Saturday, May 30, 2015

Cream Sherry Bundt Cake - Low Carb, Sugar Free, Grain & Gluten Free

Happy Saturday! It's a beautiful bright and sunny day here today. Today, I am very excited to be sharing and posting this new cake recipe because it is a VERY special one. It was a "special request" that I received.

A few weeks ago, I received the sweetest email from the husband of one of my follower's...yes, her husband! He told me his wife has been a regular follower of my blog and that she had a very momentous birthday coming up next month. Evidently her absolute favorite cake that he makes her each year is a "Sherry Nutmeg Cake", but is no longer allowed on her wheat free, sugar free diet.

He asked me if I could help him make an almond flour based version of this favorite cake and he sent me the original recipe to see what I could do. The original recipe included a yellow cake mix and a packaged pudding mix, so I had some tweaking to do for sure. It also uses cream sherry (wine) which is a sweeter sherry than dry sherry. Now, before all the low carb police show up with their comments, I calculated it and the addition of the cream sherry only adds about 2 additional carbs per serving and slightly over 1 gram of sugar per serving. He felt (and I concur) that for a birthday, particularly a momentous birthday that she is about to celebrate, it is perfectly fine to make that little splurge, especially because we are still keeping it wheat, grain, gluten and sugar free. It's actually more than fine. I am so genuinely touched and proud that this lucky woman's husband actually made the effort to contact me and try to accommodate her wheat and sugar free diet so she could still enjoy her favorite cake on this very special birthday.

The total carb counts per serving (12 servings for a 10-inch Bundt cake) come to approximately 6 net carbs and 1.5 grams of sugar per slice. Since I never tasted the original version of this cake, or any cake with wine before, I can't speak as to how it compares taste wise. I can, however, say that this cake was absolutely delicious! It was moist and the sherry flavor was not overpowering but more subtle and very pleasant. I reduced the 2 teaspoons of nutmeg called for in the original recipe because I feared it might be overpowering and wasn't sure it was correct, so instead I added 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. If the original recipe's 2 teaspoons were not too much for the requester, then most definitely keep that amount when you make it for her birthday. Oh, and by the way...the vanilla glaze I added on top is amazing!!!

I hope you enjoy this modified version of "Sherry Bundt Cake." Happy Birthday lucky lady, wherever you are! Enjoy!




Before going into the oven
Fresh out of the oven (cooling for 10 minutes in the pan)
It came out of the pan perfectly (thanks to greasing and flouring well)





Cream Sherry Bundt Cake
Sugar Free, Grain & Gluten Free

Ingredients:

3 cups blanched almond flour, sifted (plus extra for dusting pan)
1 1/2 cups confectioners style Swerve sweetener (or other powdered sweetener like erythritol or xylitol)
1/2 cup unflavored whey protein powder (like Tera's or Jay Robb)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 large eggs
1/2 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons "extra light" olive oil (not regular or extra virgin)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup cream sherry (not dry sherry) *see note

Optional Vanilla Glaze:
1 1/2 Tablespoon softened cream cheese (very soft and almost melted)
4 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons confectioners style Swerve Sweetener (or other powdered sweetener)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan generously with coconut oil and dust with almond flour; set aside.  

In a large bowl, combine and whisk first 8 dry ingredients together.

In a separate medium bowl, beat eggs, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and cream sherry until combined.  Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. Beat with a hand mixer for 2 to 3 minutes until well blended, light and smooth.  Pour batter into well greased AND floured Bundt pan.  This recipe makes approximately 5 cups of cake batter. Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean (begin to check cake for doneness after about 40 minutes). Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto wire rack; cool completely. If desired, lightly dust with confectioners sweetener or glaze with optional vanilla glaze.

*For Optional vanilla glaze: Combine cream cheese, cream and vanilla; add confectioners sweetener 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing vigorously until desired consistency. To slightly tweak and add sweetness without altering the glaze consistency, add a drop or two liquid stevia. If using this glaze, store glazed cake and any leftover glaze in the refrigerator.

