I've been baking again

[s'nic]

As always my bakes are reduced carb (not low carb), therefore not so good for anyone eating very low carb.

Today I made Spiced coffee and pecan muffins, they have black treacle and pumpkin spice in them. Very autumnal.

These are approx 33 carbs per 100g making them approx 25% less carbs than the average supermarket blueberry muffin (the supermarket had no similar muffin I could compare with).

 

[stephenS50]

Those muffins look absolutely delish...I would loved to have tried one @s'nic 🙂

 

[s'nic]

They turned out ok and taste nice enough, but at the moment my muffins are all experimental, and I think the treacle kind of overshadowed the coffee.

I think I either need to drop the treacle and keep the coffee ... or drop the coffee and add a few bits of chopped date. Dates seem a lower carb fruit than sultanas etc and I think they would be a good flavour match with the treacle, spice and pecan.

I'm basically looking at things to try and re-inventing each recipe

 

[stephenS50]

Yes that's the problem with Black Treacle...it can take over other flavours...and that includes something like coffee.Maybe you should leave it out next time @s'nic.

 

[Leadinglights]

As always my bakes are reduced carb (not low carb), therefore not so good for anyone eating very low carb.

Today I made Spiced coffee and pecan muffins, they have black treacle and pumpkin spice in them. Very autumnal.

These are approx 33 carbs per 100g making them approx 25% less carbs than the average supermarket blueberry muffin (the supermarket had no similar muffin I could compare with).

What is pumpkin spice?
No a fan of too much treacle it can be very over powering. It is often in recipes for Xmas cake and puddings.

 

[s'nic]

@stephenS50 yes, I'll definitely not mix treacle and coffee in the same muffin

@Leadinglights
Pumpkin Pie spice is an american thing, it could be likened to our mixed spice here.
I did some readings on what is traditional pumpkin spice. A bit more reading found different blends are used (as is the case with mixed spice). So using various recipes and the info on a traditional spice I blended my own (the modern version seems to have a cinnamon base).

Since it's the season ... my Pumpkin Spice blend is
6 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp spice, ground ginger
2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
pinch ground black pepper
I didn't have any cloves in the house so bought a bottle. I don't know if it was a particularly feisty bottle, but whew ... sniffing the jar, you can smell those cloves coming through!
I just mixed it up in a clean empty jar

I tried some fake pumpkin muffins (you can substitute butternut squash for the pumpkin). Alas I picked a recipe with about twice as much butternut as other recipes, AND I messed up the sugar amount. The result lacked a good texture, and were nowhere near sweet enough. I haven't tried those again yet.

 

[Ieva DUK]

Was about to say that these sound like the perfect autumn treat! My mother often bakes dates into banana breads and muffins and I must say that's how she has 'tricked me' into liking them. I think at some point as a teenager I had begun disliking whatever she liked most and dates were always on the top of that list, but something about their texture and sweetness in a muffin just tastes right!

 

[silver minion]

They turned out ok and taste nice enough, but at the moment my muffins are all experimental, and I think the treacle kind of overshadowed the coffee.

I think I either need to drop the treacle and keep the coffee ... or drop the coffee and add a few bits of chopped date. Dates seem a lower carb fruit than sultanas etc and I think they would be a good flavour match with the treacle, spice and pecan.

I'm basically looking at things to try and re-inventing each recipe

The muffins do look delicious. Would changing the treacle to a mix of chopped dates and a little maple syrup work? Not sure how much that would skew the carbs overall.

 

[s'nic]

The muffins do look delicious. Would changing the treacle to a mix of chopped dates and a little maple syrup work? Not sure how much that would skew the carbs overall.

I've worked out a method for minimum sugar which is great for muffins as the recipe itself needs none.
I just chuck the recipe in a spreadsheet and if total sugar (including that in flour and milk etc) is about 12.5g per 100g raw mixture then they will taste great.
Putting in dried fruit could result in relatively unsweetened cake plus spots of sweetness - this can be worked around by blitzing some dried fruit with some of the flour to distribute the sweetness without adding too much sugar.

I haven't worked out the minimal sugar I'm happy with yet, I know I can go a bit lower than that 12.5g per 100g raw tho.
While it would be easier just to use artificial sweetener, I prefer to just use minimal sugar 🙂

 

[s'nic]

Was about to say that these sound like the perfect autumn treat! My mother often bakes dates into banana breads and muffins and I must say that's how she has 'tricked me' into liking them. I think at some point as a teenager I had begun disliking whatever she liked most and dates were always on the top of that list, but something about their texture and sweetness in a muffin just tastes right!

I agree they would be good in these. I also never liked dates as a kid, but have been eating them in the Nakd fruit and nut bars, so I'd be happy to use them in a muffin.
I'm also considering dried figs as they are even lower carb.

 

[Leadinglights]

I've worked out a method for minimum sugar which is great for muffins as the recipe itself needs none.
I just chuck the recipe in a spreadsheet and if total sugar (including that in flour and milk etc) is about 12.5g per 100g raw mixture then they will taste great.
Putting in dried fruit could result in relatively unsweetened cake plus spots of sweetness - this can be worked around by blitzing some dried fruit with some of the flour to distribute the sweetness without adding too much sugar.

