When I first came to grips with the fact that my blood sugar issues weren't going anywhere, I found myself scouring the internet, looking for information on the low carb lifestyle and sugar-free cooking and baking. I was fortunate that early on, I found Splendid Low Carbing, a blog by low carb cookbook author, Jennifer Eloff. Her creations inspired me and gave me hope that my diet need not consist purely of meat and vegetables, that there were many delicious ways to bake and cook with low carb ingredients. I perused her site constantly, looking for tips and ideas, and it was invaluable to me. So imagine my delight when a few months ago, Jennifer stopped by my own blog to tell me how much she liked it. We've been in contact a number of times since then and I am pleased to count Jennifer among my many food-blogging acquaintances.
In a recent email exchange, I told Jennifer how I had my eye on her Cream Cheese Gingerbread Muffins. Her response was interesting, she seemed to think that they could stand some tweaking and told me she thought I could improve upon them. I did have some changes in mind, only because I didn't have the exact same ingredients and because I have my own preferred sweeteners that I like to use. Being snowed in for two days gave me the perfect opportunity to try out the recipe. To make them gluten free, I followed her suggestion of vanilla whey protein powder in place of the gluten flour, and skipped the extra vanilla extract. I also skipped the sugar-free gingerbread syrup, and upped the ground ginger and the molasses. Finally, I added a bit of almond milk to make up for the bulk I was missing by using stevia as one of my sweeteners.
The Results: As I haven't actually tried the original recipe, I cannot say for certain that mine were an improvement over hers. But I can say for certain that these were incredibly delicious! The flavour was wonderfully gingerbread-like, without being overly sweet, and the texture was light and cakey. And they were a huge success in that my kids, who often distain my low carb treats, just loved them. So much so that about 10 seconds after I'd served them, I looked over to see one child with chipmunk cheeks and no muffin in front of her, having stuffed it in her mouth all in one go.
If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me lamenting their appearance; they rose too high on the sides and not enough in the middle, and they stuck to the pan quite badly. This may be the result of my pan, which appears to be losing its non-stick qualities. It's one of those Wilton pans with a dark coating, and it absorbs heat more than some of the lighter pans, hence the over-risen edges of the muffins. The batter for these muffins is quite delicate and fluffy and I think the issues could be solved with some muffin liners (preferably silicone) and baking at a lower temperature. I fully intend to find out because these were a hit with everyone and I want to bake them again this weekend.
Preheat oven to 325F and line a 12-muffin pan with paper or silicone liners.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl and beaters as needed. Add almond milk, molasses and stevia extract and beat until just incorporated.
In a medium bowl, stir together almond flour, whey powder, erythritol, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Add to wet ingredients and beat until just incorporated, being careful not to overmix.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and center is set.
Serves 12. Each muffin has a total of 8.9g of carbs, but only 4.9g if you subtract erythritol.
These muffins look divine! Don't even know if I'd notice the dietary modifications, and that is always a good thing!
Sounds delicious. Did it have an 'almondy' taste and aroma? Almond/ginger combination is little unusual I think, glad to hear it worked well. Have you tried using other types of flours – coconut flour etc?
I'm also a fan of Jennifer Eloff. I bought her cookbooks back when they first came out and Splenda had just been hitting the US market. The muffins look and sound tasty.
Ooooh I will have to try these next week! Perhaps I will even try using almond flour. I used almond flour once with a friend who is celiac and it was quite nice and my little ones didn't notice a difference.
Wow – they sound amazing! Although, we aren't a gluten free family, when it comes to sweets – we are equal opportunity. And honestly, they look beautiful!
healthy and looks delicious! love it, bookmarked it!
Your combination of almond, molasses and vanilla whey are great additions. I'm not diabetic so I'd be tempted to add some crystallized ginger – I like that you upped the ginger! I bet Jennifer will love your tweaks.
These look delicious! I think the slightly sunken middle gives them personality. 🙂 I'm definitely bookmarking these!
These look so beautiful and delicious! I would love one to go with my coffee right now!
I opened this post as I was taking a sip of my coffee…I think it's needless to say that I started to daydream about that muffin sitting next to me! The ginger, the cream cheese, molasses…oh dear!
Sounds like a great way to start any day 🙂 Delicious and healthy is a deadly combination!
i love gingerbread- these look delicious! i cant wait to try this!
Beautiful gingerbread, and I love how this recipe is healthier than most!
Oh, how yummy! I really miss gingerbread…like I can only make it in December…Love the cream cheese!
YUM!!! Thanks for the twitter link!! Need to make these asap!!
Hey Carolyn, did you use erythritol? Not in the list of ingedients, but in the directions…? Thanks!
They sound really tasty. And I love anything with ginger in it!
Whoops, Jo, thanks for catching that. 1/4 erythritol added into ingredient list.
Wow, gluten free and low carb, great treat indeed! My dad would love these.
Those sound amazing! What a good combo. I've got this bag of erythritol sitting around that I need to start using!
I don't have sugar issues but I would totally want to have breakfast and afternoon snack with these muffins!
These muffins sound delicious, especially for a gingerbread fan like me ;). Love the added protein too :).
