WANTED:
I have been craving some kind of peanut butter flavored sweet treat, but I’m not thrilled with the recipes I’ve found so far (not having tried them, but I am a very good cook generally and I am pretty good about predicting the results of a recipe after reading it, especially if it has particular ingredients that have a particular way of flavoring or changing the texture of something.)
I have read a couple of recipes for low-carb peanut butter fudge, and such a thing sounds appealing in theory, but the recipes haven’t sounded all that great- one had a lot of cream cheese, which imparts a tartness, the other had whey protein, which I don’t have around the house AND I don’t have any idea what kind of flavor or texture that imparts, so I’m hesitant to invest in some just to experiment. What does it taste like? What does it do to a recipe? Can it be replaced with coconut flour?
More Questions
And as long as I’m asking questions…I very much dislike almond flour. If a recipe sounds tempting except for the fact that it’s made with almond flour, can coconut flour substitute? If so, what adjustments must be made? Can any other nut flour substitute (i generally dislike brazil nuts, but I’ve noticed that they are actually kind of bland and might work well in certain circumstances)?
Has anyone ever used peanut butter flour? I saw it at Trader Joes a year or two ago and meant to try it out, then they stopped carrying it.
Does anyone know of a resource that breaks down the various substitution/replacement foods with information about how each is used in recipes and what can sub for what?
Something like:
[ul]
[li]Coconut flour- works well as a true flour substitute for cakes or muffins, very mild coconut flavor. Extremely dry, requires lots of extra egg, fat or other liquid to offset the dryness. [/li]
[li]psyllium husks virtually tasteless, but work well as a fry coating because they will brown and crisp.[/li][/ul]
That sort of thing.
I’ll share my current favorite low-carb dessert:
** brulee-free creme brulee**
[ul]
[li]2 pints cream or some measure of half/half, depending on your carb vs. fat tolerance[/li][li]3 egg yolks[/li][li]1 whole egg[/li][li]barely a pinch of salt[/li][li]sweetener of your choice- I use a mix of Truvia and Splenda-based syrup[/li][li]vanilla[/li][li]nutmeg[/li][/ul]
I do not have amounts on the sweetener and vanilla because those are to taste, see below.
[ul]
[li]beat the eggs with the salt[/li][li]scald the cream[/li][li]add a little hot cream while stirring to temper the eggs (if you add the hot cream all at once you will have scrambled eggs) then add a little more, then all of it.[/li][/ul]
**RE ADDING SWEETENER AND VANILLA: **I do this entirely by taste, and I do it by sweetening the eggs and adding vanilla to the eggs, making it sweeter than I would like, then I test again after adding the cream, adjusting as necessary while keeping in mind the fact that it will taste sweeter cold than it does warm or hot.
If you don’t want to risk tasting raw egg (i touch it very lightly to my tongue, so far it’s never been a problem) then sweeten the cream, but remember that if you make it perfect with only the cream, the eggs will dilute the sweetness somewhat, so account for that.
I also use A LOT of vanilla. Because I love vanilla, but that’s why it’s “to taste”.
Place ramekins in a wide pan, fill with custard mix. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. This is optional, and again, I use A LOT because I love it. YMMV.
Add hot water to the pan, enough to come up to the level of the custard inside the ramekins, and bake in a 325 oven for 25 minutes to start. the final amount of time depends on how full the ramekins are and how fussy you are. I don’t mind overcooking a little, just test with a knife. If it comes out coated, it needs more cooking.
If you eat it warm it will be looser and more liquid than it is cold. After being chilled it is very rich and creamy. Yum.
I also make a chocolate version by reserving a third of the recipe or so, melting a square of unsweetened chocolate and adding more cream, sweetening to taste. I keep adding warm cream to the chocolate/cream until it’s relatively thin, then I add in the reserved custard mix. I discovered the first time I tried this that the chocolate willl thicken the cream all by itself quite a bit, so it needs to be thinned quite a bit.
Sorry not to be more precise with all my measurements, but I’m mostly an eyeball cook. Years of practice, and I know that doesn’t help if you aren’t the same. If anyone is interested and frustrated, I’ll try to work out better measurements next time I make it.
You can also try using yolks only, that makes it ultra smooth and creamy, but I like the bit of firmness that the white adds. Also you can reduce total number of eggs, I believe that as little as one yolk per cup of cream is enough to make the custard set, but since I like it rich and eggy, I’ve never experimented with that.