In another article, I presented all the keto and low-carb baking tips I collected over the years. I tend to eat keto, with carbs coming from veggies or fruits. My family does not eat low-carb per se, more like “fewer-carbs” as I do not cook potatoes, pasta, beans, rice, etc.
In this article, I included all the tried-and-tested recipes that my family would want on repeat, no questions asked.
Breads and crackers
Flaxmeal bread from Lalena.ro, with an English version below:
Ingredients - 150g ground flax seeds - 5 eggs - 100ml cold, plain water - 1/2 teaspoon salt - 3 tablespoons extra virgin oil - 1 teaspoon baking powder - seeds to sprinkle on to, sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, sesame, etc. (optional) Method You can either grind fresh flax seeds with a dry coffee grinder or buy ground flax seeds. In a bowl, mix eggs and water. Add salt and olive oil, mix with a whisk. Add the ground flax seeds and baking powder. Mix well, so you get a uniform mixed batter. The dough will be liquid, which is fine. Leave the dough in the bowl for 30-60 minutes at room temperature. The dough will become denser from the flax seeds. Heat the oven at 160C degrees. Prep your sheet pan (25 * 40cm, or 10 by 15 inches). Using a spoon, spread the batter in the pan. For thicker slices of bread, do not fill the pan. The original recipe has an image to show the space in the pan. Sprinkle any seeds you like - sunflower, sesame, hemp, pumpkin, etc Bake the bread in the preheated oven at 160C degrees for 30 minutes. It should be ready when the bread is lightly browned on top, although it is difficult to notice due to the specific colour of the flax. Allow to cool in the pan for 1 hour or more, preferably over the night, and you can get fresh bread in the morning. Then, cut it into medium pieces, about the size of a slice of classic bread. The original recipe shows a section image, it's fluffy, tender but at the same time quite firm in texture.
Keto bread from Madeline.ro, scroll down on the recipe page for the English version.
Keto cheese crackers or “bulete de cascaval” in Romanian, from Madeline.ro, scroll down on the recipe page for the English version.
Low-carb graham crackers from Caroline Ketchum’s blog, All Day I Dream About Food, the author of The Ultimate Guide To Keto Baking cookbook. Incredible tasty, my daughter and my husband are usually fighting over the last bites.
Parmesan low-carb crackers from Madeline.ro, scroll down on the recipe page for the English version.
Cakes
Flourless low-carb cake from EdithsKitchen.ro, ketofied below:
Ingredients for a 15-18 cm diameter springform pan
- 190g sugar-free, unsalted almond or peanut butter
- 90g erythritol
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon aluminium-free baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5-6 drops of liquid stevia (optional, counteracts the erythritol cooling aftertaste)
- 60g sugar-free chocolate chip cookies or coarsely chopped sugar-free chocolate (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C degrees.
Prepare the springform pan.
Mix the nut butter with erythritol, eggs, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Add the chocolate chips if using.
Pour the batter into a 15-18 cm diameter pan.
Let the batter bake for 30 minutes.
Once finished, remove the cake from the pan and let it cool onto a wire rack.
You can use this recipe as a base for layered cakes with frosting. Initially, we found this cake to become drier, so next time, I made a sugar-free syrup from 50ml water, 3-5 stevia drops to taste, vanilla or your favourite plant extract. Put a few teaspoons of syrup on top of the cake.
Or, you can eat this cake as it is, decorated with some melted chocolate.
Keto raspberry mascarpone cake from Madeline.ro, scroll down on the recipe page for the English version. This is a cake using only almond flour. Note: I replaced the cocoa butter with unsalted butter.
Keto birthday cake from WholesumYum, a cake using almond flour and coconut flour. Note: This is a 3-layer cake, so I usually half the ingredients for our 3-person family.
Low-carb carrot cake from Madeline.ro, scroll down on the recipe page for the English version. This is a cake using almond flour, coconut flakes, and of course, grated carrots.
Low-carb cheesecake from WholesumYum.com. Note: usually, I use 800g cream cheese instead of 900g, still delicious!
