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29
Jun
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Sticky Toffee Pudding: Guest Post by Carolyn |
Today’s featured guest blogger is Carolyn, who writes the lovely All Day I Dream About Food. I can certainly relate to that! Carolyn is a genius when it comes to transforming the most indulgent, decadent desserts into practical low-carb and often gluten-free treats utilizing ingredients like coconut flour, protein powder, erithrytol and stevia, just to name a few. I’ve often wondered just how she does it, but then I remembered, when you dream about food all day like we do, the possibilities are endless. I’m so honored that Carolyn is here today to share with you her latest low-carb, gluten-free sweet treat, beautiful photography, and intelligent voice.
First off, let me say how immensely flattered I am that Cara has asked me to guest post on her blog. When I first started blogging my low carb recipes, I was reading a lot of other food blogs for inspiration. Most of them were conventional blogs with all sorts of lovely but not-so-healthy-for-me recipes. As a newly diagnosed diabetic, I needed help figuring out how to make delicious foods without the flour and sugar I was used to using. Cara’s was among the first more health-minded blogs that I came across, and I instantly bookmarked a few of her recipes. It was so wonderful to find like-minded bloggers out there. And, like me, Cara recognizes the importance of the occasional indulgence and posts some full-sugar, full-carb treats too.
So I was thrilled when she asked me to guest post while she was traveling. But then she proceeded to throw me for a loop.
She asked that I create a recipe that reflected something I ate and loved when I was traveling. Oooookay. It’s not that I haven’t done my own share of traveling, it’s just that it was all many moons ago, before I had kids and before I ever had any inkling I would be a diabetic. I always felt free to indulge (or over-indulge) while on vacation and traveling, so I couldn’t really think of anything that was both healthy AND travel-inspired. What to do, what to do?
I discussed the matter with my husband and we ran our minds over the various trips we had taken together in the past. One of these was a few months after we were married, when we found some amazing deals on British Airways and booked a spur-of-the-moment trip to England. We spent several days in the Cotswolds and then four or five days in London, and we had a truly wonderful trip. I had it in my mind to try Sticky Toffee Pudding, and looked for it on the menu of every restaurant, pub and teahouse we went to. I am not sure where I had read or heard about it, but with a name like Sticky Toffee Pudding, I just had to try it. Alas, it was nowhere to be seen. It was starting to seem like an illusion, like one of those “traditional” foods we only think the Brits eat all the time, but really they hardly ever do. And then, finally, I saw it on the menu of a tiny pub in Paddington and I dragged my husband in to eat it, although we were both full already. It was wonderful! Moist and full of sweet dates, with a sticky caramel sauce generously poured all over.
But Sticky Toffee Pudding is hardly low carb and gluten free, and not even remotely healthy, right? So I can’t possibly be proposing to give you a recipe for it on Cara’s lovely, healthy blog. Or can I? If there is one thing I’ve learned as a low carber with a sweet tooth, it’s how to be resourceful. And that almond flour and erythritol can produce results as good as, or sometimes even better than, flour and sugar. So yes, that is exactly what I am proposing. I took a basic recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding, gave it some thought as to how to sub in my alternative ingredients and away we went. And I am pleased to say that they were incredible and very much worthy of a guest post on Cara’s blog!
For authenticity’s sake, I did include some chopped dates. They do add carbs and could be decreased or left out altogether, if desired. I also added a touch of molasses in the caramel sauce for colour, because it would traditionally be made with brown sugar and there is no such thing (yet) as brown erythritol. I made mine in a mini-bundt pan, but they could be made in muffin tins or ramekins, or even as one large pudding in a large bundt or cake pan (baking times would vary, depending on the pan).
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Cakes:
3 to 4 oz chopped medjool dates
¼ cup dark rum, brandy or whiskey
2 ½ cups almond flour
¼ cup granulated erythritol
¼ cup vanilla whey protein powder
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
6 oz sour cream or Greek yogurt
¼ cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 tbsp almond milk
Caramel Sauce:
1/2 cup granulated erythritol
2 tsp molasses
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp dark rum
Preheat oven to 325F and grease mini-bundt pan well.
In a small bowl, combine chopped dates with rum or other alcohol and let sit. In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, erythritol, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat sour cream or yogurt with butter until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in almond flour mixture in two additions, then beat in almond milk. Add date mixture and stir well to combine.
Divide batter among prepared mini-bundt cups. Bake 20 to 22 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the caramel sauce, combine erythritol and molasses together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until erythritol has dissolved and mixture bubbles. Remove from heat and stir in cream, butter and rum. Stir until smooth.
Pour about 1 tsp of thin sauce over each cooled cake, letting it soak in. Return saucepan to medium heat and bring remaining sauce to a boil. Boil until thickened, 1 to 3 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Drizzle over cakes and serve.
*Note – caramel sauce made with erythritol begins to harden very quickly when removed from heat. If it gets too hard to drizzle, just return it to the heat for a few moments and stir until it becomes liquid again.
Thanks for visiting Cara’s Cravings. If you like what you see and want more, subscribe via email or in a reader, follow me on Twitter, or visit me on Facebook.
I'm Cara, lover of creative, clean food and healthy living. Pumpkin, goat cheese, and eggplant make me swoon. I have an insatiable sweet tooth and desire to lift heavy things. 
Maureen — June 29, 2011 @ 12:16 pm
I love sticky toffee pudding (we call it sticky date pudding in Australia). It's a favorite!
Lizzy — June 29, 2011 @ 1:01 pm
Cara, I'm so glad to visit your blog! Carolyn, marvelous guest post!! These are gorgeous…and I love the mini Bundt shape!
