# Cake Recipes



## DaNnY14 (May 7, 2020)

*Hello!* My mothers birthday is coming up soon and I want to make a cake for her but the problem is, is that she has type 2 diabetes and I'm very new to this kind of stuff. All I know is that there can't be any sugar and carbs(?), is it possible if you could recommend some recipes for cakes that she could have or what I shouldn't put in the cake that isn't good for her, or what could I do for her instead of a cak. I really want her to have a great birthday and its always pained me that she hasn't had a birthday cake for as long as I can remember. Stay safe!

*Danny *


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## Kaylz (May 7, 2020)

There are lots of recipes available online, flourless chocolate cakes, low carb cakes etc but in all honesty a piece of real cake once a year really isn't going to do much harm in the grand scheme of things, a little bit of what we fancy is good for our mental health too rather than feeling like we're left out because of diabetes, use less sugar, make a smaller cake let her enjoy her birthday, I hope she has a lovely day! 
xx


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## everydayupsanddowns (May 7, 2020)

What a lovely idea Danny! She’s lucky to have you looking out for her. Are you handy in the kitchen?

There are two days a year for a person living with diabetes where the body is miraculously immune to any effect of carbohydrates, sugary things and sweet treats... one is your birthday, the other is Christmas.  

If you had experimented and managed to find or adapt a recipe that really worked well I would go for it, but I’ve only every tried one low carb cake and it was completely inedible. I choose to have actual cake, but not have it very often


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## trophywench (May 7, 2020)

My low carb cake is a single chocolate éclair, approx. 10g carb.  I don't go to the trouble of making the choux pastry myself as the commercial sort is 100% OK and doesn't involve either thought or effort!  However, it is dead easy to make yourself as it happens and requires a lot more in wrist strength than it does delicacy!


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## Drummer (May 7, 2020)

You could make a low sugar trifle, with sugar free jelly, real custard, real cream whipped up and some fruit - maybe some frozen berries in the jelly layer. It is far easier to eat a small slice of cake if it means leaving room for trifle. You can get edible decorations such as flowers or silver balls, which are sugary but as all the rest isn't that should be fine.


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## rebrascora (May 7, 2020)

I just want to say how wonderful it is that you have taken the initiative to come onto a diabetes forum in order to ask such a question about how you can make your Mum's birthday more special. If I was her I would be so thrilled and proud that you had even thought about how to gain that information, that I wouldn't even care if the cake was a disaster (although I am sure it won't be). You are a very special, caring young person and I think you are a real credit to your Mum. 

I think the other replies above may not really be what you are after even if they are probably the truth but if you really want to make a low carb cake then I will tag @NotWorriedAtAll because she bakes some wonderful low carb cakes and if anyone can help you, she can. 
Good luck and I am sure your mother will be really impressed with whatever you make. Please encourage her to join the forum as we would love to have her on board too.


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## Sally W (May 7, 2020)

https://app.ckbk.com/recipe/open87473c03s001r023/whole-orange-and-almond-cake This is last one I made with sweetener instead of sugar. I have other recipes if you don’t like flavours


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## NotWorriedAtAll (May 8, 2020)

Hello Danny,

your mum can have an awesome birthday cake and you can all enjoy it along with trifle and chocolate eclairs if you like and cupcakes!!! All perfectly fine for diabetics.

I have a page on Facebook - the link is underneath in my signature and on my page I have methods and ingredients and pictures and if you have any questions you can message me and I'll be happy to help out.

Most ingredients if not all can be delivered from amazon which is where I get most of my stuff and all ingredients are things you can use often to make lovely stuff that non-diabetics will enjoy as much if not more than the sugary carby stuff.

It was a massive surprise to me when I was diagnosed to find out that I ended up eating more cakes and sweet things after changing my eating habits. Prior to my diagnosis I never had cakes and cream etc because I thought they were bad for me. But if you make them with the right ingredients they can actually be good for you!!! Basically instead of using wheat flours and sugar I use almond and/or coconut flour and psyllium husk and I use erythritol or xylitol sweeteners.

The keto versions (very low carb and high fat) cakes are also much much easier and faster to make than traditional baking and most of my recipes can be made quickly and easily in half an hour from ingredients to fully finished and ready to eat!!

Here's one recipe which I made in an actual oven - it is my special occasion recipe>


* Sponge cake - low carb.*

140g almond flour (I used finely ground almonds)
10g psyllium husk powder (this stuff is miracle working for keto baking - buy it, use it and never look back - look for the blonde psyllium husk powder - the other stuff turns your food purple - it tastes the same and does no hamr but might put people off)
30g salted butter
4-5 large eggs (UK sizing - if you are using US sizes you'll need 6 eggs)
50g powdered sweetener - I use Truvia or Natvia which are Stevie/erythritol blends
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder

I also add various extras depending on what I am aiming for e.g a tablespoon of lemon zest for a lemony cake or a tablespoon of 100% cocoa cocoa powder for a chocolate cake.

