ALMOND VANILLA LAYER CAKE





ALMOND VANILLA LAYER CAKE
Tasty cake with recommended technique for cakes with my bake mix, plus the baking soda and buttermilk. Using the Gluten-Free Bake Mix, cakes will be denser, but this method really helps to get a better rise and a lighter cake.  Each slice has a quarter cherry which is 0.5 g carbs.  Give it to somebody who likes cherries, if you prefer. This recipe is in Volume One of Low-Carbing Among Friends.  I have made this cake with homemade almond meal (ground almonds) and almond flour.  It works well in both instances.

The sweetener tables for all the most common scenarios are in my cookbooks for your convenience.  For example, ¾ cup sugar sweetness (not ¾ cup liquid) using my bottle of sucralose from the EZ-Sweetz brand (whether the smaller one of 0.5 oz or the bigger yellow bottle of 2 oz – Zero carbs) would be 18 or 36 drops respectively.  Here is an article and video about the sweeteners. Part 1.  There is another article and video here: Part 2.



21/4 cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix 1 (300 mL)  
  OR you can use GF Bake Mix 2 with 11/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 tbsp baking powder (15 mL)
1/tsp baking soda (2 mL)
1/4 tsp salt (1 mL)
1/cup butter, melted (50 mL)
Liquid sweetener to equal 3/cup sugar (175 mL)
1/cup powdered sweetener (125 mL)
1 cup buttermilk* (250 mL)
1 tbsp vanilla extract (15 mL)
4 eggs, separated
1/tsp cream of tartar (2 mL)
Caramel Frosting  (See recipe below), OR
  use your favorite frosting - see some ideas here

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).  Grease the bottoms only of 2, 8-inch nonstick cake pans really well and dust with a small sprinkling of bake mix.  Set aside.  In large bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In food processor, process butter and egg yolks.  Add liquid sweetener and powdered sweetener.  Add buttermilk and vanilla extract; process well. 

In food processor with whipping assembly or in small, chilled bowl using electric mixer, process egg whites until frothy.  Add cream of tartar and continue whipping until egg whites are stiff.

Add dry ingredients to buttermilk mixture, processing well until thickened, scraping sides occasionally.  Place in a large bowl with a small scoop of egg whites.  Fold the scoop of egg whites in with a spatula to loosen up the batter.  Add half of the remaining egg whites and fold in more gently bringing the batter from underneath up and over the egg whites.  Repeat with remaining egg whites until batter is streaked.  Be careful not to overwork the egg whites as you don’t want to break them down too much.  Pour into cake pans, smoothing tops gently and evenly.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until turning brown on top, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Loosen sides with knife and using spatula loosen underneath cake, support with hand; invert on cake rack.

Helpful Hints:  *If desired use Hood Calorie Countdown milk or Carolyn’s low-carb milk.  To make homemade buttermilk, add 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice in measuring cup and then fill with milk; set aside 5 minutes.  

CARAMEL FROSTING
My husband said this frosting tastes like caramel!

Liquid sweetener to equal 1 cup sugar (500 mL)
6 tbsp powdered sweetener (90 mL)
1/cup cream and water mixture, OR (75 mL)
  Half-and-half
6 tbsp vanilla whey protein powder (90 mL)
1/4 cup whole, OR skim milk powder (50 mL)
2 tbsp chocolate whey protein powder (25 mL)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (25 mL)
1 egg yolk

In blender, combine liquid sweetener, powdered erythritol, cream and water mixture (or half-and-half), vanilla whey protein, whole or skim milk powder, chocolate whey protein and butter.  Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape sides frequently.  Add egg yolk and blend again.  If the frosting is too thick, add water one tablespoon at a time.  If the frosting is too liquidy, add more vanilla whey protein, one tablespoon at a time.

Helpful Hint:  This frosting is enough to frost a double layered cake completely or a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) cake.


Yield:   12 serv. with frost.

1 serving

214.0 calories

9.0 g protein

16.4 g fat

6.3 g net carbs