fresh red raspberries on the top and maybe a dollop of whipped cream.

Dancing the Meringue in the Kitchen

You can do so much with meringue, and I guarantee it’ll bring sweet sunshine to your low-carb lifestyle. The beauty of meringue is that it’s mostly egg whites and no-calorie, no-carb air! You can make all kinds of cookies, cakes, ice cream cakes, pies, piecrusts, and simple shells. The list of fillings begins with fresh fruits, fruit purees, and fruit sauces and continues with all kinds of puddings and low-carb ice creams, to mention a few. You can make puddings from scratch, or you can use sugar-free pudding mixes. You can buy a bag of frozen mixed fruits and make a quick sauce. In a snap, you’ve created a delicious and beautiful dessert. If you’re having guests, meringue shells with mouthwatering, luscious fillings are sure to be a showstopper.

Whipping together a few ingredients

It’s best to separate the whites of eggs from the yolks when the eggs are cold. But the secret to increased volume and finer texture of your whipped egg whites is to start whipping them at room temperature. So separate and wait. The volume of your whites can be increased 6 to 8 times if you leave them at room temperature for no longer than 30 minutes before you begin beating.

1. Beat/whip your eggs until they form soft peaks and then add cream of tartar.

Soft peaks refers to egg whites that are beginning to foam and are cloudy looking. Don’t begin on high speed when you’re beating your whites. Start at medium-low to medium speed, making them foamy. If you start out with your mixer in high gear, large bubbles are likely to form, which isn’t what you want. You’re after lots of tiny air bubbles for great texture. Cream of tartar is added at the stage when the whites begin to foam. Cream of tartar is a mild acid salt. It plays a huge role in successful meringues because the acidic nature of cream of tartar acts as a stabilizer in the whites. When you stop the mixer and lift the beaters, the soft peaks should be a little droopy.

2. Add sugar substitute and beat/whip your eggs to stiff peaks.

When beating your egg whites for meringues, it’s best to wait until soft peaks begin to form before adding the sweetener. Crank your mixer up on high, and as the foamy whites become moist and shiny, it’s time to add your sweetener. So as not to deflate the whites, add the sweetener at the side of the bowl instead of pouring it in the middle. To get the whites to the stiff peak stage, keep your mixer on high and beat until the whites are glossy. Stop your mixer when the tips of the peaks stand up straight when you lift the beaters. This is a critical stage to your success in meringue building. A matter of less than one minute can turn your wonderful stiff peaks dull and dry, and then they’re useless.

Now you can build your meringue castles and shape them any way you want. One of my favorites that’s so easy is meringue shells — like the one on the front of the book. (That’s why we put it there — because it’s my favorite!) Meringue shells are versatile and can make an elegant presentation. In the “Mastering meringue shells” section, I show you how to build meringue shells step by step. But I also give you some recipes that include meringue piecrust and cookie options.

Figure 13-1: Reaching the peaks.

Here are some tips to help you get the hang of making marvelous meringue:

Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature. You get more fluff this way because the volume of the egg white increases when warm.

When you’re beating the egg whites, use a squeaky clean and dry bowl that’s preferably stainless steel, glass, or copper — never plastic. Egg whites just don’t cooperate in a plastic bowl because, even though plastic appears to be clean, it still can retain some grease that you can’t see. Also make sure the eggbeaters and the spatula are free of grease. To be sure your utensils are squeaky clean, wipe them with fresh lemon juice, rinse in warm water, and dry them thoroughly.

Make sure your hands are very clean and free of oil or butter when you crack your eggs. I’m not kidding here — grease interferes with beating the whites in the bowl, and greasy hands do the same thing!

If you drop a speck of the yolk into the egg white when separating the two, take the speck of yolk out with a broken eggshell. Again, this is about not getting any grease or fat in the egg white. If there’s a tiny speck of egg yolk in the whites, they won’t whip up to a high volume. That’s why you use a broken eggshell — so you don’t mess up the whites with a utensil that could have some residue on it.

