Strawberry Custard Cake

I wanted to make something special with the feeling of Spring for Mother's day this year. Putting together layered cakes and making cupcakes are usually my favorite type of dessert to jump to, but my mom isn't a huge fan of either of those so I wanted to pick something that would look slightly like a cake, but have the texture of a custard. This fit the bill perfectly! It has a smooth custard texture, firm enough to slice and is packed with chopped strawberries.  

 Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. strawberries, chopped

4 eggs, separated

3/4 c. Splenda

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

1 stick butter, melted

3/4 c. flour

2 c. warm milk (heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds, check, heat again 20 seconds if need be)

*Optional (what I used), whipped cream, crystallized rose sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9 inch springform pan with non stick cooking spray and set on top of a baking sheet. Separate the eggs, placing the whites in an electric mixer, and the yolks in a large bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. 

Meanwhile, add the Splenda in with the egg yolks and whisk together. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and melted butter and whisk again until everything is well combined. Add in the flour and whisk again. Add the milk, 1/2 cup at a time, and whisk until everything is incorporated. The batter will be VERY runny, which is what you want. 

Gently fold in the whipped egg whites until about half of them are incorporated in with the egg yolk mixture. There will be really weird looking egg white lumps left, and no worries, it is supposed to look like that.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread out the chopped strawberries. The egg white should still be stiff enough to hold the strawberries on top. Bake for 1 hour in the oven, checking after 40 minutes because each oven can vary. The cake should no longer giggle in the center when touched. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes before slicing or removing from the springform pan. 

Top with whipped cream and crystallized rose sugar!

Sugar-Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

Everything around Easter time is always so sugary, and a friend of mine wanted something special for her grandma to be able to enjoy. I tested out these sugar-free cupcakes and they turned out delicious! Make sure you eat them up in the first few days though, because they dry out pretty quickly. The amount of cupcakes always varies for people on how high they fill the cups, but mine made about 18-20 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. Splenda, granulated
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside. Heat 1/2 c. water in the microwave in a glass measuring cup until it starts to bubble (1-2 minutes). Add the cocoa to the water and whisk until blended (it will start to get thick). In an electric mixing bowl, add the flour, Splenda, baking soda and salt and mix a few times. Add in the butter and mix until the mixture becomes crumbles. In a medium size bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and cocoa mixture together. On low speed, slowly pour in the wet mixture to the mixing bowl. Scrape down the sides and mix until everything is smooth and combined well. Use a cookie dough scoop (or spoon) and fill the prepared cups about half way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the tops bounce back and all of the batter is cooked.

For the frosting....

Ingredients:

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1 stick butter, softened
4 Tbs. Splenda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. coffee extract

In a glass microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate in 30 second intervals stirring in-between microwave times. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl of a mixer to cool. Add in the cream on low speed. Add in the butter, Splenda, and extracts and bring the speed up to medium. Beat for about 3 minutes until fluffy.

You can always spread the frosting with a knife, but I prefer to pipe mine for most cupcakes. I added bunny and chick picks to make them festive for Easter!

Sugar Free Caramel Apple Cookies

For the past three days it has been rainy out. Most people are complaining because we went from 90 degrees to 70 but you will not hear any complaint from me. I am burnt all over the upper half of my body from being out in the sun all weekend and I am glad it has finally cooled off. Not to mention that the plants and grass are finally getting water since we have had a terribly dry summer so far. Rainy days always make me think of fall, and fall always makes me think of apples. I know quite a few people that are diabetic or can't have a lot of sugar, so this recipe is perfect for everyone!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 sticks margarine, softened
3/4 c. Splenda brown sugar
2 eggs
2.75 oz. bag Werther's Sugar Free Caramel Apple candies, crushed
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream the margarine and brown sugar in an electric mixer. Add the eggs, followed by the dry ingredients. On low speed, add in the crushed candies and chopped apple. Refrigerate the dough for at least a half an hour to make the dough less sticky and more pliable to work with. Drop by heaping tablespoon onto an ungreased non-stick cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool a minute on the baking sheet. Cool fully on a flat surface or wire rack before storing in an air tight container.

Splenda Pumpkin Cake with a Maple frosting and Toasted Walnuts

Happy Hunting Season! This year I made my husbands best friend a birthday cake. He is diabetic, and I made this cake for him last year also, but this year I added walnuts to it. It is very delicious and you would never know that it is a Splenda recipe and diabetes friendly! We actually brought it to a bar and even people at the bar who tried it were impressed! 

