Australia Day cake

I found this recipe on www.ingridsblogg.no a while ago, and I have been drooling over it ever since. When celebrating Christmas with my partner's family, I was in charge of desserts. So I thought I'd seize the opportunity and finally make this cake. And it really lived up to my expectations! I thought I'd share it with the heading "Australia Day cake", since this holiday is coming up soon, and you may be looking for a low carb treat. It's super easy to make, calls for no mysterious ingredients, and it's been approved by my low-carb-sceptic extended family! 


Ingredients:
100 g almonds
75 g butter
150 ml erythritol
300 ml cream
300 g Philadelphia cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla powder
3 teaspoons cocoa
100 g 70% chocolate


Method:
Melt butter and grind the almonds. Mix almonds, 3/4 of the melted butter and 50 ml erythritol. This is the crust of the cake. Spread the mixture into a spring-form and place in the refrigerator to set. 

Then, whip the cream together with 50 ml erythritol. In another bowl, whip the cream cheese and the last 50 ml of erythritol. Combine the two mixtures and stir. 

Divide the batter into two bowls. In one bowl, add in the cocoa, while in another you add in the vanilla powder. (Now you've got one bowl of chocolate-cream and another with vanilla-cream)

Spread the chocolate-cream on top of the almond-base. Add the vanilla-cream layer on top of that. Put the cake back in the fridge while you prepare a final layer of melted chocolate:

Melt the chocolate together with the remainder of the butter. Let the chocolate cool a little, then spread it on top of the cake. Let stand to cool for a couple of hours before serving. 

Enjoy!

Here are some photos. Unfortunately, some of them turned out a bit blurry

Loving earth vanilla powder

Happy New Year, everyone!

I'd like to start the new year with  a recommendation for a brilliant product!
You may have noticed that several of my recipes call for something called vanilla powder. It is exactly what it sounds like: Pure, ground vanilla. Until now I have been unable to find it anywhere in Australia. I have probably asked about it in ten health food stores, and they have just looked at me weirdly. Iherb doesn't stock it either. I found it on a UK website called gojiking, but somehow I never got around to order it. I had just resigned myself to always having to bake with that icky, sugary-laden vanilla-paste from my local Woollies. I once found a vanilla essence that was just vanilla and alcohol (no sugar), but I wasn't too impressed. Of course, I could just use vanilla-pods, but firstly I'm too lazy to scrape out the seeds, and secondly, they cost a fortune in Australia. But, one morning I saw this Aussie supermodel on a TV-show sharing a cake-recipe where she used ground vanilla. She said it was from loving earth, which I found out was an internet store after some googling. VOILA! I ordered it, and a couple of days later I had the parcel at my door step.

This is how it looks like:

Now, it wasn't cheap: This 75 gram container was around 20 dollars (if I remember correctly). But, you only ever use a teaspoon, so it will last forever! What I like about baking with real, ground vanilla, is that you get these little black vanilla grains that makes your ice-cream etc look really gourmet-ish. Plus it tastes yum, and that it's organic doesn't hurt! Use in teas, coffees, smoothies - and of course all your low-carb treats.

I can not recommend this product highly enough for your low carb baking.