Get a weather report before making meringues — I’m serious! If it’s raining outside or if the humidity is really high, getting volume with your egg whites is tough. No, I can’t explain it — it just is. Trust me.

Raspberry Ribbon Pie with Meringue Crust

I’ve had this recipe in my recipe box since I was in my 20s, so you know it’s a very old favorite. Back then, it was full of sugar and high in carb counts. But I’ve successfully brought this favorite back to low-carb life. This pie isn’t only delicious and very different, but it’s also very pretty.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour and 35 minutes

Refrigeration time: 3 hours

Yield: 6 servings

Nonstick cooking spray

4 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 1/2 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1 4-serving package sugar-free raspberry gelatin

2 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1 1/4 cups boiling water

10-ounce package frozen red raspberries, unsweetened

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1 teaspoon vanilla

Dash of salt

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

1 Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Spray a 9-inch glass pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2 Bring the egg whites to room temperature for no longer than 30 minutes and beat them until they’re foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until the whites begin to form soft peaks.

3 Gradually add 2 1/2 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking until the whites form stiff glossy peaks.

4 Spread the meringue with the back of a large tablespoon evenly in the bottom of the pie plate, and swirl it up the sides. Smooth it out. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes at 275 degrees. Turn the oven up to 300 degrees, and bake an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

5 Dissolve the gelatin and 2 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking in 1 1/4 cups boiling water. Add the frozen raspberries and lemon juice, stirring until the berries are thawed. Chill until partially set.

6 Blend the cream cheese, 2 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, vanilla, and salt, using a mixer. Fold in a small amount (about 1/8 cup) of whipped cream, and then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream.

7 Spread half of the white cream cheese mixture over the bottom of the cooled meringue pie shell. Cover with half of the red gelatin mixture. Repeat layers. Chill until set.

Variation: Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the meringue. Bake the meringue crust at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Cool and fill with a whipped cream filling such as the Chocolate-Strawberry Whipping Cream Filling in this section or one of your own favorites out of your recipe box.

Tip: For perfect whipped cream, chill your bowl and your beaters for about 15 minutes before whipping the cream. Beat whipping cream on low to medium speed just until soft peaks form. If you whip it too much, you’ll have butter.

Per serving: Calories 290 (From Fat 177); Fat 20g (Saturated 12g); Cholesterol 70mg; Sodium 246mg; Carbohydrate 19g; Dietary Fiber 1g (Net Carbohydrate 18g); Protein 7g.

The easiest way to make anything meringue these days is to use the egg white product found in your dairy case. These liquid egg whites aren’t expensive, and they let you avoid trying to figure out what to do with all those yolks. You can measure the whites by the cup or tablespoon, and the guide is right on the carton. Even though you’re using the egg whites in a carton, be sure to bring them to room temperature before you start beating them with your mixer. It makes all the difference in the world in the way they whip up.

Don’t even think about trying to make meringue on a rainy or foggy day. You’ll end up with a sticky mess. The humidity in the air makes meringue lose its crispness.

Meringue trivia

A bit of meringue trivia: A Swiss pastry chef in the early 18th century created the very first meringues. “Chef Meringue” was also known as Gasparni. As the story goes, Gasparni lived in a small town known as Mehryngen, and he named his elegant new dessert after his hometown.

Chocolate Cinnamon-Walnut Meringue Cookies

These low-carb cookies are great to tuck in your lunch bag. They’re also great served with your favorite low-carb ice cream. Make this treat extra-special by serving your ice cream in an old-fashioned sundae glass on a dessert plate with a couple cookies on the side. You can find these sundae glasses at the dollar store.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Yield: 14 cookies (1 per serving)

1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 teaspoons cocoa powder

2 egg whites, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/3 cup chopped walnut pieces

1 Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2 Sift together the Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, cinnamon, and cocoa on a sheet of wax paper. Set aside.