*Notes: Cream sherry is a sweeter type sherry wine (not dry sherry and not cooking sherry). If you prefer not to use wine with alcohol, you can substitute with water or milk (which will produce a basic yellow cake that can be flavored with a variety of extracts if desired; such as almond, orange, lemon, etc.) and simply omit the cinnamon and nutmeg. This recipe can be used to bake two 8-inch round cake layers or a square or rectangular cake.  If making 2 separate layers, the cooking time would need to be reduced, so begin checking baking times after about 20 minutes. To soften the cream cheese for the glaze, I simply heated the 1-1/2 tablespoons cream cheese for about 15 seconds in the microwave before blending in the heavy cream, vanilla and sweetener.




            

26 comments:

Valerie said...

Hi! Looks like you are missing the units on the cream sherry ingredient in the recipe.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks Valerie...it's been fixed! See what happens when I rush to get to Costco? ;-)

StoneFX said...

Raising hand - I recognize that recipe - and my hubby's resourcefulness! I'm so excited - my Birthday-With-A-Zero is this week and he's very good at following recipes, so I'm looking forward to this! I think your remake sounds fabulous. I dug out the original version, and yes, it calls for 2 teaspoons of nutmeg, but the nutmeg/cinnamon combo sounds great too. Your pictures were gorgeous, as usual! The glaze is the perfect topping. Thank you so much for doing this - I'll be sure to report back after he makes it!

unter der laterne said...

Ayla this is fantastic! Looks like a regular cake with a beautiful *rise*. I will use this recipe as a template for my famous *Apricot Brandy pound cake*. I am very sensitive to Alcool ( one drink and I am high)) I am a real cheap date, lol ., so I prefer to use it in cooking and baking., the alcohol will be gone.
I have not posted much but I never miss a single recipe. I have trouble now typing, only have two *good * fingers (joints) left .So it takes me a while to write.
That grain free diet (2 1/2 ) years now, has made no difference ! Au contraire my health is much worse. I never cheated, not even at Christmas . Thank God for all the helpful gadgets, blenders , choppers and food processors. I use my elbows to push buttons . A friend thought that my kitchen would look better without *my helpers* on the counter! Putting them away is just too difficult.
Sorry, I am venting here ! I just wanted to explain my rare posts .
Have a wonderful weekend Ayla.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi StoneFX,

If only you could see my big smile and hear me squeal with glee! You are one very lucky lady...I don't know many husbands that would have done that. I don't know how it will compare taste wise to the original recipe you are used to, but both my husband and I love it (and he isn't wheat/sugar free). He had 2 pieces this evening!!! I hope you enjoy it and if you let me know what may be different about it, I can try and tweak it to make it an even better match. Happy Birthday! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Barbara,

This is so funny...I was thinking about you today and wondering how you were doing and whether or not you still looked at my blog. I even thought about adding a little message to you in one of my posts to see if you were still out there.

While I am so happy to hear from you, I am so sorry to hear that your joints have gotten worse, especially after being grain free for so long. I agree with you, if you are using your gadgets, it is much easier if they are handy and being practical and saving yourself the effort of taking them in and out makes more sense than having an empty counter.

Finally I know someone else that can't tolerate drinking alcohol too. I have never been able to. I can't even have one drink...after half of a glass of wine, I can no longer feel my nose...LOL and I become ridiculously silly...so I rarely drink. Oh my, I bet this would be a great base cake for your apricot brandy pound cake! That sounds delicious.

I am just glad to have heard from you and feel especially flattered that as difficult as it was that you took the time to contact me. It has been a difficult year so far here, too. Besides me having been sick for a couple of months earlier in the year, one of my children has had a very serious health issue that I have chosen not to discuss on here but believe me when I tell you that it was quite devastating but things are okay right now and I'm just hoping and praying they stay that way. Just know that I am thinking about you and thanks for touching base...it means a lot. <3

unter der laterne said...

Hello again,
My original post looked different but I was afraid to post it . But here it goes. I think that you are such a good , generous and giving person . I just feel it. Wish I could run into you at Costco aand give you a big hug. lol.
I hope that your health and that of your child will stay good, that is really the most important thing. I hope whatever your child has is curable ! Unfortunately my youngest daughter has been diagnosed with RA too. Worries are never ending!
Thank you for being so sweet!