I have found that no matter how good my pans are recipes like this often stick because of the low fat content. I usually just spray them a bit more. Other than that the muffins sound like they would be delicious and right up my alley as I have been looker for lower carb options myself lately. Thanks for sharing!
It's amazing the people who you meet through blogging…aren't they just the best! I love the sound of these gingerbread cream cheese muffins and I'm so glad you've found a way to eat through this dietary challenge that life has given you!
MMmm…..gingerbread and cream cheese…wonderful mix.
Those muffins look and sound so good and delicious! You are very creative and clever baker, and I think that you would found even without help of books and internet way to overcome your challenges!
I love gingerbread and cream cheese…this is a must do! Thanks for sharing. Your blog is just wonderful!
I will have to try this recipe. I have made a pumpkin cranberry gingerbread muffin, which is similar, but I think the cream cheese would be a nice flavor addition.
Love me some ginger, and, these muffins have incredible texture! Hard to believe these are low carb!
These look terrific! Love the combo of gingerbread and cream cheese!
This sounds like a wonderful combination! yummy!
Gingerbread with cream cheese sounds like a fabulous treat!
This is a great low carb recipe! Gingerbread shouldn't be just reserved for the holidays, and put into muffins is perfect.
I notice you use whey protein powder, is it easy to throw into baked goods, or do you have to change the recipes a lot? I love the idea of adding protein to breads & muffins.
About the shape, you really have to make sure you don't overmix the final batter. My dad and I make little cupcake cheesecakes, and even with cupcake liners, the middles sink. It's the cream cheese, I think.
Hey they sound good to me – plus proteins in a muffin make them more like actual food …..
I love gingerbread. I love cream cheese. And I actually really love gluten free muffins!
yum. Love love love the flavours in these, love anything spicy really but with the richness of cream cheese these look lovely.
Made these this morning for breakfast! Even the toddler loved them; they were great!
Great combination of flavors. This looks really delish!
What a great idea. Made my mouth water instantly.
Love gingerbread and so glad to see it after the holidays!
Thanks, Carolyn, for your kind words. I just know you are going to make your mark in the low-carb world and help many people on their special diet enjoy it even more.
I loved the comment about the "chipmunk cheeks". Too cute – you have a way with words, Carolyn.
Great combination of ingredients! Looks delightful!
Those look so delicious, now I'm hungry.
Just made these and they were great. I did make two changes.
First, I upped the ginger to 1 1/2 teaspoons. Gave a bit stronger flavor.
Secondly, I sifted the almond flour when making it and sifted all the dry ingredients together. I make my almond flour using a coffee grinder and a sifter.
I must say other than a faint taste of nuts, this is the best I've made. Will be checking out your other stuff. Also will make this again, but halve the recipe. It made 18 muffins plus 8 mini-donuts.
I just made these exactly as written – my first recipe from your site! I have never baked with protein powder or erythritol before and was a little nervous. When I took them out of the oven I could smell the protein powder, which was a smidge off-putting (I have a crazy sensitive nose, unfortunately). And the raw batter felt more "fluffy" than I'm used to, so I was curious how the texture would turn out. All concerns disappeared when I tasted one and it was so great!!! And after just a short time cooling the "weird" smell had dissipated. My husband ate one and really liked it, and my 4 year old son said "these are good….REALLY good!" (poor guy has tested a lot of so-so experiments lately). YAY!!!! Can't wait to make even more recipes. And I can't believe how low carb it is, which I definitely need as someone with high blood sugar! Thanks Carolyn!
Oh yay, I am glad you liked it! You know, if you find vanilla whey too strong, try unflavoured. It's not sweetened, so you may have to up the sweetener a bit in the specific recipe, but I have turned to it more and more. I find the vanilla flavour can overpower some other flavours sometimes so I am beginning to prefer the unflavoured.
I have been using your site for a few months ever since I quit my low-fat (and low-taste, coincidentally? i think not :)) and i must say, every recipe I've tried has come out amazingly. I made these for a newly low carbing friend who loves gingerbread, and was delighted (and surprised by) their moist texture. So much so, that my friend nearly never received them. On a side note, I also love how honest you are with the results, makes your site seem homey and you like an old friend sharing the delights and pitfalls of baking. Anyway, thank you for your delectable recipes!
These are my favourite thing I've baked thus far!! My dad (82) is diabetic and I am low carb – so I'm always on the lookout for something yummy. These were moist and oh so tasty – used a wee bit more cinnamon – they were fabulous. Even made my own cream cheese with your recipe to use in this recipe. Thanks so much for all you share…..
When you say in the nutritional info, that it has less carbs if you subtract erythritol, do you mean that we can leave the erythritol out of the recipe and just use stevia extract to sweeten?
Sorry, I just saw this now. No, I mean if you subtract erythritol carbs from the total carbs because they don't have an effect on blood sugar.
I used Daiya cream cheese and added more almond flour instead of the vanilla whey because I can't eat dairy and it still turned out wonderfully. It was cake-like, moist, and surprisingly light. Daiya cc doesn't soften like normal cream cheese so I had to soften it over a double boiler with the almond milk and erythritol. They were in the oven for 28 minutes and only ever so slightly fell in the middle. I will be making these again, the texture is something that I've never been able to achieve before in lc baking. Thank you!