LOW CARB POKE CAKE

KENT'S LOW CARB POKE CAKE
Cake:
3/4 cup butter, softened
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
7 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups almond flour (160 grams or 5 5/8 ounces)
2 1/2 ounces unsweetened coconut, ground fine (3/4 cup ground) *
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Gelatin:
1 package sugar free strawberry gelatin (or any flavor)
1 cup boiling water
1 cup ice water

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and Splenda with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one or two at a time; blend in the vanilla. The batter will look curdled. Mix the almond flour, coconut flour and baking powder; add to the egg mixture a little at a time. Beat about 1 minute until fluffy. Spread the batter in a greased 9x13" glass cake pan. Bake at 350?for 30 minutes. I suggest checking the cake after 25 minutes. The cake will be golden brown and firm to the touch when done. Cool the cake on a wire rack.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the gelatin according to the package directions. Chill until the outside edges are just starting to set up but the center is still liquid. This will take a little over an hour. Poke the entire surface of the cake every 1/2 inch with a skewer or large meat fork. Slowly and evenly pour the liquid gelatin over the cake (see my tip below). Chill 2-3 hours. Frost with the Whipped Topping.

Makes 12 servings

* Do not use commercial coconut flour in this recipe. It won't work because it will make the cake very dry.

Whipped Topping:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 teaspoons granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda **
2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat all of the ingredients until thick and fluffy.

** Instead of Splenda, I tried a new sweetener product from LC-Foods. It's called LC-Confectionery Powder and I put in 2 tablespoons of it. I'm hoping that it will help stabilize the whipped cream and keep it from breaking down over time. It did make the whipped cream extra thick.

With granular Splenda:
Per Serving: 431 Calories; 41g Fat; 9g Protein; 8.5g Carbohydrate; 2.5g Dietary Fiber; 6g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per Serving: 423 Calories; 41g Fat; 9g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2.5g Dietary Fiber; 3.5g Net Carbs

This is from Kent Altena. Click here to watch a video of Kent making this cake. About the only thing I changed was that I left out the lemon extract. The only reason that it was in the recipe was because Kent based his cake on my Pound Cake recipe which calls for it. I like lemon in my pound cake but didn't want it in this cake. This is delicious and I've already got some ideas for the next time I make it. I'd like to really boost the strawberry flavor by adding real strawberry juice to the gelatin and perhaps adding a layer of crushed berries on the top of the cake under the whipped topping. Click the photo to see a close-up.

TIP: After pouring the gelatin over the cake, I found that it kept pooling in the corners. To help distribute it more evenly through the center of the cake, I spent a few minutes with a rubber spatula, pushing the liquid back toward the center until most of it had been absorbed.

UPDATE 8/3/11: The cake has been in the fridge for three days now and the whipped topping has held up perfectly. I suspect that if I hadn't added the LC-Confectionery Powder the whipped cream would have become runny by now.

Here are some pictures of the cake before and after adding the gelatin:

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