Taste of Summer - Patriotic Sugar Free Baked Funnel Cakes

 

 

Aside from the ridiculous heat that hits southern California, a few things make me think of Summer: The County Fair and the 4th of July. I didn't have the chance to make it out to the fair this year but plenty of my friends were able to. Plenty of fair check ins and pictures of fair food have been flooding my social media feed, making me extremely jealous! Since I couldn't make it out there, I just have to bring it to my house.

One of my favorite fair foods is funnel cake. To be honest with you, I don't even know where else you can find funnel cake other than the fair or maybe at a theme park. So one time a year, whoever I go to the fair with, I end up conning convincing them to buy one so I can just get a few bites of the deep fried confection covered in powdered sugar. When I heard that you could actually make a baked version of it, I was all over it (not that I'm anti the occasional deep fried food....me and the deep fryer just do not get along! Angry oil scares the heck out of me!) Since the 4th is this week, I decided to give my funnel cakes a patriotic twist.

 

Patriotic Sugar Free Baked Funnel Cakes

adapted from DiabeticLivingOnline.com

 

1 cup of water

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all purpose flour

4 eggs

2 cups of berries (strawberries & blueberries for the colors)

1 cup vanilla ice cream

large freezer/storage bag

 

 

Preheat oven to 400*F. Cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with a non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a medium sized saucepan, bring water, butter, and salt to a boil. Once the butter is completely melted, stir in the flour and incorporate until the dough forms a ball.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Vigorously mix in one egg at a time until fully mixed and smooth. Spoon dough into the storage bag. Snip a tiny portion of the bottom corner of the bag. Pipe the dough onto the cookie sheet either in a star shape (repeating the layered pattern twice) or in the traditional round shape with several crisscrossed patterns.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until puffy and light golden brown. Remove from the pan. Serve warm with the berries and vanilla ice cream.

 

 

 

Sueshine Notes

Recipe yields about 12 mini cakes

As there is no sugar in this recipe, the dough is not sweet at all. You have to depend on your topping choices to sweeten up this traditional treat. Suggestions?

-Traditionally its served warm and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar. -Another option that is usually available at the San Diego County Fair is to roll it in cinnamon sugar to make it similar to a churro or "Mexican Funnel Cake."

-Fruit or chocolate sauce

-Whipped cream

-Whatever you please because it's just damn tasty and much healthier than the deep fried version. You have room to indulge in the toppings just a tiny bit!

 

 

 

Even though I know it's going to be an extremely hot summer in east San Diego, causing the temperature in my lil red kitchen to sky rocket, this is the first post of what I hope to be a "Taste of Summer" series. I know I'm mainly a baking blog but I hope to share and explore flavors from my summers growing up that may include giving my oven a little break. In the meantime, please have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend!!

 

 

 

A Family Favorite - Filipino Leche Flan (reduced sugar)

With the rush of the holiday season, my blog seems to take a hit at the end of each year and gets forgotten for a little bit. I promise you it's for a good reason though. It was to spend quality time with my family.

 

Some of the extended family, my mom, and I from San Diego had an chance to visit my aunt who lives in Nashville and meet up with my uncle who came up from Alabama to celebrate a southern Thanksgiving. We flew in on Thanksgiving Day...which made me wonder, when two of the family cooks and two of the family bakers (one being myself) were flying in at 2PM in the afternoon, who was going to cook?!

The generation of amazing cooks/palettes I keep talking about in my stories...plus all their first borns. I'm waiting for the day they make us cook/bake the holiday meals!

 

 

My aunt Sherri and uncle Ronnie did a fantastic job starting the meal and my mom and uncle Rod jumped right in to help. One of the first things my uncle Ronnie said to me when I got there was, "I made something just for you."

 

Giving thanks for the spread.

 



 

It's rare not to have a flan at one of our family parties or holidays.  Filipino flan is much sweeter than Mexican flan...a custard dessert made with tons of egg yolks, condensed milk, and dark brown sugar syrup....usually one of the holiday dishes I can't sneak onto my plate. BUT....my uncle had made me a no sugar added leche flan! I cannot even express how excited I was. As a spooned the flan into my eager mouth and my already too full tummy....my uncle kept telling me he hoped his recipe would make it onto my blog. So here it is!

 

Leche Flan (reduced sugar)

10 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar substitute

2 cans of evaporated milk

pinch of lime zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

agave syrup (enough to coat the bottom of your baking dish)

 

Coat the bottom of the baking dish with agave nectar then refrigerate for about half an hour.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl then slowly stir with a whisk without pulling out the whisk to avoid creating bubbles.

Strain the egg mixture.   

Slowly pour egg mixture into the baking dish. Bake on a water bath for about 30 to 45 minutes. Loosely cover the top of the baking dish with aluminum foil to avoid browning the top of the flan. You can use a toothpick test to make sure the flan is set and fully cooked.

Cool then flip onto a serving plate. Set in the fridge until ready to serve.

 

*Sueshine Notes: I know I said my uncle's recipe was no sugar added but I added a sugar substitute to make up for the lack of condensed milk which gives the texture and sweetness of a traditional flan.

It seems the traditional shape of Filipino flan is oval. I purchased an oval baking dish about 2 inches deep x 9 inches long. This recipe filled the dish plus 3 small ramekins.



 

Left: 10 egg yolks (okay so I broke one while separating them. Don't worry, breaking them doesnt make a difference)
Right: Ramekin dishes in a water bath. Tip: Place the water bath dish on the rack first then add the water.