Erin — June 29, 2011 @ 2:45 pm
My MIL absolutely LOVES sticky toffee pudding. I am going to have to share this with her. Great guest post – I love Carolyn. Glad to have found your site as well!
donna — June 29, 2011 @ 7:25 pm
This absolutely looks amazing!
Kate@Diethood.com — June 29, 2011 @ 8:14 pm
I've never had sticky toffee pudding… this sounds soooo crazy-good!! The photos are making me drool!
Christiane — June 29, 2011 @ 11:37 pm
Hi Cara. I headed over from Carolyn's site because I HAVE to read all her recipes. I don't need to eat low carb or gluten free, but we do try to eat healthy. Plus, the creativity involved in creating these dishes astounds me. I'm glad to meet you and visit your blog through Carolyn.Carolyn. . .drool. Seriously. I love sticky toffee puddings and yours are gorgeous. I'm glad you included the dates, even if they do up carbs a bit. They're worth the authenticity. Beautiful dish, my friend.
Kaytorade — June 30, 2011 @ 12:09 am
Wow, these look incredibly decadent. I can see what attracts you to each other!
Terris @ Free Eats — June 30, 2011 @ 12:26 am
I adore sticky toffee pudding and absolutely love the looks of this one that Carolyn made. Gorgeous and they look so moist with the added dates in the cakes. Yum.
In Katrina's Kitchen — June 30, 2011 @ 3:39 pm
I have never had anything like this! Cara this is my first time on your site and I'm having a blast! What a fun space you've created. I'm a huge follower of Carolyn's – you did awesome featuring her 🙂
faridawinarni — July 1, 2011 @ 12:55 pm
I love Pudding taht looks so sweet and delicious, tanks for sharefaridahttp://kitchensuperfood.com
Meg — July 9, 2011 @ 4:13 am
I've just recently returned from a few months living in the United Kingdom, and fell in love with nearly all sweets (and many other foods) Brit or Scots. 🙂 I've been in withdrawal since returning to Canada, but it's been even trickier fulfilling my cravings for Scottish treats now that half of my family has gone low-carb. Being the only one not working outside of the home at the moment (and possibly the biggest 'foodie' in the house), I've taken on the role of household daily chef and kitchen experimenter… 🙂 I am always looking for the 'seemingly impossible', and to satisfy my own sweet tooth and cravings for variety in my meals, so when I found this page, I was a wee bit over the moon. Thank you!I'm still learning the chemistry of different ingredients, though, so I do have a question for you: I don't cook with whey protein powder. It just seems a rather unnecessary addition. We like to use real, whole foods for the most part, not mixes or 'extras' like that, and we all have a rather balanced diet in which we already intake plenty of protein. If I were to attempt making this pudding, what should I do to replace the protein powder, or compensate for the lack of it? I assume reducing the liquid would be necessary, but in the form of the milk or the yoghurt? And by how much?(Apparently, I'm a really good cook… but I feel it's mostly dumb luck & sheer determination, as I clearly don't know what I'm doing. Seems such a basic question! 🙂
Cara — July 9, 2011 @ 4:17 am
don't feel bad, it's not a silly question! Baking is a science, lo
Meg — July 9, 2011 @ 4:46 am
Thanks for the reassurance. 😉 Add to the normal pressures of baking and cooking the fact that half the house (myself included) are vegetarians and one has a mild nut allergy. And then there's the usual varying likes and dislikes… 🙂 It's been an interesting challenge!Any tips re: removing that whey powder in this recipe, then?
Meg — July 9, 2011 @ 4:53 am
Er.. ignore my repeated question. Your explanation wasn't showing when I responded the first time. :)Thanks for the tip! Wonder if flax meal might work, if not the almond flour. Sounds like a fun experiment.
Carolyn — July 9, 2011 @ 12:21 pm
Hi Meg…I add a bit of whey protein simply because almond flour lacks gluten, which is a protein and it can help give the cakes a little structure. But Cara is right, in it's absence you can add a little more dry ingredients like almond flour. Flax would work fine as well, in fact it's what I would have suggested to take the place of the whey protein. Don't decrease the liquid, though.I also like the protein powder for the bit of vanilla flavour it adds, so maybe up the vanilla a bit, by a 1/4 tsp or so.Hope they turn out well…come back and let us know!
Carolyn — July 9, 2011 @ 12:23 pm
Just realized that this original recipe doesn't have vanilla because of the rum and the protein powder. So actually, put in 1/2 tsp vanilla!
Meg — July 10, 2011 @ 2:33 am
Hmm, perhaps vital wheat gluten would be a good idea, then, if gluten is what you're trying to get in there? I'll have to think on it.And then decide if I'm gonna use rum or some of the Scottish whisky we've already got at home.. :)I probably won't be making these in the next few days, but I'll try to report back when I get all the pieces together & have the chance to try it. Thank you for the feedback and the recipe! 🙂
Jill @ MadAboutMacarons — November 18, 2011 @ 12:49 pm
Just discovered Carolyn's wonderful guest post today – sorry I'm a bit late ;-)Love this recipe – as a fan of STP in the UK, then these are fabulous as a gluten-free, low carb version. Great shapes, too.
Jean — November 20, 2011 @ 2:00 am
I just made these and they are great! I don't think they taste like the pudding I had in the UK, but they are much better! Thanks for the recipe.
Jason — March 30, 2012 @ 8:46 pm
What are the nutrition facts on this recipe?
Cara — March 31, 2012 @ 8:36 am
Jason, the nutritional information has not been calculated for this recipe. This recipe is a guest post from a friend of mine and I don’t require that guest posters include nutritional information (nor do I make it a rule to always include it for my own recipes.) If you would like to calculate it, I suggest sparkrecipes.com, that is the program I use.
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