3 In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the salt and cream of tartar, and beat into stiff, shiny peaks. Gently fold in the cocoa mixture. Fold the nuts in last.

4 Drop generous teaspoons of the batter onto the baking sheets. You may want to use the old two-spoon method, using one spoon to dip the mixture out of the bowl and then the second spoon to push the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet. Give the cookies room, spacing them about 1-inch apart on the baking sheet.

5 Bake about 20 minutes or until set. Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight metal container at room temperature.

Tip: Meringue cookies don’t freeze well — the meringue becomes tough. Guess you’ll just have to eat them!

Per serving: Calories 36 (From Fat 17); Fat 2g (Saturated 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 29mg; Carbohydrate 4g; Dietary Fiber 0g (Net Carbohydrate 4g); Protein 1g.

Mastering meringue shells

Did that beautiful meringue shell filled with sweet yummy-looking fruit on the cover of the book get your attention? Did it make your mouth water for something sweet? You too can make great low-carb meringue sweet treats. I’ve dedicated quite a bit of time and energy in this section to help you master the basics of meringue making, and then you’ll dream up all kinds of scrumptious fillings for them. Meringue shells are my favorite low-carb sweet. They’re unique and like eating sweet crunchy air.

You need to make sure to have parchment paper on hand when making meringue shells. You can make the shells either by placing mounds on the baking sheet or by using a pastry bag. It just depends on how fancy you want to be. I make mine in mounds like this:

1. Line your baking sheet with the parchment paper.

This stuff is magical because the meringues don’t stick to it, and you just peel it off.

2. Place equal mounds of meringue on the parchment paper. You can do this with a tablespoon, or if you’re a precise person, you can actually measure each meringue (about 1/2 cup).

If you want to be really precise, draw 3- to 31/-inch circles on the parchment paper for uniformity. If you’d rather wing it, be my guest.

3. Hollow out the center of the mound of each meringue with the back of a tablespoon.

This hole is where you’re going to put your filling when the meringues are baked. It’s kind of like a little meringue bowl.

If you prefer the fancy way of doing things to recreate that look found on the cover of this book, use a pastry bag instead. If so, follow these steps:

1. Use a size 6 star tip on your pastry bag, and fill it with meringue.

2. Begin piping the meringue until you have six coiled circles (see Figure 13-2).

This should take up a space of about 3 to 3 1/2 inches.

3. Add one more piping around the outer edge of your meringue circle.

Basic Meringue Shells with Berry Filling

This recipe is the beautiful meringue shell on the cover of this book, and it’s just as delicious as it looks! I’m giving you a very simple and basic meringue recipe here that you can use for shells and for tortes with fillings. You can even make meringue ice cream sandwiches (find out how later in the recipe). After you master basic meringue, you’ll have so many scrumptious low-carb options you just won’t know where to start. Remember: The basic meringues have only 8 grams of net carbs each; it’s what you put in the middle that make the carb counts go up. Because this basic meringue recipe has a hint of vanilla flavoring coupled with a bit of sweetness, your sweet tooth cravings will be oh so satisfied. Let the meringue madness begin!

Preparation time: 15 to 20 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Drying time: 1 hour

Yield: 6 servings

2 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

Berry Filling (see the following recipe)

6 sprigs fresh mint (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2 Bring the egg whites to room temperature. Beat the whites until foamy in a squeaky-clean aluminum or glass bowl (not plastic) with very clean beaters. Add the cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla, and continue beating until the whites begin to form soft peaks.

3 Gradually add the Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking as you continue to beat until the whites form stiff peaks. Whites should remain glossy.

4 Spoon the meringue into 6 equal mounds on the baking sheet (see the text earlier in this section for tips and tricks).

5 Shape the mounds of meringue into nest-like cups. You can do this easily with the back of a small tablespoon, working from the center out and then smoothing around the edge of the meringue cup.