(this recipe was first done in 2011, and was re-made in cupcake form as shown above in November, 2014. Change the cooking time  to 18-22 minutes)

Ingredients:

1 c. Splenda granulated sweetener

1/2 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. canola oil

1 egg

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree

2 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbs. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

Frosting: 

1 8 oz. pkg. reduced fat cream cheese

1/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. maple flavor extract

1/2 c. Splenda granulated sweetener

1/2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray two 9 inch circular cake pans. Set aside. Place splenda, brown sugar, oil, egg and pumpkin puree into a blender. Combine. Add remaining ingredients until well combined. Pour cake batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on a drying rack. Place the frosting ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix until well blended. Place the first later of cake on a serving dish. Spread a thin layer of frosting on top. (Sprinkle with toasted walnuts if you chose to use them). Add the second cake layer. Spread with the rest of the frosting. (Top with more toasted walnuts if desired). Enjoy!

Sugar Free Apple Pie

Ingredients:

4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 tsp. Agave Nectar
1 tsp. apple pie spice
1-2 pie crusts, store bought or homemade


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the apples, agave and apple pie spice. Fit a pie crust into the bottom of a pie or quiche dish. Fold the edges of the pie crust over, or pinch together to form a pattern. Pour the apple mixture into the bottom pie crust. For the swirls of pie crust, I used a pizza cutter to cut the other pie crust into strips. Start at one end and roll up towards the other. Press gently into the bottom pie crust and continue to go around the whole pie.

Spray the crust with non stick cooking spray. Gently place tinfoil on top of the crust, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and continue baking for another 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing.

Sugar Free Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 c. flour
1/2 c. Splenda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large bananas, ripe and mashed
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 c. sour cream, light
1 tsp. vanilla
cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large loaf pan with non stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, Splenda, baking powder and soda, and salt together. Stir in the bananas, eggs, butter, sour cream and vanilla. Pour into the greased pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the center comes out clean when a toothpick is inserted. Transfer from the pan to a wire rack and let cool fully.

Sugar Free Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 c. flour
1/2 c. Splenda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 c. creamy natural peanut butter
3 Tbs. melted butter
1 egg
3 Tbs. applesauce, natural
1 tsp. vanilla
extra creamy peanut butter for the filling

Preheat the the oven to 375 degrees. Mix all of the above ingredients (minus the extra peanut butter) in a large bowl with a spatula. Roll into about 1 Tbs. size balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press the tops down with a fork in both directions to resemble a classic peanut butter cookie. Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for two minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to cool fully on a wire rack. Spread peanut butter on the bottom side of a cookie and sandwich with the flat side of another cookie.

Sugar Free Triple Chocolate Brownies

This recipe, is one of the easiest things in the world to make. If you have a hankering for some chocolate, and need it sugar free for whatever reason, you NEED to make these.

Ingredients:

1 box Pillsbury milk chocolate sugar free brownie mix
          (the oil, water and eggs also called for)
1 1/2 c. sugar free chocolate chips cookies, broken into large pieces
1/2 container of Pillsbury sugar free chocolate frosting, melted in the microwave

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with non stick cooking spray (I also lined mine with parchment). Combine the brownie mix, eggs, water and oil together with a whisk in a medium size bowl. Fold in the pieces of cookies. Pour into the prepared pan and spread in an even layer. Bake according to the package directions for the 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Let cool slightly before pouring the frosting on top. Spread out evenly and refrigerate until the frosting sets. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Jelly Doughnut Splenda Muffins

Ingredients:

1/4 c. margarine
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. Splenda
1/3 c. Splenda brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 c. flour
1 c. almond milk
1/4-1/3 c. sugar free strawberry jelly


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 12-15 cupcake tins with paper liners. In an electric mixer, beat the butter, oil and both sugars until smooth. Add eggs and continue to beat. Add the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and vanilla. Add the flour and milk alternating. Divide into the baking cups and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes, cut a hole on the tops of the muffins and fill with 1/2 tsp. of the strawberry jelly.

Toilet Water (Blue Punch)

Ingredients:

Blue (Mixed Berry) Kool - Aid
2 (2 liter) bottles Sprite Zero (sugar free white pop)
Cool Whip (I used sugar free)

Mix the Sprite Zero and the blue Kool - Aid mix in a punch bowl until mixed well. Dollop the top with Cool Whip.

*This can be done in every flavor Kool-Aid with the Sprite. This was a really cute idea for my dog's 4th birthday party! Pets are kids too :-)

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. oatmeal
1 c. plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
3/4 c. Splenda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 ripe bananas, mashed
Toppings ( I used raisins and pecans)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the above ingredients together in a large bowl. Spray muffin cups with non stick cooking spray. Divide the batter among 12 cups and spread the tops evenly. Add toppings. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the center is firm, but not dry. Let cool slightly before serving. Store in the refrigerator for a longer shelf life.