 

I'll be honest with you. This was my first time making flan and I was afraid that it would go terribly wrong. I guess my family genes kicked in since the flan turned out perfectly. The texture was smooth and creamy with no air bubbles and the sweetness was just like the traditional sugar-laden version. I haven't been this excited about baking in awhile and I literally did a happy dance in my kitchen. I had made one of my family's traditional dishes AND I could actually eat it! I suppose the real test will be when I bring it to the next family gathering and see what everyone says (It's a tough crowd!) For now, I happily sit and enjoy every bite...for myself :)

 

 

 



Banana Crruuuunch!

Flash back to early last week....(my mom's house)

Me: How would I make turon diabetic friendly?

Mom: You can't.

Me: Even if I use Splenda brown sugar? Do you think it would crystallize like regular brown sugar?

Mom: I don't know. Even if you did use Splenda, the rest of it is all carbs.

Me: Hmph!

Flash forward to Sunday...

Way to burst my bubble mom! If you haven't noticed, I haven't actually made anything for the last few blogs. It's been way too hot in east San Diego for the past month and my poor little window AC unit cannot beat my hot oven while I'm baking. I've been wracking my brain on what I could make that wouldn't make my tiny kitchen feel like the surface of the sun. Easiest solution: don't bake. I know my blog is mainly about baking but it's also about sharing my favorite sweet items. My obsessive nature has been nagging at me because I've been wanting to make my FAVORITE Filipino dessert for over a month and share it with all of you but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to make it diabetic friendly. So I asked my mom. Who needs a cookbook or the Internet when you have a Filipino mom with a degree in nutrition to bounce ideas off of? Unfortunately, my mom's response wasn't what I wanted to hear. So on top of my obsessive nature, my stubborn self went ahead and made the dessert. My favorite Filipino dessert is turon.

So what is turon? I tried to describe it to my co-workers and the best thing I could come up with is that it's like a dessert lumpia (or eggroll). On Saturday, I went to the Asian market which always brings up tons of memories. I remember always going with my Lola (grandmother) and my mom as a kid to buy fresh fish and even better, to get my cool snacks like Pokey and lychee jelly that a lot of my classmates in grade school were curious about. These days, I still go to the market with my mom to go eat Filipino food or just to entertain my husband who always goes in search for blue crabs escaping from their box. 

What you'll need at the Asian market.... 

Saba Bananas They have the starchiness of a plantain but the sweetness of a regular banana and they can hold up to cooking. The carb in the banana is what makes it not so diabetic friendly but we can discuss that later.

Eggroll wrappers Found in the frozen food aisle, my mom recommends going with the round ones.

Langka or jackfruit (optional) I ended up not getting this because it usually comes in a can or jar of simple syrup. If you aren't sugar challenged, go ahead and get this for an added texture.

At the regular market...

About 1/2 cup brown sugar (Splenda brand if you would like)

1 egg, beaten with a 1/2 tsp of water

cooking oil (enough to cover the turon)

Cooking directions...
Slice the bananas lengthwise then in half.
Roll the banana slices in brown sugar until coated.
Place the banana slices close to the edge of the eggroll wrapper. Begin to roll the banana in the wrapper towards the center. Fold in the sides then continue rolling until about 1/2 inch to the edge. Dab some of the egg wash on the edge of the wrapper then seal the eggroll.
Heat cooking oil. Carefully drop the turon into hot oil and cook until golden brown. Some of the brown sugar will come out of the roll and will crystallize on the outside as it cools.

End result...

A small package of crunchy, sweet goodness! Now don't get too excited and take a bite of this right out of the pan...it will be hot. Cool the turon on a wire rack or in a bowl with the the turon in a vertical position so it drains. Unless you want to eat paper towel, DO NOT put it on paper towel. If you do, its guaranteed to stick. Another reason to wait? When the sugar begins to cool, the sugar will harden and create another crunch on top of the crispy eggroll wrapper. For obvious reason, this is not diabetic friendly. I'm simply sharing a dessert that I love. IF YOU ARE DIABETIC AND CHOOSE TO EAT/MAKE THIS, please be mindful of your individual recommended diet by your doctor. On a side note, I saw an endocrinologist this last week and my diabetes is finally under control! I still won't indulge in a ton of turon but I think one will be okay ;)

First Annual Gourmet Food Truck Festival 2011

It's true that food brings people together. Yesterday I got to hang out with two of my friends from high school, my friend's co-worker, and a few hundred foodie friends at the First Annual Gourmet Food Truck Festival at the beautiful Del Mar Racetrack. The festival featured 40 food trucks from all over Southern California. Although the lines were a little overwhelming and I didn't get the chance to try a lot of the trucks, I think the event definitely made people aware of how many different food trucks are out there. For me personally, it served as a launch pad for new foodie adventures! 

Slidertini from The Gathering Spot BistroTruck
(www.facebook.com/tgsbistrotruck)
Angus beef slider with dill aioli with sauteed mushrooms & onions, bruschetta. and topped with a cheddar cheese cube



HazelBerryAna from Crepes Bonaparte
(http://www.crepesbonaparte.com/)
Inside this crepe: Nutella, strawberries, & bananas

 

Several of the trucks featured on The Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race"
were at the festival including: Season One's Nom Nom (seen above), Ragin Cajun, Crepes Bonaparte & Season Two's Devilious (local San Diego truck) & The Lime Truck

More pictures from the event are on my Facebook page. Don't forget to click the "LIKE" button on the sidebar to your right :)
If you would like to find out more about the food trucks, where they will be, follow your favorites on Twitter, or upcoming events, here's a good resource so you can track them down: http://www.sdfoodtrucks.com/