Tips for a successful LCHF holiday baking feast
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Katja's blog
We all know what holidays and festive tables look like. Be it Christmas, New Year, Easter, birthdays, anniversaries.... They all have one sweet thing in common - desserts in the form of cakes, biscuits, pies... The problem with these desserts, of course, is that they are completely unsuitable for the LCHF diet.
What now? Do we have to give up good sweets for good in the LCHF diet? The answer is NO, we do not have to give up desserts. But it is true that it is never a good idea to overdo it. Of course, I am referring to LCHF desserts and not to conventional ones. So desserts that are free of gluten, cereal flours and added sugar in any form. It sounds complicated, but it really isn't.
So the holidays are now saved! But to make sure that the festive LCHF desserts are good and the recipes are a success, here are a few little secrets for successful LCHF baking.
Baking has been my passion and joy for a long time. Discovering and creating new recipes is even more exciting and challenging in LCHF. LCHF baking ingredients are not the classic ingredients we are all familiar with. There are no binders, as in cereal flours. There is no yeast. No sugar and additives. Pre-made classic baking mixes are out of the question, so there are no quick instant solutions in LCHF baking. But there is plenty of creativity and discovery of new flavours and ingredients.
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What are my most common and favourite ingredients for LCHF baking?
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Believe it or not, you can make almost anything with the ingredients listed. However, there are certain rules that need to be observed when using these ingredients. Let's see...
Defatted Flours
The defatted LCHF flours are gluten-free and therefore behave differently in baked goods than cereal flours. Recipes call for much less defatted almond flour than conventional wheat flour. Approximately 50 - 60 g of almond flour replaces 100 g of conventional wheat flour.
Do you also mind the taste of marzipan in a dessert made with almond flour? I mean, in some desserts this taste is even welcome, but I expect a nutty taste in a walnut cake, not a marzipan taste. For this purpose, I have been looking for a long time for a defatted almond flour that does not have this taste. There are very few such almond flours on the market. I can tell you that the Live & love brand of defatted almond flour does not have that marzipan taste. It is light and finely ground. The desserts I make using Live & love defatted almond flour (in classic or organic versions) are verified to be free from the smell and taste of marzipan. I don't know how much that means to you, but it's key for me.
What about the defatted coconut flour? It is completely unique and a bit fussy, so there are certain rules to follow when baking. But don't worry, I'll share a few tricks with you:
Never substitute wheat flour or any other flour in the same amount for coconut flour in recipes, as this simply does not work.
- 1 heaped tablespoon of coconut flour is equivalent to about 50 g of wheat flour and about 30 g of almond flour.
- ½ cup of coconut flour requires 1-3 eggs and additional liquid. You can never have too many eggs, especially with LCHF treats.
- Coconut flour requires about twice as much liquid as wheat flour.
- Coconut flour is gluten-free, so there is no need to worry about over-mixing the dough or making it hard and compact.
- Coconut flour is ideal for combining with other defatted flours, but can also be used on its own.
Of course, the range of baking ingredients is not complete with almond and coconut flour. They are, however, the most common and suitable flours for sweet baking. Organic golden flax flour and organic sesame flour are also suitable. These two flours are ideal for savoury snacks. For people with nut allergies, the following flours are suitable: Organic defatted coconut flour, Organic gold flax flour, Organic sesame flour, pumpkin flour and defatted sunflower flour. The interesting thing about defatted sunflower flour is that it can turn slightly green during baking (but not necessarily). This is not dangerous or toxic, it is a natural reaction between the chlorogenic acid (which is a useful antioxidant, by the way) that sunflower seeds contain and baking powder or baking soda or any other alkaline ingredient.
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What is the difference between defatted almond flour and ground almonds?
I often get the question whether you can replace almond flour with ground almonds in my recipes. The answer is NO. This is especially true for biscuits. Or, to put it another way - of course you can change the ingredients as you wish, but the end result will not be what the recipe calls for. Ground almonds behave differently in baking and affect the final product and the taste. And of course we should not forget the calories and fatty acid composition. Recipes that call for almond flour have these listed. However, in certain recipes there is no need for almond flour and so in that case ground nuts are listed among the ingredients.
Which sweetener do I use instead of sugar?