6 Bake for 35 minutes, and don’t open the oven door. You can take a peek to see if they’re done and turn off the oven, close the door again and let the meringue dry for 1 hour in the oven. Then transfer them to a cooling rack to air dry until you’re ready to fill the cups when you’re ready to serve. While the meringue is baking and drying, you can prepare the Berry Filling and chill it.

7 When ready to serve, spoon the Berry Filling into the meringue shells. Garnish with fresh mint, if desired.

Berry Filling

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 12 minutes

Refrigeration time: 2 hours

Yield: 6 servings

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon blackberry fresh fruit spread (no sugar added, preferably organic)

1 tablespoon Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1/2 pint fresh blueberries

1/2 pint fresh raspberries

2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved

1 Combine the lemon juice, blackberry fresh fruit spread, and Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking in a small bowl, and mix with a teaspoon.

2 Combine the blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries in a bowl. Pour the blackberry liquid over the berries, and stir the berries all together. Let the berries stand until juices form, probably about 2 hours in the fridge. Stir occasionally.

Variation: Fill the meringue shells with sugar-free vanilla pudding mix. Spoon 1/4 cup pudding into each meringue, and top with fresh blackberries.

Variation: Make plain, chocolate, or flavored basic meringue. Spread meringue in 3-inch flat rounds and bake. When dry, spread with your favorite low-carb ice cream (like chocolate chip). Pop another meringue on top, wrap it in wax paper, and freeze it in a self-sealing plastic bag. It’s a very crunchy sweet treat.

Tip: Trying to get your parchment to lie down on your baking sheet? After you whip your egg whites, plop a few small dabs of them on the baking sheet. Put your parchment paper on top, and smooth it down.

Per serving: Calories 91 (From Fat 3); Fat 0g (Saturated 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 44mg; Carbohydrate 21g; Dietary Fiber 3g (Net Carbohydrate 18g); Protein 2g.

Figure 13-2: Piping meringue.

Meringues with Chocolate- Strawberry Whipped Cream Filling

This recipe is quick, easy, and elegant. It just doesn’t get much better than this! Whip up the Basic Meringue Shells recipe I provide in this section. Save this for a very special occasion or indulge in some low-carb decadence. No you can’t roll in this stuff and you can’t eat the whole thing! See the color section of the book to see how these meringues shape up.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

1 pint fresh strawberries, halved

6 Basic Meringue Shells (see the recipe earlier)

Additional whipped cream for garnish (6 small tablespoons to hold strawberry garnish in place)

6 whole strawberries for garnish

1 Combine the cream cheese and cocoa and beat until blended. Add 1/2 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking and beat until fluffy. Gently fold in 1 cup whipped cream.

2 Place 1 pint of the strawberries and 1 tablespoon Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking in the blender, and blend until it’s almost a puree (don’t over blend).

3 Spoon the chocolate cream cheese filling into the meringue shells. Top with the pureed strawberries.

4 Add a small dollop of whipped cream to each shell and garnish each one with a whole strawberry.

Per serving: Calories 433 (From Fat 282); Fat 31g (Saturated 20g); Cholesterol 106mg; Sodium 173mg; Carbohydrate 35g; Dietary Fiber 3g (Net Carbohydrate 32g); Protein 6g.

If your meringues get stubborn when it’s time for them to come off the parchment paper, try using a very thin pancake turner to help coax them off without breaking them.

Storing meringues is a bit tricky but you can do it. If you’re planning to use them for guests or a party make them no earlier than two days in advance. To store, make sure that they’re completely cool and store in an airtight container separated by waxed paper at room temperature for up to two days.

Puffin’ Pastries Gone Low-Carb

What a treat — a specialty French pastry gone low-carb. I call them puffies, but the real name for this French delight is choux pastry. Puffies can be the beginnings of low-carb cream puffs, chocolate éclairs, and profiteroles. The variations are endless and left only to your sweet low-carb imagination.