Anonymous said...

GGC You are not only extremely talented but you are very kind hearted. Anyone who would take precious time out of their day to convert a home made cake recipe to one that would adhere to one's diet is just nothing short of remarkable. The cake you made looks so beautiful and I am sure you made not only one gentleman extremely happy, but also his lovely wife who is celebrating a special birthday. Best wishes to all and I know the cake will be devoured. Here's hoping the bottle of Cream Sherry will also be enjoyed.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks so much Barbara. Prayers for both you and your daughter. Thanks so much! <3

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Anonymous,

Thanks so much for the kind remarks. I hope they enjoy it, too. I'm planning to serve it for dessert here this evening for our Sunday night dinner. Thanks again! :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

This is an absolutely *gorgeous* cake. I'd like to try it for a "special" birthday coming up for my mom. If I wanted to transform it into a lemon cake, what amount of extract would you suggest? I guess one would need to substitute another liquid for the sherry, too. (I'll have to look up your other bundt cake ... some of my questions might be answered there.)

I'll be watching for another comment by StoneFX and/or her wonderful hubby! :-)

Thinking about you and Barbara as you both work though difficult times. Take care, you two. God bless! <3

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

Thanks. I believe I simply used water on my "yellow pound cake recipe"...but I'm thinking you could also make a sweet home made lemonade with fresh lemons in place of the sherry; also, I'd probably start off with 1 teaspoon lemon extract and taste the batter for flavor...too much is sometimes worse than not enough. You could also add some fresh zest as well.

I do hope this cake turns out well for StoneFX...everyone here really loves it, but then we aren't comparing it to on old favorite recipe either.

Thanks for the kind words. Life isn't always fair it seems, but we try to make the best of what we are dealt. I wish Barbara and her daughter peace and comfort and hope that something will come along to help them both. <3

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

What a great idea using lemonade in place of the sherry ... love that, and the fresh lemon zest, too. I agree that too much lemon extract is worse than not enough. (LOL, ask me how I know!) I'll be sure to add it with a light touch and taste as I go along. Thanks for the helpful hints! Peace to you and to your loved ones.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

Yes, that lemon extract can be tricky...ask me how I know, too! LOL I may give it a whirl next time I make it because I love lemon, too. If you want a moister cake (this is pound cake textured), you could probably add a couple more tablespoons of oil without making it greasy. :-)

StoneFX said...

Looks like my report got lost in space, so I'll try again. The cake turned out absolutely delicious - very close to the original recipe. Maybe a tad drier - and at first it seemed that the sherry flavor was a little more pronounced, maybe because there wasn't all that sugar & flour & artificial stuff from the cake mix & pudding to counterbalance it. However, after having a leftover slice tonight, I don't think it was too much sherry. My hubby went with the 2 tsp. of nutmeg from the original recipe and that was just fine - not overpowering. He's a big fan of buttercream icing, so he doubled the recipe for the glaze and must have added a little more Swerve because it thickened up (he used the Kitchenaid stand mixer and maybe the heavy cream was turning into whipped cream too!) and he was able to frost the whole cake with it. Yummy!

Thank you again for taking the time to rework the recipe. I'm glad to read that others have ideas for variations. I think it could be a very versatile recipe and is one that I'm sure I'll use in the future.

And yes, my husband is a keeper - even cleaned up the kitchen afterwards!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi StoneFX,

Thank you for letting me know that your cake turned out so nicely. I am so happy you enjoyed it and still touched that your husband took the time to do that for you.

I, too, thought the sherry flavor was strongest the first day I tried it and then not as much after. In an email to your husband I told him that the cake was more "pound cake" textured and that if the original recipe was a more moist cake like so many bundt cakes are, that he could add an extra couple tablespoons of oil. If he didn't try that, maybe next time he could to see if that makes it a little closer to the original recipe, because it had more oil in it.

Oh my, if he is using the Kitchenaid mixer, not only am I impressed, but you are right, it did probably thicken the cream up by whipping it since I just used a whisk. Even though I have a Kitchenaid stand mixer, I don't pull it out and use it as often as I probably should.

