Crustless Lemony Goat Cheesecakes

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I got the idea of making a goat cheesecake after spotting it on the menu at Abattoir on Wednesday. I didn't order it, for I thought I could make my own lower-carb and higher-protein version. It has double the calories of my usual fat free cheesecakes; I wasn't able to find any reduced fat fresh goat cheeses. I used some fat free cream cheese, but not enough to cover up the slight tang and the sweetness of goat cheese. If the calorie count is too high for you, use smaller ramekins and reduce baking time, use fat free sour cream, and/or use a reduced fat goat cheese.

Ideas for toppings: reduced balsamic vinegar, fresh blueberries and blackberries, lemon curd, fresh whipped cream

Tips when making this:
-Be careful when placing and removing the roasting pan from the oven. It is pretty heavy, and you don't want to splash water in the cheesecakes. You could line the ramekins with tinfoil, but I was too lazy to do this.

-Be careful when removing the ramekins from the roasting dish. I accidentally dropped one because my hands are too small to hold one at a time, and I dipped the thumb of my oven mitt into the cheesecake :(.

Equipment:
-Food processor
-Plastic spatula
-Food scale
-Zester
-1/4 t measurement
-4 4-6 oz ramekins
-Cooking spray
-1 large roasting pan

Ingredients:
-6 oz fresh goat cheese
-4 oz fat free cream cheese
-1 serving egg substitute
-1/2 cup Splenda granular
-1/2 cup light sour cream
-zest of 1/2 lemon
-juice of 1/2 lemon
-3/4 t vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
-Pinch of kosher salt

1) Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Place cheeses in a food processor. Pulse until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as necessary.

3) Add egg substitute and Splenda to food processor. Pulse until combined. Scrape down the sides as necessary.

4) Add the light sour cream, zest, juice, vanilla, and salt. Pulse until combined. Scrape down the sides as necessary.

5) Coat each ramekin with cooking spray and then fill each with equal amounts of cheesecake batter. Arrange them in the roasting pan so that they don't touch, and then fill the pan with hot water halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

6) Place roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the ramekins from the roasting pan, and let them rest for 30 minutes at room-temperature. Cover with saran wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Each cheesecake has
190 calories
10g fat
8.75g carbs
16.5g protein

Heavenly Chocolate Rum Cupcakes

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I haven't had rum cake since I was 9 years old and visiting New Orleans. I found a low fat chocolate rum cake recipe at this vegetarian site, but I tweaked it a bit. I try to avoid soy products, so I replaced the tofu for fat free ricotta cheese. Calabro brand fat free ricotta is the best I've tried so far; it is available at Whole Foods. I lowered the sugar by using sugar-free maple syrup and rum extract instead of rum. I increased the amount of protein by substituting 2 T of whole wheat pastry flour for chocolate casein.

I ordered vanilla powder and chocolate extract recently from Fante's. These were used in my cupcakes, but you may use vanilla extract instead and forgo the chocolate extract. I've found that vanilla extract is sometimes bitter, so I decided to buy vanilla powder. Real vanilla beans are quite expensive :p. The bottle of chocolate extract smells heavenly; I've read that it enhances the flavor of chocolate-y goods.

I opted for rum extract since it's a "free" food, and rum isn't available at Whole Foods, or any grocery store, where I went last night for whole wheat pastry flour. Georgia is very particular about alcohol: no alcohol sales on Sundays, except in restaurants, and beer isn't allowed to be "on sale" at liquor stores.

The inside is very moist and cake-y. They are a heavenly treat, and for only 46 calories to boot!


Servings: 12
Dry ingredients:
-1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-1/2 scoop (15g) of chocolate micellar casein
-2 T Splenda granular
-1/2 t baking powder
-1/4 t baking soda
-1/8 t cinnamon

Wet ingredients:
-1/2 cup fat free ricotta cheese
-1/2 cup sugar-free maple syrup
-6 T espresso
-2 T water
-1 t rum extract or 2 T rum
-1/2 t chocolate extract (optional)
-1/4 t vanilla powder or 1/2 t vanilla extract

Rum glaze ingredients:
-2 T sugar-free maple syrup
-2 T espresso
-1/2 and 1/4 t rum extract or 1 1/2 T rum

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Put the wet ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth.

3) Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium-size mixing bowl.

4) Whisk the wet and dry ingredients together until smooth.



5) Divide mixture among a 12-cup muffin pan sprayed with cooking spray.

6) Bake for 30-35 minutes; a toothpick will not come out totally clean.

7) Let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes.

8) Meanwhile, combine the rum glaze ingredients. Microwave for 10 seconds, and then brush onto the cupcakes. Apply 2 coats.







Each cupcake has
46 calories
1g fat
5g net carbs
1g fiber
and 3g protein

Flourless Macadamia Nut Cookies

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My dad is a big fan of macadamia nuts, and he's on a low carb diet. These cookies should probably be avoided by calorie counters. They are absolutely delicious, and stopping at one might be difficult for some :).

The dough is very easy to make: there are only 4 ingredients, and you just use a food processor. It needs to chill overnight in the fridge. I found the recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen and altered it slightly, substituting macadamia nuts for pistachios.

I used a cute, inexpensive mini-muffin tin from Fante's for the majority of the baking time, and then I removed the cookies and finished baking them on a jelly roll sheet. The dough is dense and doesn't spread much when baking, so you can use cookie cutters and trust that the cookies won't look like random blobs in the end.

Servings: 27
Ingredients:
-2 oz macadamia nuts, plus 27 nuts for topping
-1/2 cup & 1 T Splenda granular
-3/4 cup & 4 t almond meal
-1 egg

1) Grind 2 oz of macadamia nuts and 1 T Splenda in a food processor.

2) Add the almond meal and the rest of the splenda, and grind until combined and sticky.

3) Add the egg to the mix and process again until fully combined.

4) Wrap the dough in saran wrap and chill overnight in the fridge.



5) Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

6) Fill a teaspoon with the dough, remove and top with a macadamia nut. Push on the nut slightly so it will stick to the dough. Do this 27 times.



7) Put the cookies on a jelly roll sheet (no need to grease; the dough is already quite oily) or put it into a tin like I did. Or, skip the nut topping, roll out the dough, and use cookie cutters. If using a jelly roll sheet, bake for 15-18 minutes. If using a tin, bake for 15 minutes, blot and then pop out the cookies, and finish baking on a jelly roll sheet for 5 minutes, or until the cookies are golden on the edges.



Each cookie has
50 calories
4.5g fat
1g net carbs
0.6g fiber
and 1.3g protein

Seriously Nutty Protein Birthday Cupcakes for the Gym Rat in Your Life

My boyfriend (Hulk) is turning 24 on Monday. It took me 3 batches, but I finally concocted a delicious low carb, high protein cupcake recipe.

Dry ingredients:
-3/4 cup almond meal*
-1 & 1/2 scoop (45g) french vanilla micellar casein
-6 T granulated Splenda
-1/4 & 1/8 t salt
-1/4 & 1/8 t baking powder
-3/4 t cinnamon
-3 pinches nutmeg
-1.5 oz raw hazelnuts
-1.5 oz raw walnuts

Wet ingredients:
-3 room-temperature eggs
-6 T unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
-2 T apple butter
-3/4 t vanilla extract
-3/4 t almond extract

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2) Chop the nuts and spread them out on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Put them in the oven and take them out when they are golden and fragrant.



3) Put all the dry ingredients except for the nuts in a food processor and grind to a fine consistency.

4) Whisk the wet ingredients vigorously in a large bowl until combined and a bit frothy.

5) Whisk the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until combined. Add the toasted, chopped nuts and mix.

6) Spray a 12 muffin pan with cooking spray or use cupcake liners. Fill each cup until it is 3/4 full.




7) Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cupcake comes out dry.



Each cupcake has 169 calories, 12.5g fat, 3g net carbs, 2g fiber, and 10g protein

*Almond flour is finer than almond meal. If you use almond flour, reduce food processing time.

Frosting recipe to come! Covering casein's texture is a little tricky.