Keto Mocha Brownie Cheesecake

Maybe it's just me, but I find a LOT of keto friendly desserts just terrible. I mean.... they have that weird sugar-substitute aftertaste that seems chemically to me. Ooooor.... the texture is off because you've subbed out ingredients with low carb ingredients (ie: flour for almond or cocout flour). 

This cheesecake though.... none of the above. 

It's as cheesecake-y as cheesecake can be. Even the brownie bottom is very brownie-y. I was very excited that it turned out so tasty after only 2 tries at tweaking my recipe. It makes 4 servings but can be doubled easily. FYI - you can freeze pieces of this very well for a later date so you are not tempted to eat it all at once! Although, for only 3.3 net carbs per serving, you'd have nothing to feel bad about if you did! 

Keto Mocha Brownie Cheesecake

Ingredients

Brownie Base

3 Tbsp butter, melted

3 Tbsp baking cocoa powder

3 Tbsp almond flour

3 Tbsp powdered Swerve

1 tsp instant coffee granules

1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp walnuts

Cheesecake

8 oz cream cheese, room temp

3 Tbsp powdered Swerve

2 Tbsp sour cream

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Spray the sides and bottom of a 7 inch spring-form pan with cooking spray, set aside. 

Prepare brownie base - stir together the melted butter, cocoa, almond flour. Stir in Swerve, coffee granules, egg, vanilla, and walnuts. 

Spread into the prepared 7 inch spring-form pan. Place in preheated 325 oven while you prepare the cheesecake layer. Bake for 8 minutes.

Prepare cheesecake layer - Beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in Swerve, sour cream, vanilla, and egg until smooth. Gently spread evenly over the brownie layer.

Place back in oven, reduce heat to 300, and bake 30 minutes more (until cheesecake is set). Turn off the oven and crack open the door a little. Leave cheesecake in the oven another 30  minutes to cool gradually. This will help prevent it from cracking.

When cheesecake has cooled completely, run a knife around the edge of the pan and remove the sides of the pan. 

Chill at least 3 hours before serving, up to overnight. 

Cut into 4 pieces. 

Serve as is or add your own favorite toppings. 

I went with a little whipped cream and a strawberry to keep the carb count pretty much at 3.3 net per piece.

I love the simplicity of this recipe and that, other than the Swerve and almond flour, the ingredients are all "regular" baking ingredients. I was able to find the powdered Swerve online and am so happy I did! It definitely makes a difference what sugar substitute you use. I don't find the powdered Swerve nearly as chemical tasting as some of the others out there. The texture is bang on too. Just like icing sugar. 

Do you have a favorite keto dessert that you swear by? We'd love to hear about it! Drop us a comment below so we can check it out! :) 

Strawberry Lemon Pie

I don't know about you but I love pie. It used to be pretty low on my dessert favorites list but I am slowing coming over to the pie side. This one is a really different pie that usually confuses people at first. It has the fluffy and creamy lemon filling and then the gooey strawberry layer. People tend to need a few bites before they know what's happening. 

I had one sampler tell me that the first bite she had she thought it was awful and thought maybe I had lost my mind. Then she took a few more bites and was like 'this is the best pie I have ever eaten". 

Need a dessert that will make a statement at your next gathering? Try this one. It's no-bake, easy to whip up, and will definitely start a conversation. PLUS, it's super pretty. So.... there's that. 

Strawberry Lemon Pie

Crust

1 9 inch baked pie crust (Find our recipe HERE) 

Strawberry Layer

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 pkg strawberry Jello powder

3 cups diced, fresh strawberries

Lemon Layer

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, room temp

1/2 cup prepared lemon curd

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Decoration

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 Tbsp strawberry Jello powder

lemon slices, cut into triangles

Directions

Set baked pie crust aside while you prepare the strawberry layer. 

Prepare strawberry layer - In a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring water, sugar, and cornstarch to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the 1/2 pkg of jello powder and let sit for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, stir in the strawberries and spread in the pie crust. 

Chill while preparing lemon layer. 

Prepare lemon layer - beat the cream cheese until smooth, scraping sides as needed. Beat in the lemon curd. In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in to the lemon mixture.

Spread the lemon mixture on top of the strawberry layer. 

To decorate - whip the 1/2 cup whipping cream with the 1 Tbsp Jello powder until stiff peaks form. Pipe on top of pie. 

Top with the lemon slices cut in triangles. 

Chill until ready to serve - at least 3 - 4 hours, up to overnight. 

See.... so purdy. 

And it just keeps getting better..... 

As I mentioned above, the flavors and textures are a bit of a shocker at first but everyone comes around! So. Much. Yum.