You’ll be delightfully surprised at how quick these little puffies come together. You can even freeze them and pop them out when your sweet tooth is hollering at you. Puffies have a very low carb count, so the carb count of the finished puffy only depends on what you decide to fill or stuff it with.

Use these tips to master the recipe for Puffies in this chapter:

Heat the butter and the liquid in a small, heavy saucepan, heating slowly. You want the butter to be melted before the boiling point is reached.

You can simply drop the puffies on a cookie sheet and bake them, or you can get fancy and pop them in a pastry bag and pipe out the dough.

Place the puffies in a very hot oven first so they puff up, and then reduce the heat so they don’t get too brown while they’re drying.

The secret to not having your puffies collapse on you is to make sure they’re cooked and dry all the way through.

If you’re making round puffs, make a little hole or a slit in them as soon as you remove them from the oven to allow the steam to escape. If you’re making éclairs, make the éclair slit in them.

If you want more room inside your puffies for filling, or if they’re not quite dry in the middle, hollow them out while they’re still warm from the oven. Split them with a knife, and gently remove any soft dough from the inside. Fill them when they’re cooled and pop their tops on. Serve with a sauce and maybe a dollop of whipped cream.

Puffies

This is a quick and easy recipe for cream puffs that can be filled with everything from whipped cream fillings to tuna salad to fruits and berries to ice cream to sugar-free puddings — the list is endless. (Check out my suggestions in this chapter, and the dessert spread in the color section of the book.) And so your low-carb puff imagination begins. If you can resist, puffies freeze well.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Drying time: 5 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Nonstick cooking spray

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat pastry flour

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

2 In a heavy pan, combine the butter, water, and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low.

3 Add all the flour at once, and stir until the globby mix begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and form a ball (film will begin to form in the bottom of the saucepan).

4 Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for about 3 minutes. Add the whole egg and then the one egg white, one at a time, beating vigorously after each addition. The mixture will become smooth and shiny.

5 While the pastry is still warm, use a tablespoon to spoon the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, making 8 mounds.

6 Turn the oven up to 450 degrees, and place the baking pan in the lower third of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, and the dough will be well puffed and lightly browned.

7 Quickly turn the oven back to 300 degrees, and bake 15 minutes longer until golden.

8 Carefully cut a small slit in the side of each puffy, and allow the steam to escape. Turn off the oven, and leave the puffs in the oven to dry for 5 minutes. Remove and place on the racks to cool. Slice the puffs in half, and if there’s damp dough inside, hollow it out with a spoon.

9 Fill with your filling of choice and pop the top back on to complete your puffy.

Per serving: Calories 59 (From Fat 39); Fat 4g (Saturated 3g); Cholesterol 12mg; Sodium 87mg; Carbohydrate 4g; Dietary Fiber 1g (Net Carbohydrate 3g); Protein 1g.

Don’t get bored with your puffies. Try the following variations:

For chocolate puffies, add 1 tablespoon of baking cocoa and 1 teaspoon Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking to basic dough mixture. Fill with vanilla ice cream. Top with low-carb chocolate topping and low-carb caramel topping. Place four pecan halves for feet, and you have a low-carb chocolate turtle cream puff!

Fill a puffy with chilled sugar-free white chocolate pudding. For a quick low-carb topping, combine 2 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking and 1/8 teaspoon cornstarch. Add 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa and blend together. Stir in 1 tablespoon hot coffee. Drizzle over your filled puffy.

Low-carb ice cream makes a quick and tasty puffy filling. Choose from mint chocolate chip, butter pecan, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla bean, chocolate chip, or your personal favorite.

Prepare a small package of instant sugar-free vanilla, chocolate, or pistachio pudding mix. Prepare as the label directs, but use only 1 1/4 cups milk. Whip 1 cup of heavy cream, and fold it into the pudding. If you’re using vanilla pudding, you can add all kinds of extracts such as peppermint, almond, orange, or one of your favorites.