I haven't worked out the minimal sugar I'm happy with yet, I know I can go a bit lower than that 12.5g per 100g raw tho.
While it would be easier just to use artificial sweetener, I prefer to just use minimal sugar 🙂

Could you as a compromise use Half Spoon rather than all sugar or all sweetener. I find using almond flour I don't need either as it is quite sweet anyway.

 

[Jodee]

Good job 🙂
I daren't eat cake at the moment, although I did watch a real today, with 2 mashed banana, 3 eggs, cup of oats and cinamon, I was tempted but thought better not and settled for a Nice biscuit instead.

 

[s'nic]

Could you as a compromise use Half Spoon rather than all sugar or all sweetener. I find using almond flour I don't need either as it is quite sweet anyway.

I've avoided sweeteners all my life, and as much as possible I avoid chemically manufactured additives. Lets face it artificial sweeteners are a chemical additive, and even the 'natural' ones are UPF. Think of my avoidance in the same light as people who choose to refuse seed oils

Due to CKD I'm also trying to keep potassium and phosphate lower, so almond flour would not be the best choice for me. I'm open to suggestions of lower carb, lower potassium/phosphate flours tho.
I only have breakfast and one meal a day, so atm fitting a smallish reduced carb muffin in does not generally cause me to go over 100-130 carbs a day (yesterdays carb total was 94 including 1 muffin).

I plan to test another recipe - half wholemeal flour, half oats, with chopped apricot, some reduced sugar apricot jam in the muffin mix, and a little sugar if needed.
But not yet. once the current muffins are eaten I shall move onto tearing apart the all bran loaf recipe my friends mother used - that way she can try my spin on it when she next visits hehe.

@Jodee ick, I can't abide banana which has been cooked/heated. It has to be raw, and with a yellow, unspeckled skin!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I plan to test another recipe - half wholemeal flour, half oats, with chopped apricot, some reduced sugar apricot jam in the muffin mix, and a little sugar if needed.
But not yet. once the current muffins are eaten I shall move onto tearing apart the all bran loaf recipe my friends mother used - that way she can try my spin on it when she next visits hehe.

Happy experimenting @s'nic 🙂

 

[s'nic]

Reduced carb biscuits today - I'm reasonably happy with these.

I got the mix a little wetter than it needed, so had to add some extra flour. Also for the dryer crunchier biscuit they needed a touch more oven time. They also need a little bit more sweetness next time (fruit or sugar).

These were made with approx equal quantities wheat bran and oat flour (I just blitzed some oats) plus some wholewheat flour.
I blitzed some apricots, dates and pecans briefly in with the oat flour as a means of spreading sweetness further.

These worked out about 42 carb per 100g, and about 13g fibre per 100g hehe.
As it made 17.5 biscuits that would be about 8.25g carbs, 0.4g saturated fat, and 2.6g fibre per biscuit (carbs can be reduced by making them with artificial sweetener. Alternatively use a recipe from https://sugarfreelondoner.com).

 

[Kristy Star]

As always my bakes are reduced carb (not low carb), therefore not so good for anyone eating very low carb.

Today I made Spiced coffee and pecan muffins, they have black treacle and pumpkin spice in them. Very autumnal.

These are approx 33 carbs per 100g making them approx 25% less carbs than the average supermarket blueberry muffin (the supermarket had no similar muffin I could compare with).

These look really tasty

 

[stephenS50]

These look really tasty

They sure do @Kristy Star....I would love to have one with my Rooibos tea.

 

[s'nic]

Well, I tried more experimental cooking ... this latest was technically a disaster, but at the same time managed to be a success.

I tried to make a healthy version of my friends mothers all bran loaf. I included lower carb fruit like dried apricots and dried prunes in with date and a little mixed peel. Wheat bran instead of all bran (which has loads of sugar in it), and just enough sugar to sweeten the mix.
If like me you were tortured by being given tinned prunes as a kid, the dried ones used as a dried fruit seem 100% acceptable, and tastier than the heavier carb dates.

Anyhow, I probably got the liquid measures wrong, as the loaf / cake texture was totally missing.
I tried a very small slice to see how edible it was. Wolfed that down and went and cut a much larger slice
If anyone remembers bread pudding as a kid - it had that consistency.
And as a kid I loved bread pudding

So I ended up with a reduced carb, high fibre and extremely low fat fake bread pudding! I'll try fix the recipe, but to be honest I'm highly likely to make this version again

 

[s'nic]

Although it has loads of fruit in it, this weighs in at 31.5 carbs, has 8.4g fibre, and only 0.5g saturated fat per 100g
It can of course be made lower carb using artificial sweetener, and tweaking the fruit or the amount of fruit used.

 

[stephenS50]

You said it was a disaster...and yet it looks really good.I would have loved to try it @s'nic.