Rich, creamy, fruity, beautiful. Perfect for Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving... you see where I'm going here, right? ALL the occasions. Every one. 

Big Batch Strawberry Shortcake Donuts

Want to know what's a good idea? 

Making a glazed donut the base for strawberry shortcake. It's a genius idea, in fact. 

Strawberry shortcake is one of my favorite desserts... I generally like it on a biscuit base but won't say no if it's served on angel food cake or a vanilla cake. I have been making A LOT of donuts lately and I had a light bulb moment where I thought, "how amazing would these glazed donuts be with strawberries and whipped cream?" 

Of course the internet was there to let me know that I was not the first person to think of this. I just want to know; if so many people have already had this idea, why weren't they telling me about it? 

*geeeeez*

Anyway, this is my version of a strawberry shortcake doughnut and I'm in love. The airy texture of the donut works sooooo well for shortcake. Imagine peach shortcake or blueberry shortcake or even pineapple shortcake. 

So. Many. Possibilities. 

Big Batch Strawberry Shortcake Donuts

Ingredients

1 recipe for our Kilkenny Glazed Donuts (click HERE)

8 cups heavy cream (2 liters) (Whipping cream)

4 tsp vanilla

5 large containers of strawberries

Glaze

2 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup milk

Directions

Prepare donuts - Prepare dough according to recipe. Let rise for an hour. Roll out to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out with cookie or biscuit cutters, then cut out the centers with a smaller cookie or biscuit cutter. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (NOTE - to make things easier I always cut the parchment paper into individual pieces. This makes it much easier to place the donuts in the oil for cooking). Cover and let rise again. 

Heat your oil in a large pot to 350 (use a thermometer for best results). 

Cook donuts 3 or 4 at a time in oil, about one minute per side, until golden brown. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and place on wire cooling rack OR directly on paper towel to drain off excess oil. 

Prepare the glaze - whisk together icing sugar, vanilla, and milk until the texture of thin glue. (You made need to add more icing sugar or more milk to get to the right consistency.) Dip each donut into the glaze. Let cool completely so glaze hardens a bit and is not so sticky. Cut the donuts in half horizontally with a serrated knife. (NOTE - be careful not to squish the donuts or hold the tops so the glaze gets rubbed off!)

Whip the cream with the vanilla to stiff peaks. (NOTE - to make things easier I beat 2 cups of cream with 1 tsp of vanilla at a time.)

Hull and slice your strawberries. 

Prepare shortcake - Place the bottom of a donut on a serving plate. Top with a generous scoop of whipped cream. (I used a large cookie scoop full. About 1/4 cup)

Top with a scoop of strawberries. (I used 1/3 cup measuring cup as a scoop for this.)

Top with another scoop of whipped cream. (Again, I used a large cookie scoop {about 1/4 cup} for this). Then place the top of the donut on top. Squish it down gently and then place a slice of strawberry on top. 

Serve immediately or chill, covered, until ready to serve. (You don't want to make them up too far ahead of time as they may get soggy. You can make up the separate components ahead of time and then just assemble the shortcake when ready to serve.) 

One recipe should yield between 25 - 30 donuts which makes this a fabulous recipe for a fundraiser or family reunion. I made them for a mother's day get together...

I just put them in disposable soup containers that had lids, which worked great. I made 2 batches and ended up with 60 shortcakes. (FYI - to get 60 I used 4 liters of whipped cream and 10 containers of strawberries.) 

Of course, you could use bought donuts to make this wonderful dessert but our Kilkenny Glazed Donuts are so fluffy and tasty that making them is totally worth the extra effort. The only thing we changed from the original recipe is the glaze. We didn't use the original beer glaze, instead went with a simple vanilla glaze so the flavor of the strawberries can shine through. 

You could also half the recipe if you only wanted to make 12 - 15 donuts. It's pretty forgiving. 

Strawberry shortcake on donuts is the new food trend. I'm making it happen. 

Who's with me? 

UPDATE: 

Guuuuuys! Just wanted you to know that this is amazing with apricots as well! 

I just cooked a few down on the stove top for about 5 minutes, let that cool down a bit, and then threw in a a bunch more that I chopped up so there was bigger pieces as well. 

Imagine all the possibilities for this! #ImExcited 

Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie

Our mom used to make strawberry pie when we were little. It was always in the summer when berries were plentiful in our yard. The whole family used to go crazy for it. I decided to give it a go for our Easter dinner this year as we hadn't had any strawberry pie for years. 

We don't grow strawberries anymore so I hit up a sale at the local grocers and then added a little powdered freeze dried strawberries as well to help make the taste stronger. I find the large store bought berries can often be lacking in flavor. You can skip adding the powder if you are lucky enough to use home grown strawberries. 

