The recipes are aim to be as low carb as possible too so they are all grain and gluten free – (except for one rogue cake that slipped in!).
Jan 18, 2024
I’m very partial to turmeric chai. It’s such a comforting and satisfying Winter drink. So much so, I felt a call recently to put it into cake form. And what a beautiful transition it made!
This fabulous flavour combo of turmeric, cardamon and ginger, running through a soft melt-in-the-mouth sponge and creamy icing, makes it a perfect January pick-me-up. Plus the turmeric gold set against the sexy red pomegranate make these cakes a feast for the eyes as well as the tum.
A little note about low carb cake mix and cake cases…..
These cake cases I discovered recently in Lakeland are just the job for this recipe and other low carb cup cakes. https://www.lakeland.co.uk/33404/decora-cupcake-cups-pink-and-white-pack-of-25
To achieve lightness and softness in a cake, using heavier wheat flour alternatives, my cake batter mixes tend to be less stiff than conventional sponge batter due to extra eggs I add for lift. This usually makes my cakes less suitable for standard paper cake cases. There's no major disaster but the cases can collapse a little and lose their shape when you fill them with a softer batter. Not with these lads though. They’re a generous size and they keep their shape perfectly.
I like serving cupcakes in a pretty paper case, but another alternative could be to buy silicon cake cases and to turn them out unadorned. Or failing that – this recipe works just as well as one large cake. (You would need to allow a further 10 minutes or so to cook).
The recipe below makes 10-12 cakes – or 1 x cake (using a 23cm square tin).
4 eggs
4-5 tbsp sweetener*
1 ½ tsp vanilla paste
85g butter
150g almond flour
150g courgette
1 ½ tsp turmeric
2 ½ tsp ginger
2 ½ tsp cardamom
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
For the icing
120g soft cheese
60g softened butter
5 tsp milled sweetener*
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 tsp cardamom
½ tsp ginger
A handful of pomegranite pips (optional)
*Natural sweetener options could include xylitol, erythritol, allulose. See Alternative Sweeteners page for more info. Each will have slightly different levels of sweetness. Adjust to taste.
Whisk the eggs, grated courgette, sweetener and vanilla paste.
Melt the butter in a pan, add to the mix and blend well.
In a separate bowl measure out the almond flour. Add the baking powder, salt and spices and mix thoroughly.
Add to the cake batter and blend well.
Pop the paper cake cases onto an oven proof tray. Spoon the mixture into the cases and smooth over the batter on the top.
Bake at Gas Mark 4 for 20-25 minutes or until a knife in the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile mix all the icing ingredients together.
Once the cakes are completely cool, take a knife and cut a small round section from the top of each cake. Lay the cake segment next to the cake.
Spoon a generous dollop of icing into each of the cake the craters you've made.
Cut the cake segment in half and put one on each side of the cream dollop - pushing into the cream a little as you do, so that it rises up into the butterfly shape you've made.
Decorate with pomegranate pips.
Store in the fridge.