Dabbling in Chocolate Decadence

I can’t dedicate an entire chapter to low-carb desserts without offering a few chocolate recipes. Well, I guess I could, but I’m sure I’d be leaving out a lot of chocoholics out there. I once read that the original chocolate cake was called “devil’s food” — fitting, isn’t it?

When you’re making a low-carb chocolate treat and you need to flour the pan, use baking cocoa instead of flour.

The Chocolate Bread Pudding recipe in this section is made in a ramekin. If you’re unfamiliar with these baking dishes, check out Figure 13-3.

Figure 13-3: A ramekin for your Chocolate Bread Pudding.

Chocolate Fruit Pizza

This was a high-carb, high-sugar treat I made for my guests at my bed-and-breakfast in Branson, Missouri, and they raved about it. I’ve since made the recipe chocolaty low-carb and covered it with healthy fresh fruits. The crust is a pat and bake crust, so it’s super quick and easy. The combination of the chocolate and the light filling with the fruit and glaze is sure to make your low-carb heart smile (for a preview, check out the color section of the book). If you skip the glaze, you knock off a bunch of carbs. And if this carb count looks a tad high to you, look at a normal recipe for this dessert: The carb counts are up at around 70 or 80 per slice! I’ve specified fruits for the recipe but you can ignore me and use your favorites, just be sure to watch the carb counts.

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 17 to 22 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Nonstick cooking spray

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 teaspoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3/4 cup pineapple juice

1 teaspoon Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 cup sliced kiwi

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup red raspberries

1 cup blackberries

1 nectarine, cut in thin slices for garnish

1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9-x-1 1/4-inch quiche dish lightly with nonstick cooking spray (you can also use a glass pie plate; just don’t use metal).

2 Combine the flour, 1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, and cocoa. Add the softened butter, and mix until a soft dough forms (I use my hands to mix).

3 Press the dough firmly and evenly against the bottom of your quiche dish. Bring it up just slightly along the sides of your dish because it will shrink when you’re baking it.

4 Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until set. Don’t over bake! Let it cool completely before preparing the toppings for the pizza.

5 Combine the sour cream, yogurt, 2 teaspoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, and vanilla well. Spread the mixture over the cooled chocolate crust, and refrigerate.

6 In a small saucepan, combine the lemon juice, pineapple juice, 1 teaspoon Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, and cornstarch. Stirring constantly, cook until the mixture is bubbly and begins to thicken. Continue cooking, still stirring constantly for 2 more minutes. Let the mixture cool until completely cool.

7 Arrange the fruit on top of the pizza, saving the nectarine slices until last for garnishing. Spoon the cooled glaze over the fruit. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill until serving time.

Variation: Skip the glaze if you’re really in a hurry as the chocolate pizza still tastes yummy and it’s quick, quick without the glaze. The glaze is tasty too, but its purpose is more to hold the fruit in place and prevent it from drying out and turning brown.

Variation: You can also use individual tart pans for a special party and really impress your low-carb guests. Just be sure to watch the pat and bake crust, because it bakes very quickly in the tart pans. Set your timer and check them often!

Variation: This recipe makes a great chocolate crust for any type of pudding, chiffon, or ice cream pie. So get creative. Try filling this pat-and-bake chocolate crust with sugar-free pistachio pudding. Top it with freshly whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Per serving: Calories 270 (From Fat 124); Fat 14g (Saturated 8g); Cholesterol 34mg; Sodium 13mg; Carbohydrate 35g; Dietary Fiber 5g (Net Carbohydrate 30g); Protein 3g.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Talk about to die for — this stuff is the ultimate in chocolate decadence. The recipe tells you to make it in 1 cup ramekins, but you can easily make it in 1/2 cup ramekins and make 12 rather than 6. If you don’t have ramekins, use ovenproof custard dishes. You can serve this bread pudding hot from the oven, lukewarm, or right from the fridge. It’s a great decadent treat, but this isn’t an everyday low-carb snack. I guarantee it’s like no bread pudding you’ve ever tasted!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Nonstick cooking spray

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups cubed soft, fresh, low-carb bread (about 4 slices of bread)

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup water

1 egg, at room temperature

Splenda for garnish (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and place the rack in the middle of the oven.