Method.

Preheat oven to 170C/340F

Prepare baking pan/pans/cupcake moulds
either use silicon ones which don't need anything other than a brush of melted butter or I use non-stick ones brushed with butter and dusted with fine low-carb flour of your choice.
I find this recipe makes two sponge cake layers around 7 - 9 inch diameter

Mix almond flour, psyllium hisk and baking powder together into a bowl - this is important to get the psyllium husk and baking powder evenly distributed into the flour.

melt butter - I do that in a small ceramic bowl in the microwave - about twenty seconds on medium - watch it though if you go too long too hot it splatters all over the place.

Beat the eggs and sweetener with an electric whisk until it is foamy and three times its original volume.

add the vanilla and a pinch of salt and any flavouring (lemon zest or cocoa powder) and beat it until it is all fluffy again with everything mixed in.

put a few spoonfuls of the batter mixture into the melted butter and stir it up until it is all mixed together and looks a bit like runny custard. Then pour the batter/butter mix into the main batter bowl and whisk some more.
Sift the flour/baking powder/psyllium husk into the batter - I used to skip the sifting but it is very important in this recipe - almond flour is denser/damper than wheat flour and more likely to clump so important to sift it.
Stir this in gently (fold) until the mixture is one consistency and preferably still with plenty of air in it.

Pour the batter into the pans sharing it fairly between them.

Bake the cakes.

I have a small halogen oven and can only cook one layer at a time which is how I found out that it is okay to let the batter-filled pan sit for thirty minutes before cooking and the cake still turns out okay.

In my halogen oven it takes 20 - 25 minutes for the cake to cook through.
Test for doneness by inserting a skewer and if it comes out clean - it is done.

LEAVE THE CAKE TO COOL IN THE PAN - if you are using metal pans.

It will shrink back a bit and then you can gently ease it out with a spatula.

Then place on wire rack to finish cooling.

If you use silicon or lined tins you can get it out sooner and cool it on wire racks.

This is my recipe for keto lemon curd which I use to put between the sponge cakes - I also use double cream whipped with sweetener for an extra special result - but you can use chia seed strawberry jam instead - the recipe for that is also on my page - it takes ten minutes to make.

*Lemon Curd - keto.*

1/4 cup of sweetener - I use Truvia (Stevia/erythritol blend)
3 large whole eggs
1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 2 large lemons from Costco)
1/2 cup of butter melted carefully in the microwave.

Using a pestle and mortar - grind the sweetener into a fine powder and do't breathe it in because it isn't good to breathe in any powder whatever it is.

Crack the eggs into a microwave safe bowl.
Pour in the lemon juice.
Carefully pour in the sweetener.
Pour in the cooled melted butter.

Whisk it up with an electric (or mechanical one with a handle - I wish I had one of those they are fun and environmentally friendly) whisk until it looks like frothy custard.

Full power in microwave for 30 seconds and then see how it is doing.
If it is already starting to thicken - stir and then repeat the process every 30 seconds until it coats the back of the spoon.
Then if you have some lumps use a stick blender to smooth it up and then put it back in the microwave for ten seconds.

It is done.

It takes about 2- 5 minutes depending on how powerful your microwave is.

Put it into sterilised containers if you are going to store it for up to 2-3 weeks  - who are we kidding it will all be gone in 2-3 days!!

The only carbs in this are whatever is in the lemon juice - so not a huge amount but best not to eat the entire batch in one go - even if it is tempting.

My lemon curd turned out a bit more like lemon mousse but it tastes wonderful.

Picture shows how it turns out if you don't fuss about much with decorating it. There are a few strawberry versions with an easier recipe on my page.


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## NotWorriedAtAll (May 8, 2020)

*Strawberry Cream Cupcakes - around 2g carbs per cupcake.*
This recipe makes ten proper size cupcakes.

For the cakes
140g almond flour
2 tablespoons of psyllium husk
2 tablespoons of erythritol
2 large eggs or 3 medium
2 tablespoons of melted butter
2 teaspoons of baking powder (I use Dr Oetker)
splash of vanilla essence.

1/2 teaspoon of freeze dried strawberry powder. You can leave this out and the cakes will still be yummy.

I bought this from Amazon they have a few brands I got 60g in a tub it is expensive but it will last and it is nothing but strawberry so I count it as good value compared with buying fresh.

*For the topping*

Double cream ( I just sloshed what looked like a good amount into a bowl)
1/2 teaspoon of strawberry powder - you could leave this out and use 100% cocoa powder for a chocolate topping or just whip cream up with the sweetener.
erythritol to taste
1/4 teaspoon of citric acid powder (I love this stuff so zingy and it makes cream go like clotted cream and keeps it from going runny) - you can leave it out and everything will still work fine.

