LCHF walnut potica

A flourless, yeastless and sugarless potica? To taste like a classic potica and look like a real potica? To me, that seemed like mission impossible. Why? Because I had never baked a classic potica in my life and because there are so many recipes, rules, habits... I was really nervous about trying to make a LCHF potica. No need! The recipe below is easy - even for a complete amateur in baking.

INGREDIENTS (for a 12x30 cm model):

Dough:

• 3 eggs
• 70 g Live & love Erythritol with stevia
• 80 g melted butter
• 250 g mascarpone cheese (full-fat)
• 1 tbsp cream cheese (such as ABC cheese spread)
• 170 g Live & love Organic almond flour or plain almond flour
• 50 g Live & love finely ground organic coconut flour
• 1 packet of cream of tartar (baking powder)
• 2,5 teaspoons Konjac flour (OR 30 g ground Indian thistle)

The filling:

• 300 g ground walnuts
• 80 g Live & love Erythritol with stevia
• 150 ml sweet cream
• 2-3 tablespoons of rum
• vanilla pod content or natural vanilla flavouring
• 2 egg whites
• ½ teaspoon real dark cocoa 

Other:

• 2 egg yolks for coating
• Live & love Erythritol with stevia powdered for dusting
• a couple of tablespoons of almond flour to sprinkle on the dough when rolling

If erythritol with stevia is replaced by regular erythritol, the amount of sweetener must be adjusted or increased accordingly. Erythritol with stevia is about 25% sweeter than regular erythritol. Live & love brand Erythritol with stevia does not bake and has no "cold" taste, which is not excluded with other brands of regular Erythritol.

Dough preparation procedure:

Whisk the eggs (mix for a couple of minutes), adding the erythritol in between. When the mixture is foamy and slightly risen, add the melted butter and mix well. Then add the mascarpone and cream cheese. Finally, fold in the dry ingredients mixture and mix well. I use the hook attachment on my mixer for this part. Transfer the dough to a plate or bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight. The dough is extremely soft, but once it has chilled well and the ingredients have come together, it becomes compact.

Preparation of the filling:

Before taking the dough out of the fridge again, prepare the filling so that everything is ready when you start rolling the dough, which needs to be really well chilled. To prepare the filling, put the ground walnuts in a pan and fry them slowly over a low heat until they smell fragrant. Be careful not to burn them! In a separate bowl, mix the cream, cocoa, rum and vanilla pod centre. When the walnuts are gently toasted, pour the cream (with the rum, cocoa and vanilla) over them and add the erythritol. Mix well and set aside. Whip the 2 egg whites and fold them gently into the filling.

When the dough has rested long enough and is really well chilled (this is the key!!! If you are in a hurry, you can also put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes) prepare the base for rolling. Place the dough on a sheet of baking paper which has been generously dusted with almond flour. Place another sheet of baking paper on top of the dough and gently roll out the dough with a rolling pin to the size of the sides of the baking tray. 

Now comes an important step that must not be skipped: gently peel the baking paper away from the dough and dust the dough all over with almond flour. Then place a NEW sheet of baking paper on top of the dough and turn the dough around with both baking papers so that the side that was previously underneath is now on top. And that the new sheet of baking paper is underneath. Gently peel off the top sheet of baking paper and the dough is ready for spreading. Spread the walnut spread over the entire surface and, using the bottom baking paper, gently roll it up. Place it on the baking tray with the bottom baking paper. Prick in a few places with a toothpick and bake at 170 degrees for about 60-70 minutes. Halfway through baking, brush lightly with egg yolk and cover the baking tray with aluminum foil to prevent the top from browning too much.

When the potica is done baking, leave it in the tin to cool a little before turning it upside down and covering it with a napkin. Allow to cool completely, dust with erythritol powder if desired and serve.

Enjoy!

Check another version of the recipe at this link.