2 Spray the ramekins (or custard dishes) with nonstick cooking spray, and place them on a baking sheet, spaced evenly. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Start off at 45 seconds on HIGH and then stir them. If necessary, pop them back in for another 15 seconds. The chocolate doesn’t have to be super runny, just melted.

3 Combine the Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, cinnamon, salt, and bread cubes in a medium bowl.

4 In a large measuring cup, combine the heavy cream with the water. Whisk the egg into the heavy cream mixture and add the melted chocolate, stirring until well blended.

5 Pour the chocolate mixture over bread mixture. Using a large spoon, stir vigorously until well blended.

6 Use a 1/2-cup measuring cup to pour the mixture into each ramekin. They’ll be slightly more than half full and won’t raise much during baking.

7 Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops of the pudding are just barely firm to the touch. Sprinkle the tops with a light dusting of Splenda, if desired.

Tip: The success of this awesome bread pudding depends on the freshness of the bread you use. I use very fresh low-carb white bread with no more than 9 grams of carbs per slice. If you’re serving to guests, create an elegant presentation by placing a couple fresh red raspberries and a fresh mint sprig on the side of the dessert dish with a dusting of Splenda on top.

Per serving: Calories 358 (From Fat 225); Fat 25g (Saturated 14g); Cholesterol 90mg; Sodium 239mg; Carbohydrate 33g; Dietary Fiber 4g (Net Carbohydrate 29g); Protein 5g.

Dirt Cake

Did you ever think that Dirt Cake would go low-carb? It seems that all your favorites are getting smarter and following a low-carb healthy lifestyle — even Dirt Cake! This recipe is great fun if you’re going to a garden party, a barbecue, or a shower — it makes a great centerpiece as well as a tasty dessert. I call for it to be assembled in a new plastic flowerpot and decorated with silk flowers, but you can also use a large, clear glass bowl like a salad or trifle bowl. You can use a regular terra cotta–looking new flowerpot or a clear plastic one. This is a very thoughtful treat to take to a friend that’s convalescing from an illness at home. If you’re going to a barbecue, you can freeze your dirt cake and let it thaw out when you get there. For even more fun, serve with a new, small garden spade. Check out this fine dessert in the color section of the book.

Preparation time: 20 to 25 minutes

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

2 packages CarbWell Oreo cookies, frozen

1/2 stick butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

2 small packages sugar-free vanilla pudding (the 4-serving size)

3 1/2 cups low-carb milk

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

1 Buy a new 8-inch pretty plastic flowerpot. Wash it out really well with hot, soapy water. Line the flowerpot with aluminum foil.

2 Crush the frozen cookies in your blender or food processor until they look like potting soil.

3 Using your mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking.

4 Prepare the pudding with the low-carb milk. Fold in the whipped cream.

5 Fold the whipped cream mixture into the cream cheese mixture.

6 Beginning at the bottom of the flowerpot (or bowl) layer your ingredients beginning with crushed cookies then the cream cheese/pudding mix, alternating layers. Be sure you end with the crushed cookies as the top layer, so your sunflower will blossom in the “dirt.”

7 Refrigerate until ready to serve, or freeze if you’re taking it to a gathering. When you’re ready to serve, wrap the stem of a silk flower in aluminum foil, and stick the flower in the middle of the cake.

Variation: You can also prepare this dessert layered in a cake pan. I’ve even seen this dessert served in a child’s plastic sand bucket served with a plastic shovel.

Per serving: Calories 419 (From Fat 274); Fat 31g (Saturated 17g); Cholesterol 79mg; Sodium 291mg; Carbohydrate 35g; Dietary Fiber 4g (Net Carbohydrate 22g); Protein 8g.