All my recipes use Erythritol with stevia Live & love brand. It is by far the best substitute for conventional sugar. In terms of sweetness, it achieves a 1:1 ratio compared to regular sugar, while erythritol only achieves 75-80% sweetness. I have the misfortune of having an extremely sensitive palate and I can very quickly detect a disturbing burning aftertaste from erythritol, which can spoil all the enjoyment of a piece of LCHF cake or LCHF biscuits. Live & love brand Erythritol with stevia does not bake and has no cold taste, which is not excluded with other brands of regular Erythritol. The taste of stevia is not perceptible.
My advice: use Erythritol with stevia for successful and tasty baking. If the cakes are chocolate cakes with dark cocoa or dark chocolate, a little care is needed with the amount of sweetener. In my experience, this combination is the most problematic. Adding a pinch or two of salt to the cocoa or chocolate mixture helps to accentuate the chocolate flavour and cancels out any erythritol aftertaste.
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The difference between the conventional dough and the LCHF dough for biscuits or cake
LCHF dough is much more delicate and much more difficult to shape or roll out. It can also withstand less manipulation, tears more quickly and sticks to the surface. It is much nicer to work with dough that is well chilled. This means that it is optimal to leave the dough in the fridge for at least half an hour (ideally overnight, but it can wait a whole day). This is especially true for biscuits. The reason is that the ingredients bind well, the butter cools and the dough is much more pliable and does not stick or stick to the surface.
My advice for rolling LCHF dough is as follows: place the dough on baking paper and cover it with a new sheet of baking paper. This makes rolling easy, nothing sticks to the rolling pin, the baking paper can be easily removed or even the rolled surface of the dough can be transferred to the baking tray with the paper. If the dough is wet and still sticks to the surface of the paper, use a little defatted flour to rub over the dough and the paper.
Always roll the dough cold. Divide the dough into sections before rolling and roll smaller pieces at a time, it is easier.
If you are using cookie cutters, prevent the cookies from sticking to the cutter by dipping the cutter in defatted flour before using it on the dough.
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How to make a beautiful chocolate icing?
To get a nice shiny chocolate coating, you need to temper the chocolate. It sounds complicated, but it really isn't. Even if you don't have a thermometer, it's easy enough to melt chocolate that is nice and shiny and not sticky and greyish. There are just a few rules to follow. Chocolate is sensitive to too high temperature. Always melt the chocolate slowly (I do it in a bowl over a gently simmering water), making sure it doesn't come into contact with the water. The chocolate container must not touch the water. The container containing the chocolate should not be smaller than the container containing the water - the water must not come into contact with the chocolate!!! The melting temperature of the chocolate must not exceed 50 degrees. Stir the chocolate gently throughout the melting process to ensure that the chocolate melts evenly. When the chocolate reaches 50 degrees, start cooling it down to 26 degrees. I do this by adding chocolate chips (leave 1/3 of the chocolate you want to melt and add it a little at a time), or you can move the pan over a cold water bath. This stage is very important as the fatty acids start to crystallise as they cool, which affects the appearance and consistency of the chocolate coating. Reheat to 32 degrees before using.
It sounds complicated, but it really isn't. It just takes a little practice. It is essential not to overheat the chocolate, as this will cause it to turn grey or have white spots. That, of course, does not look nice. Never add butter to chocolate as the water in the butter will curdle the chocolate. You can add a little coconut oil if the coating is too thick. For cakes, a topping called Ganache works great. The recipe is simple: heat the sweet cream, add the dark chocolate and melt it all together over a low heat. The ratio of ingredients is usually 1:2 (cream : chocolate). This coating is nice and soft to cut, doesn't break, has a nice shine and can also be used as a custard - in this case, simply whip the cooled chocolate cream.
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I think these tips will help make excellent festive LCHF desserts. Or just for occasional sweet treats. Of course, you have to remember that, just like the classic diet, the LCHF diet does not focus on sweets and sweetening. It is even recommended to give up these things completely in the initial stages of the diet change, so that your body forgets about the sweet taste. This is all a matter of personal choice. But you can cheer up your loved ones or children with a dessert that won't make them sleepy or hyperactive. If you have children, you know what a piece of classic sweet cake does...
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Finally, I've selected a list of my favourite festive recipes for cakes, pastries and biscuits that will enrich your festive table and attract a lot of stares. Take a look at the FULL COLLECTION OF CHRISTMAS BAKING RECIPES or find your favourite in the list of links below.
I'd love to hear from you in the form of a photo or a comment on my Facebook or Instagram page. Share the recipes with your friends, have fun baking and cooking LCHF treats and have a guilt-free treat.
Festive biscuits
Potica
Festive cakes
Enjoy baking!
01.12.2018, Katja, LCHF Style
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