Orange-Cardamom Tea Cakes

While looking for keto friendly tea service food recipes I stumbled upon this one and thought the flavor combination sounded good so I decided to try it.

Notes:

• I used butter to grease the muffin tin instead of spray oil because I didn't have spray, and it worked pretty well. Some of them had some trouble releasing from the tin but none got significantly ruined. You can run a plastic knife around the edge as they're cooling to help them come out more easily. I would not use paper liners because I think they'd just stick to the paper.
• I ended up with 11 cakes using a muffin tin. The recipe does not give a yield; it only said she used a mini bundt pan with space for 12 cakes, and I think with holes in the middle like a mini bundt cake you probably would get 12 cakes.
• I was a bit worried at the small amounts of fat and moisture in the recipe and the batter was indeed pretty thick, but it still resembled thicker muffin batter and they turned out fine.
• I used Truvia erythritol/stevia granules and it turned out well. Not too sweet tasting, and no excessive browning.
• I used unsweetened, unflavored almond milk. 
• My cakes took exactly 20 minutes to bake.
• I made a glaze out of a small amount of powdered sugar substitute, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a sprinkle of cardamom but I don't think I'd do it again as it was too sweet. I think a cream cheese based one would be really nice, or the coconut cream based one they suggest.

Verdict: Overall they turned out better than expected, and I would make them again. I might add some more cardamom in a future batch or consider grinding it fresh for a more intense flavor. I also think a lemon-poppyseed variation would be really good. My partner tried them and liked them, and  thinks other people would not know it's gluten free/keto unless you were to tell them.

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RECIPE: Low-Carb Orange Cardmom Tea Cakes (Annissa Slusher, Simply So Healthy)

Weight equivalents:

• 2 cups almond flour = 200 g
• 1/2 cup sweetener = 105 g
• 2 tbsp coconut oil = 28 g 

Spritz Cookies

My partner recently mentioned he missed having spritz cookies this past holiday season (we did not encounter any) so I decided to make him some for Valentine's Day, using the cookie press my friend's mother gifted me a long time ago. I have made spritz cookies before and posted about them here, but I wanted to try a new recipe this time. I know I can count on a recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction to turn out like it looks in her photos.

Notes:

• I chilled my pans from 5-10 minutes in the refrigerator before extruding the cookies onto them and it worked very nicely to get them to stick to the cookie sheet and come off the press.
• I tried brushing water on to get the colored sugar to stick but didn't have a lot of luck with it so I just sprinkled it directly onto the cookie. A little uneven and messy but still works. 
• I use my cookie press just infrequently enough that I forget its little quirks every time. Writing down notes here so I remember for next time.
• Maybe there's a better way to fill it but you can kinda make logs of dough just smaller than the tube and try to drop them in there.
• Change the cookie thickness dial depending on what shape you're making!
• Heart: THIN (if you do THICK they will look more like the opening in the plate hahahaha)
• Flower: THICK (if you try to go thinner they will stick to the gun instead of the pan)

Verdict: These were really tasty and turned out just like the recipe promised. I would happily make them again.

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RECIPE: Spritz Cookies (Sally McKenney, Sally's Baking Addiction)