I am just happy you enjoyed the cake and hope you had a very Happy Birthday! Yes, I agree with you, your husband is most definitely a keeper...a home made cake AND cleaning up the kitchen afterwards? Thanks for letting me know that it turned out so nicely. While you are a very lucky lady...I know that you must be quite a special person yourself for him to have gone through the efforts he did to surprise you. Thanks and Happy Birthday! :-)

Kathy said...

Hi GGC,

One special treat DH and I have missed since going wheat/grain-free for more than 2 years is an Irish Cream Pound Cake that used a cake mix. It was DH's favorite birthday cake (his birthday is in August)! I am so excited at trying your recipe but substituting an equal amount of Bailey's Irish Cream for the Cream Sherry. I no longer have the other recipe to refer to but don't think it had any nutmeg or cinnamon in it. I'm willing to follow your recipe as given except for replacing the Cream Sherry with the Bailey's to see what DH and I think. :) My birthday is coming up at the end of July so perhaps we will test this out for my birthday first. ;)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Kathy,

I think your plan sounds perfect. I agree with you about omitting the spices. If your previous cake recipe was a super moist cake (instead of pound cake textured), bump the oil up and add about 2 more tablespoons if you want. Otherwise, it sounds great. How nice of you to be willing to "sacrifice" and make the cake for your birthday first! LOL But, that way you can decide whether or not you think it needs any tweaking so it will be just perfect for his birthday. The things we do and the sacrifices we make....LOL Seriously though...I hope it works and if you think it needs tweaking after you give it a try and you want to bounce it off me first...you know where to find me. Hope you enjoy it! ;-)

Unknown said...

I made this cake last night and it is wonderful. I went wheat and refined sugar free four years ago. I am always looking for that special recipe that is worthy of adding to my collection. I believe I can pass this off on family and they would be clueless that it is wheat free :). Thanks, Susan in Texas

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Susan,

I'm so happy you enjoyed it! The best compliment of all though is that you feel it could pass to others that are not wheat free like you and I are. That is always the BEST test of all to me. Thanks soo much for letting me know. I really liked it too and am thankful I was asked to revise it so the rest of us "low carbers" could enjoy it too. Thank you. :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

Just wanted to let you know that I made a lemon version of this cake for my Mom's birthday, and it was wonderful! I used plain water for the sherry. I omitted the vanilla and spices and added 2 tsp. lemon extract and zest of 2 lemons. For the glaze I omitted the vanilla and added 1/2 tsp. lemon extract and zest of 1 lemon. I didn't need to add the optional stevia.

I was hoping to find a *small* bag of unflavored/unsweetened whey powder. Guess what ... I just happened to come across some Bob's Red Mill at a local store that I don't visit very often. It worked great and when I run out I'll know where to get it. :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

So happy it turned out nicely with your lemon modifications. Great idea to do the water and lemon zest combo (instead of lemonade like I had suggested)...you removed a step there that wasn't necessary! LOL So happy it turned out nicely and hope your Mom enjoyed her birthday.

Good find on the whey powder, too. When I was at Sprouts not too long ago, the same place that I had previously bought Tera's Whey Powder on sale...I found where they for whatever reason, had marked it down to $9.99 for the big can of it (and the expiration date was still over a year away). I snapped it up quickly. :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

WOW ... what a find! Nice work! :-)

My mom had a really nice birthday (she turned 98.) My brother was in town, which made it extra special. He brought some fun games and we all had a great time! And I'm *so glad* I made the cake ... it was the perfect touch and everyone loved it! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi GGC,

Wow...98! How great is that! I feel extra special now that you chose my cake recipe to tweak and serve. It doesn't get more special than that! So happy everyone loved it and that you had a great time with her. :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis... "Face palm to forehead here"...you know I'm rushing too fast if I address you as GGC...LOL. At first I was confused when I re-read it this evening....I thought you sent that to me and realized that NO, while intending to respond to YOU, I sent it to myself! I need more sleep obviously!!! ;-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

Don't worry ... you'll catch up. And besides, the weekend is just 2 days away! :-)