This version of strawberry pie doesn't use any jello powder BUT you can always throw in a tablespoon or 2 if you want your pie to have a brighter red color or you are worried about your pie not setting. Totally optional!

Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie

Ingredients

1 baked pie shell

8 cups strawberries, washed and hulled 

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup freeze dried strawberry powder *OPTIONAL*

1 - 2 Tbsp strawberry jello powder *OPTIONAL*

Topping

whipped cream

Directions

Dice up 1 heaping cup of the strawberries and puree them in a blender. 

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Add in the water, pureed strawberries, and strawberry powder. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 3 - 5 minutes, until thick and translucent. 

(If you are using the strawberry Jello powder, now is the time to stir it in.) 

Press mixture through a sieve, scraping as much of the mixture from the sieve as possible.  Cool about 10 - 15 minutes. 

Cut up 2 cups of the strawberries and stir in about 1/3 of the glaze. Spread into the baked pie shell.

Place the remaining strawberries on top so the peaks are pointing up. Then slowly pour the glaze over, being sure to coat all the berries. Do your best to fill in all the nooks and crannies. (NOTE - you can chop all the strawberries and simply stir them into the glaze and then spread in crust if you prefer.) 

Let chill at least 2 hours. 

Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Slice and serve!

I am attempting to grow strawberries this year because I sooooo want to make this with my own berries! It's such a pretty and simple pie. You can leave out the freeze dried strawberry powder and Jello and then this delicious pie filling is only 4 ingredients. 

I know people have made it with a graham cracker crust but I have never tried it that way. It would definitely change up the flavors a bit. 

What's your favorite version of strawberry pie? 

Classic Angel Food Cake

Angel food cake from a box mix just cannot compare to from scratch. It's an entirely different experience. Angel food cake from scratch is a bit of a pain in the butt to make, granted, but is so worth the effort. And what is the best way to top an angel food cake? Well, that would be with whipped cream and strawberries of course. I upped the strawberry factor by adding some crushed, freeze dried strawberries to the whipped cream and it was a good decision. I don't think you can ever have too much strawberry-ness. 

If you have 12 egg whites that you are wondering what to do with.... look no further. 

The folding of the egg whites is the trickiest part and can lead to disappointment if you collapse them OR if you don't fold the flour in enough. Just have patience, go slow, and you should be okay. 

Classic desserts like angel food cake are classics for a reason. They never go out of style. 

Classic Angel Food Cake

Ingredients

Cake

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1/4 tsp salt

12 egg whites

1 1/2 cups fine sugar

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

Whipped Cream

2 cups whipping cream

3 Tbsp sugar

1/4 cup powdered freeze dried strawberries

Serve with

Strawberries

extra whipped cream

Directions

(NOTE - If you do not have cake flour: measure out the 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, then scoop out 3 tablespoons and replace with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.)

Preheat oven to 325. 

Whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside 

Set aside 3/4 cup of the sugar.

Place remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and the flour/salt mixture into a blender (or food processor). Process approx 1 minute to form fine powder. Set aside.

In a stand mixer: combine egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat on low for 1 minute. Increase to medium until stiff peaks just start to form. Slowly beat in the reserved 3/4 cup of sugar and the extracts. (This should take about 5 - 7 minutes)

Sift the flour mixture into the egg whites in 3 separate additions, folding in between additions. Do this gently so as not to deflate the whites!

Gently spread batter into an un-greased angel food cake pan. 

Bake at 325 for 40 - 45 minutes. Top should be light golden brown and cake tester inserted near center should come out clean. (Depending on how your oven cooks it may take up to an hour to bake.)

Remove from oven and immediately turn upside down to cool. You can set it on a wine bottle or prop it up on cans. Be sure to support the center so it does not slide out if your pan has a removable bottom.) Let cool completely. 

When cool, run a knife around the inside of the edge of the pan to loosen then invert onto a wire rack.

You can then run a knife around the bottom of the pan to remove the bottom piece. Invert onto serving platter. 

Prepare whipping cream: Beat the whipped cream with the sugar and freeze dried strawberries until stiff peaks form. 

Spread on sides and top of cake.

Decorate with strawberries and a pinch more freeze dried strawberry powder (optional).

Chill until ready to serve.

The texture of angel food cake is amazing. So fluffy but still cake-like. 

It looks so fancy schamncy.

You can always serve with a bit more whipped cream and strawberries, of course. 

Something for Valentine's Day perhaps? Mother's day? You'd definitely be the favorite if you made this for mom. 

Just remember, be patient when folding the egg whites. Be gentle. Don't over mix or you will deflate your whites and the cake won't work. It's a bit more challenging than a regular cake but you can do it!

Old fashioned recipes are the best! 

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