Low-carb sponge cake from Madeline.ro, scroll down on the recipe page for the English version. This is a cake using only coconut flour. Exceptional with blueberries spread on top of the batter. If you don’t mind carbs, cherries or sour cherries would taste incredible in this recipe. My husband, who doesn’t follow a low-carb style, asked me to bake apple pies from now on only if I use a variation of this sponge cake, Madeline’s recipe for low-carb apple pie.
Desserts
Basic Almond Flour Muffins from Carolyn Ketchum’s cookbook The Ultimate Guide To Keto Baking. If you only make a recipe, make this one. These muffins are unbelievable tasty, perfect for a school snack, and freeze well.
Ingredients
- 250g blanched almond flour
- 60g granulated sweetener of choice
- 24g unflavored whey protein powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (my addition)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 114g butter, melted, but not hot
- 3 large eggs
- 125ml unsweetened almond milk or water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Preheat oven to 160C degrees and grease a standard 12-cavity non-stick muffin tin very well, or line with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
Stir in eggs, almond milk, butter, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Divide batter among prepared muffin cups and bake 20 to 25 minutes until the tops are golden and firm to the touch.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.
Notes: you can quickly transform this recipe with blueberries, raspberries, chocolate chips, walnuts, lemon and poppyseed.
Fathead sfintisori from Retetelchf.ro. Sfintisori or mucenici are a traditional Romanian recipe. Usually, these treats look like an 8, but you can easily shape them in any form you like, circles, hearts, etc. Perfect for a school snack. I added my twist to the original recipe by using unsweetened whey protein powder.
The first time I made this, we couldn’t eat any lunch or dinner after. These are some very filling treats.
Ingredients
- 170g low-moisture mozzarella, shredded
- 30g cream cheese
- 1 egg
- 50g erythritol
- 25g unsweetened whey protein (replace with 25g almond flour)
- 75g almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel (optional)
- 50g - 100g ground walnuts (must-have for Romanian sfintisori, otherwise optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 160C degrees.
In a bowl, mix the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, xanthan gum, erythritol and lemon peel.
Grate the mozzarella, add the cream cheese and melt for 1 minute in the microwave, mix the composition well, then leave for another 30 seconds.
I prefer to melt the cheeses in a pot with a thick bottom, on the lowest heat on the stove, constantly stirring, until you get a homogeneous composition. Mozzarella must be completely melted.
Leave to cool a little (2-3 minutes), then incorporate the egg, stirring constantly.
Then incorporate the dry mixture, kneading by hand until you get a compact and sticky dough.
On a silicone mat or some parchment paper greased with coconut oil, divide the dough into six parts.
Greasing your hands, stretch each piece into a long string and join both ends, forming a circle. Roll the circle in ground walnuts, then optionally, make an 8 from the circle.
After you finish shaping the dough, put the treats in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on the oven, as these can burn easily.
They are ready when they look brown.
Serve immediately.
Fluffy Keto Strawberry Cream from KetoDietApp
Keto Scottish Shortbread from Carolyn Ketchum’s cookbook The Ultimate Guide To Keto Baking
Ingredients
- 225g blanched almond flour
- 60g powdered erythritol
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 60g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (my addition)
Method
Preheat oven to 150C degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
Put the almond flour, sweetener, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine.
Add chunks of butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add water and vanilla and mix until the mixture forms a large ball.
Take the ring from a 22cm or 9″ springform pan and place it on a prepared cookie sheet. Put the dough inside and press firmly and evenly to create a circle.
Remove ring and slice into 16 wedges with a sharp knife. Do not separate.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden.
Remove from oven, recut lines, and separate the wedges on the baking sheet.
Turn off the oven and prop the door open. Return shortbread to oven to firm up for about 10-20 minutes. Make sure they do not brown too quickly.
Let cool completely and enjoy!
Low-carb crêpes from LowCarb-NoCarb
These are the keto and low-carb recipes that are always a hit in our household. I hope you get to try some of these recipes!