Method
I put a glass bowl onto a weighing scale and then put a plastic sieve on top and then zero the scale.
Then I weigh out the almond flour into the sieve.
Then I measure all the other powders in with it including the strawberry powder.

I use a pestle and mortar to grind the erythritol into powder but it isn't strictly necessary.

Then I use a spoon to stir the powders in the sieve to get it to go through the sieve into the glass bowl. That mixes them together and gets rid of any lumps.

I melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave then I add the eggs and whisk them up together with a splash of vanilla essence.

Then mix the liquid into the powder and stir until it is all mixed together in a fairly wet looking cake batter.

I spoon the mix into silicon cake cups - this mixture makes ten.

Then I cook five at a time (because I only have five silicon cake cups so I do it in batches)
in a 900W Microwave at full power for 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

The I tip the cakes out and put the cakes on a wire rack to cool.

*** you could just put all the mix into a round flat bottomed pyrex bowl and microwave it for three minutes (check it is cooked all the way through and if it isn't cook it for longer in bursts of ten seconds and keep checking) then let it cool completely and carefully place a plate on top of it and flip it over to let it fall out. Then you can slice it across the middle with a breadknife to get the two sponge layer and then decorate it as a single sponge cake with jam and cream of your choice. ***

The topping

Whisk the cream until it thickens a bit.
Then add the strawberry powder, erythritol powder and citric acid powder and stir until it has thickened into a fairly stiff consistency and is all one colour.

I used a piping bag with a nozzle to squirt the cream onto the cakes once they had cooled and after I put them into paper cupcake cases. If I'd had enough silicon ones I would have put them back into those.

I had some wafer flower decorations with best before October 2017 and they looked okay and smelled okay so I used them up to make them look pretty. Luckily they tasted okay too.


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## DaNnY14 (May 16, 2020)

Kaylz said:


> There are lots of recipes available online, flourless chocolate cakes, low carb cakes etc but in all honesty a piece of real cake once a year really isn't going to do much harm in the grand scheme of things, a little bit of what we fancy is good for our mental health too rather than feeling like we're left out because of diabetes, use less sugar, make a smaller cake let her enjoy her birthday, I hope she has a lovely day!
> xx



Thank you!


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## DaNnY14 (May 16, 2020)

everydayupsanddowns said:


> What a lovely idea Danny! She’s lucky to have you looking out for her. Are you handy in the kitchen?
> 
> There are two days a year for a person living with diabetes where the body is miraculously immune to any effect of carbohydrates, sugary things and sweet treats... one is your birthday, the other is Christmas.
> 
> If you had experimented and managed to find or adapt a recipe that really worked well I would go for it, but I’ve only every tried one low carb cake and it was completely inedible. I choose to have actual cake, but not have it very often




Thanks! I'll take this into consideration! 

Danny


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## DaNnY14 (May 16, 2020)

Drummer said:


> You could make a low sugar trifle, with sugar free jelly, real custard, real cream whipped up and some fruit - maybe some frozen berries in the jelly layer. It is far easier to eat a small slice of cake if it means leaving room for trifle. You can get edible decorations such as flowers or silver balls, which are sugary but as all the rest isn't that should be fine.



Thank you for your suggestion! I will take this suggestion into consideration like I will with all the others!

Danny


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## DaNnY14 (May 16, 2020)

rebrascora said:


> I just want to say how wonderful it is that you have taken the initiative to come onto a diabetes forum in order to ask such a question about how you can make your Mum's birthday more special. If I was her I would be so thrilled and proud that you had even thought about how to gain that information, that I wouldn't even care if the cake was a disaster (although I am sure it won't be). You are a very special, caring young person and I think you are a real credit to your Mum.
> 
> I think the other replies above may not really be what you are after even if they are probably the truth but if you really want to make a low carb cake then I will tag @NotWorriedAtAll because she bakes some wonderful low carb cakes and if anyone can help you, she can.
> Good luck and I am sure your mother will be really impressed with whatever you make. Please encourage her to join the forum as we would love to have her on board too.



Thanks for this suggestion, all you people are so kind, I didn't expect to get so many responses! Sorry this reply is a bit late and yes I'll see if my mum wants to join the forums!

Danny


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## DaNnY14 (May 16, 2020)

Sally W said:


> https://app.ckbk.com/recipe/open87473c03s001r023/whole-orange-and-almond-cake This is last one I made with sweetener instead of sugar. I have other recipes if you don’t like flavours



Thanks for your suggestion which I am taking into consideration along with the many other suggestions! 

