Strawberry Cake Bites for My Sweetheart

Today, being Valentine's Day, seems to be all about chocolate. Well, that and roses. Enough of that.
I did get some beautiful red roses for the holiday. My hubby was so anxious, he gave them to me yesterday. And a Teddy bear---and a card. Yes I am loved, and he has too much time on his hands these days. Not complaining.

With all those great gifts, I needed something better than average for him. My love usually shows itself in the gift of food. After all,  I would never be doing this blog and cookbook thing if it wasn't that I love my diabetic hubby! (and I plan to keep him around) I have made chocolates in the past, cakes and even breakfast in bed. Today I decided to try something different. Strawberry. You don't even need the expensive fresh berries for this recipe. I keep dried strawberries on hand. They are great in baked goods, on salads and just for a sweet snack. Just dehydrated berries, no sugar added. Love these because they are packed with strawberry flavor--I buy mine at Aldi.

This month, I am doing a Diner News theme on small kitchen appliances, so I decided to make this treat in my cake pop machine. They will do just as well as mini muffins, but the round shape is so cute and more fun to eat. These taste so amazing! Using my own Bake Mix from the June '15 Diner News, these are so light and truly taste like a delicate tea cake. It would be hard to know they are low carb. All the different ingredients in the bake mix work together to make magic. It really is worth making the bake mix for delicate cakes like these. No strong flavor of flax or coconut. Lighter on calories than nut flours. Moist and tender unlike many recipes featuring oat fiber and protein powder. This recipe used Mix #1 which is lighter colored with golden flax. Either will work. I love my baking mix! It made Valentine's Day a hit!

Strawberry Cake Bites

3/4 cup dried strawberries with no sugar added (divided use)
2 eggs 
1/4 cup water 
2 tbsp coconut milk
1 tsp MCT or liquid coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
14 drops Capella Strawberries and Cream flavoring (optional)
6 tbsp Master Bake Mix #1 or #2
2 tbsp erythritol / stevia blend equal to sugar
2 tbsp ground dried strawberries
1 tsp baking powder

Topping option #1
1 oz cream cheese
2 tsp erythritol / stevia blend equal to sugar
1 tsp dried strawberry powder

Topping option #2
1 tbsp coconut oil (refined)
2 tsp erythritol / stevia blend equal to sugar
1 tsp dried strawberry powder

Garnish:
2 tsp erythritol / stevia blend equal to sugar
remaining dried berries


In a bullet blender, fit the grinder blade. Process 1/2 cup of the dried strawberries until they form a powder. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine eggs, water, coconut milk, oil, vanilla and strawberry flavoring if using. When well mixed, add baking mix, sweetener, 2 tbsp of powdered strawberries and baking powder. Stir until no lumps remain. Chop the remaining 1/4 cup of dried berries into pieces about the size of a pea. Add these to the batter.

Heat a cake pop appliance or heat an oven to 325. Oil the appliance or mini muffin tin. Bake the cake balls for 4 minutes per batch. Bake mini muffins for about 15 minutes.

Topping #1: This will taste more like a strawberry cheesecake. Combine softened cream cheese with sweetener and strawberry powder. Spread on the top half each ball of cake. 

Topping #2: This is a more intense strawberry flavor, but the glaze looks more red than pink. Melt coconut oil in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir in the sweetener and dried berry powder. Dip each cake ball in the glaze.

Garnish:  Combine 2 tsp sweetener and the remaining strawberry powder. Sprinkle over the topping or dip the cake ball into the sweetener.

Approx. 16 cake pops or 12 mini muffins

Serves 4:  135 calories   4 net g carb cream cheese topping
                141 calories   3.5 net g coconut oil topping

I like the cheesecake topping the best, but the glazed are quicker to assemble. Your choice! If making muffins, you might choose to make half again as much topping, as the balls do not require as much frosting as a cupcake generally uses. In the photo above, the ball on the front left is the coconut oil glaze and the one on the right is the cream cheese topping.

If you want to buy a cake pop maker, head on over to my Amazon store and get one delivered to your door. I will have more recipes to try in the March Diner News. Chicken Parmesan Pops sound good? Thought so.

I forgot to mention that my darling hubby also bought me a cast iron Dutch oven. Beautiful red for Valentine's day and to match my old--and new kitchen. New kitchen?

My oldest son gifted me a partial set of new kitchen cabinets for Christmas, so we are about to undergo a bit of a kitchen reno. We are refinishing all the older cabinets that are staying, so wish me luck. Out with the 90s golden oak and in with a stained linen color.  I sure hope we don't mess it up. I wish we were making my tiny kitchen larger, but that just can't happen now. Hubby is still without a full time job, so we are pinching every penny. It should be fun, but it will be even harder to get new recipes tested. We will see what happens! I would love to feature some reader's favorites like I did when the tornado blew our roof off, so send some recipes in if you can. I am sure there are lots of great cooks out there.

Get more great recipes at the Low Carbing Among Friends Facebook Page:               https://www.facebook.com/LowCarbingAmongFriends

 Order any of our great cookbooks at  http://amongfriends.us/24-7-LCD.php

Order my original e-book or the latest version for couples and singles,  A Table for Two here.