Sugar Free Pecan Sandies

Ingredients:

1 c. margarine, softened
1/4 c. Splenda (granulated)
2 c. flour
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped pecans
Edible Glitter


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter and Splenda at medium speed in an electric mixer. Add the flour on low speed until combined. Continue on low speed and add the vanilla and pecans to mix into the batter. Drop on a parchment lined baking sheet by 1 tablespoon size portions. They do not expand much, so you can place pretty close together. Sprinkle with edible glitter. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool on wire racks before serving.

Healthy Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 box Pillsbury sugar free devil's food cake mix
*Sugar free icing to drizzle, optional

Mix the cake mix and pumpkin until well combined (it will be dough, the dough is really thick!). Drop by tablespoon full on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the middle is soft and bounces back slightly. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack. When the cookies are fully cool, drizzle with sugar free icing. Let the icing harden before storing in air tight containers.

S'mores Brownie Cupcake

Ingredients:

1 box Pillsbury Sugar Free Milk Chocolate Brownie Mix
1/3 c. oil
3 Tbs. water
1 egg
12 marshmallows
3 boards graham crackers, crushed
1 bag sugar free Hershey's candy bars, individually wrapped, 12 unwrapped
         (or you can use 1 regular Hershey's bar)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the box. Fill a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Fill the liners half way full with the brownie batter. Place 1 marshmallow on top of each brownie cup and press down slightly. Sprinkle enough graham cracker crumbs to cover the top of the marshmallow. Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes. Place the whole muffin tin on a wire rack. Add 1 piece of chocolate to the top of each muffin cup. Let cool fully in the muffin pan.

(Makes 12 servings, 4 WW points per serving.)

Blueberry Pie Cobbler

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. blueberries
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. Splenda
1/3 c. refrigerated pie crust dough

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium size bowl, mix the blueberries, ground ginger, cinnamon, vanilla and Splenda together. Flour your counter top or work surface. Place the dough on the flour. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a quarter inch thick layer. Use a ramekin and press into the dough making circles. Cut around the outlines with a knife. Use a rolling pin and roll out the pie crust so that it can overlap around the top of the ramekin. Spray six ramekins with non stick cooking spray and set on a jellyroll pan. Divide the blueberry mix evenly among the six cups. Cut an "x" in the center of each pie crust circle. Place the circle on top of each ramekin and press down around the sides. Spray the tops with non stick cooking spray. Cover the tops with tinfoil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Pudding

Ingredients:

2 c. chopped strawberries, plus 12 slices
4 graham cracker boards, crushed
1 box sugar free fat free Jell-O Cheesecake pudding mix
2 c. milk, 1%

Mix the pudding with the milk and whisk until the mix dissolves. Refrigerate for 10 minutes until the pudding is set. In 6 dessert bowls, add the crushed graham cracker at the bottom. Add a layer of chopped strawberries. Spoon some of the pudding cheesecake on top of the strawberries. Top with two slices of strawberries and refrigerate for at least ten minutes again so that the pudding chills.

Mango Coconut Pineapple Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box sugar free classic yellow cake mix
1 c. mango coconut water
1/3 c. applesauce, natural
3 eggs
24 pineapple chunks, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners. Whisk the cake mix, coconut water, applesauce and eggs together. Fill the cupcake tins 1/2 way full. Place 1 pineapple, sliced, in the center of each cupcake tin. Pour more of the batter on top of the pineapple so that the cups are 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20-21 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. I frosted them with homemade diabetic vanilla frosting, that instead of adding milk to, I substituted with pineapple juice so that it tasted like pineapple frosting.

Cinnamon Splenda Muffins

Ingredients:

6 Tbs. Splenda
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. milk, 1%
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the sugar and egg together. Add the oil, milk and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients with the wet until just combined. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Fill each cup half way full. Bake for 12-14 minutes. When they are still warm, sprinkle with tops with a Splenda/cinnamon mixture. 

(Makes 10 muffins, 4 WW points per muffin)

Also, I made the batter blue and added a shark fin pick for shark week! Very cute!

Skinny Vanilla Yogurt Cupcakes

I went to Wisconsin to visit my godson this past weekend and decided to make him some cupcakes! He loves Sesame Street so I thought I would decorate them in crazy colors with some of the characters from the show. They are also sugar free!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. fat free vanilla yogurt
2/3 c. milk, 1%
1/4 c. applesauce, natural
3 Tbs. canola oil
3/4 c. Splenda
1 1/4 c. flour
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the wet ingredients together in an electric mixer, and add the dry ingredients until just combined. Divide evenly among 12 cups lined with cupcake liners. Bake for 20-23 minutes until golden on top.

For the frosting, combine an 8oz. container of fat free Cool Whip with 1/2 package of sugar free fat free cream cheese instant pudding mix. When I piped the frosting on the cupcakes, I added dots of food dye around the edges so that when I piped it would have a swirl pattern. Super easy frosting!

(Makes 12 cupcakes, 3 WW points each.)