Low carb, not cardboard

Low Carb is NOT synonymous with cardboard. It can actually be delicious. 

So I had three goals this weekend. The first of which was the apple crumb cake. Low carb style. For le fiancé. Since I had, you know, like 4,283 Vermont apples still waiting to be consumed. The other 3.717 Made the best ever applesauce, and an apple pie.  I have a basic crumb cake recipe, which I took and twisted and tweaked until it worked. I learned that from Katie. She can’t strictly follow a recipe to save her life. It’s a chef thing. We bakers have to be a bit more careful because chemistry.  Ironic, that, as I failed chemistry miserably in high school.  Now, forty-something years later, I  understand that one doesn’t mess with the baking powder measurements, and yeast has to have the right temp water to live. Because chemistry.  Anyway, 

The recipe:

Low Carb Apple Crumb Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened slightly
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup granular Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 eggs, room temperature
6 1/2 ounces almond flour ( 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons )
1 teaspoon baking powder
3-4 apples (Honey Crisp and/or Gala), peeled and chopped

Cream the butter, cream cheese, Splenda and extract. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix the almond flour and baking powder. Add to the egg mixture gradually. Stir in about a cup and a half of Pour into a greased 8” square cake pan. Mix the topping ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over the cake batter. Bake at 350º 45-50 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and the cake is firm to the touch.

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, softened just until pliable

Makes 12 servings
Can be frozen

With granular Splenda:
Per Serving: 286 Calories; 26g Fat; 8g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 5g Net Carbs

I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, since, you know, I sort of adjusted it and made it my own.  This is le fiance’s second favorite, I think, after the Low Carb Chocolate Mousse (recipe here: Sinful Chocolate Mousse) It’s awesome as a breakfast cake, or as a dessert cake with whipped cream. The cake is moist (it’s the apples, I think, that help there. Almond flour tends to soak up a lot of moisture, they add a little extra).  It’s not overly sweet,  and the crumb topping is ALMOST as good as standard brown sugar topping.
And when le fiancé is happy, everyone is happy.

October ~Dolores O'Riordan