Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! – I’m Karen Gilchrist and looking forward to 2021!

We are two weeks into our post Holiday Covid-19 lockdown and all friends and family are healthy, thank goodness!

All family members decided to forego the real-time gatherings for Christmas Dinner and New Year’s Eve!

What we did do was a fun family Zoom where everyone wore their “Ugly Christmas Sweaters” and we played a couple of kid-friendly online Bingo Maker games that were customized with a Christmas theme.

It was very easy to set-up and free for up to 30 bingo cards, as long as someone in our group did the bingo calling.

It was great fun and everyone had the chance to see and talk to each other (sometimes all at once – LOL – but that was fun too 😊)!

This year’s Christmas was definitely different. Like usual, all family members had their own home decorations.

But this year we all had to do our online shopping in a very timely manner to guarantee the childrens’ wish lists and gift cards were delivered in time for the big day.

By only giving gifts to the younger children and teens, this allowed the adults the opportunity to donate to their favorite charities which included Sick Kids Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, Humane Society, Food Bank, Covenant House, Good Shepherd, Operation Smile, Heart & Stroke Foundation, Cancer Research Society, and so many more.

Even if it was a smaller amount than previous years, it was something to help someone else in need.

Now that all the festive decorations are securely packed away for next year, and all the cookies and chocolate have been eaten, it’s time to go back on the keto diet.

After a couple weeks of indulging more than usual, I’m feeling a bit guilty for putting on a couple of extra pounds. I was doing so well shedding the “Quarantine 15” by combining the cycle keto diet with intermittent fasting.

I always find it challenging to dive right back into the standard keto diet after enjoying some treats on the cycle keto diet … hmmm, maybe I’ll make a Lemon Poppy Seed Keto Cake and think about it a bit more.

I promise you’ll like this recipe. It reminds me of my Mom’s Lemon Poppy Seed Cake. That was a special occasion cake! The one I’m going to share with you has just 6 grams of carbs instead of Mom’s, which has a whopping 35 grams! This recipe can also be easily adjusted to make an amazing Almond Poppy Seed Keto Cake.

Rocket Lemon (or Almond) Poppy Seed Keto Cake (makes 12 servings)

 Cake Ingredients

*1/2 cup of Poppy Seeds

*1 cup of Greek Yogurt

3 large Eggs

1/3 cup of Ghee or Unsalted Butter (melted)

**1 Lemon (zest only) plus 6 tablespoons of Realemon^© juice  OR  2 Lemons (juice and zest)

***1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract  (OR  1 teaspoon Almond Extract)

2 cups of Almond Flour

2 tablespoons of Coconut Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 cup Monk Fruit Erythritol Granulated Sweetener

Glaze Ingredients

1/4 cup Monk Fruit Erythritol Powdered Sweetener

****1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice  (OR  1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract)

1/2-1 tablespoon Hot Water

Notes:

*The night before you bake the cake, combine the Greek Yogurt and Poppy Seeds, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. The reason I do this is Poppy Seeds have a hard outer coating and soaking them overnight allows the Poppy Seed flavor to release when cooked at a high temperature. (Thanks Mom, this is a great tip!)

**The amount of Lemon Juice and Zest really depends on how much you like the flavor. The difference between the two options is the one with Realemon^© juice and zest from one lemon has a slightly stronger flavor than the option with the zest and juice from 2 lemons.

***For the Almond Poppy Seed Keto Cake, substitute the Lemon Juice and Zest with 1/3 cup of Almond Milk and 1-1/2 teaspoon of Almond Extract instead of the Vanilla Extract.

****For the Almond Poppy Seed Keto Cake, subtitute Lemon Juice with a 1/2 teaspoon of Almond Extract.

Cake Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Grease and line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt, poppy seeds, eggs, vanilla, ghee or butter,
3. Sift into the mixing bowl almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and granulated sweetener. Fold ingredients together until well mixed.
4. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and smooth out the top.
5. Bake for 45-55 minutes. The cake is cooked when the top is brown and springs back when touched.
6. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to cool completely. Apply the glaze once the cake is cooled.

Glaze Instructions

1. Combine the powdered sweetener, lemon juice (or almond extract) and hot water in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
2. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and allow it to set for 15 minutes.
3. Cut the cake into thin slices and serve alone or with black berries.

 

I hope you enjoy this treat. As for me, after having a slice with a cuppa tea I decided to do the standard keto diet for 2 weeks, then shift to the cycle keto diet with intermittent fasting.

Let me know how you like this cake, and how you are doing by replying to any of my emails!