Danny


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## DaNnY14 (May 16, 2020)

NotWorriedAtAll said:


> Hello Danny,
> 
> your mum can have an awesome birthday cake and you can all enjoy it along with trifle and chocolate eclairs if you like and cupcakes!!! All perfectly fine for diabetics.
> 
> ...



Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to this thread, i'll make sure to have a look at your facebook page and I may end up asking you for help if I need it!

Danny


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## DaNnY14 (May 17, 2020)

NotWorriedAtAll said:


> View attachment 14107
> 
> *Strawberry Cream Cupcakes - around 2g carbs per cupcake.*
> This recipe makes ten proper size cupcakes.
> ...



(Whoops! I realised you're the same person who put the other two recipes that I already replied to! So there'll be a few irrelevant bits that I might have already mentioned in the other response!)

Thanks for taking the time to respond to this thread, those cupcakes do look delicious! I'll take this into consideration along with the many suggestions I've been bombarded with, but even if I don't do it for my mum's birthday along with the other recipes that other people have put on this thread I might do this in my spare time. It'll pass time during the lockdown for sure! 

Danny


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## NotWorriedAtAll (May 17, 2020)

DaNnY14 said:


> (Whoops! I realised you're the same person who put the other two recipes that I already replied to! So there'll be a few irrelevant bits that I might have already mentioned in the other response!)
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to respond to this thread, those cupcakes do look delicious! I'll take this into consideration along with the many suggestions I've been bombarded with, but even if I don't do it for my mum's birthday along with the other recipes that other people have put on this thread I might do this in my spare time. It'll pass time during the lockdown for sure!
> 
> Danny


One thing I would recommend is to check first with your mum about her attitude to eating 'normal' foods with sugar and carbs in.  Because although many people here are okay with having a day off for birthdays etc your mum might be like me and I would be very upset if someone gave me cakes and puddings with carbs and sugar in for my birthday and while I might put a brave face on it and eat the stuff not to make a scene it would make me very unhappy and ruin my day and make me feel very sad and I'd be panicking about the effect on my blood sugars.

I am also the sort of person that if I take a 'day off' it would make me more likely to be derailed because I took a long time to retrain my habits and it is a bit like falling off the wagon with alcohol or drugs. Very hard work to regain that equilibrium. Sugar and carbs are sneaky and if you get a taste of them the body starts to crave more and more.

You know your mum best, but I just thought I'd mention it just in case your mum is more like me.


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## DaNnY14 (May 17, 2020)

NotWorriedAtAll said:


> One thing I would recommend is to check first with your mum about her attitude to eating 'normal' foods with sugar and carbs in.  Because although many people here are okay with having a day off for birthdays etc your mum might be like me and I would be very upset if someone gave me cakes and puddings with carbs and sugar in for my birthday and while I might put a brave face on it and eat the stuff not to make a scene it would make me very unhappy and ruin my day and make me feel very sad and I'd be panicking about the effect on my blood sugars.
> 
> I am also the sort of person that if I take a 'day off' it would make me more likely to be derailed because I took a long time to retrain my habits and it is a bit like falling off the wagon with alcohol or drugs. Very hard work to regain that equilibrium. Sugar and carbs are sneaky and if you get a taste of them the body starts to crave more and more.
> 
> You know your mum best, but I just thought I'd mention it just in case your mum is more like me.



Thanks, my mum is like you, she doesn't eat that many carbs and barely ever has anything with sugar in unless its some kind of natural sugar that's ok for her to have. It's the reason why I asked for help on recipes as I'm not a diabetic and I don't know everything in detail, what also doesn't help is that she has high blood pressure which isn't helpful.

Danny


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## NotWorriedAtAll (May 18, 2020)

DaNnY14 said:


> Thanks, my mum is like you, she doesn't eat that many carbs and barely ever has anything with sugar in unless its some kind of natural sugar that's ok for her to have. It's the reason why I asked for help on recipes as I'm not a diabetic and I don't know everything in detail, what also doesn't help is that she has high blood pressure which isn't helpful.
> 
> Danny


I had high blood pressure too.  Changing to a high fat/very low carb aka keto diet sorted most of it out.  I still need to be careful I drink plenty of water and don't overdo the salt intake but introducing psyllium husk (in my pastry, cake and bread recipes), chia seeds (in my jam recipes) and konjac noodles and rice has increased my dietary fibre intake without adding carbs and they all work well to combat blood pressure and keep blood sugar levels down..

I've also found peppermint tea to be a marvel - on the odd occasion my carb intake may have been too high - a nice cup of peppermint tea brings my blood sugar levels down again.  I'm not taking any meds now for diabetes nor blood pressure.


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## Sally W (May 29, 2020)

DaNnY14 said:


> Thanks for your suggestion which I am taking into consideration along with the many other suggestions!
> 
> Danny


You’re welcome. I have plenty more if there is a particular flavour she likes - I have many cookbooks!


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