Sugar-free Chocolate Orange Flourless Cake Bars
Photography by Simeon Crofts
DIETARY – Sugar-free, Gluten-free, Vegetarian
Five years ago, my husband was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which changed both our lives for good. He was faced with injecting for almost everything he ate and drank for the rest of his life, and I had to start weighing food, counting carbs and pre-planning meals and snacks to help him adjust. I’m pleased to say we’ve both got a handle on things now, but it wasn’t always easy. One of the biggest challenges has been snacking. Hubby likes to snack as he’s very active with a pretty fast metabolism, but snacking usually means injecting, which he’d rather avoid unless he has to, so he’ll often go without.
Type 2 diabetes affects a few of the men in my family, so I have grown up observing them carefully choosing what they eat and avoiding sugary treats and drinks to try and keep their glucose levels, and health, in check. From my experience of these two types of diabetes, I know creating a low-carb, diabetic-friendly treat that doesn’t require injecting for (at least in my husband’s case) and that a type 2 can enjoy on occasion without worry, is a pretty big deal, which inspired me to develop this recipe. I wanted to create a sugar-free cake that still felt and tasted indulgent but without the carb and sugar content to boot.
After playing around with a few recipes, I finally pulled out of the oven spongy, moist cakes that filled the room with the mouth-watering aroma of chocolate orange and tasted every bit as rich and delicious. Even better, they’re gluten-free too, so my celiac, diabetic hubby can truly enjoy them.
There are a few ways you can play around with and adapt this recipe, starting with the fruit. Citrus fruits are one of the best fruits for a diabetic thanks to their excellent source of fibre and low GI scores, which is why I chose orange for this recipe. If you choose to use oranges, ensure you cook them for the full two hours to reduce the bitterness in the rind. If you prefer a sweeter taste and without the trouble of picking out pips, clementines are a great choice. You can also try using mandarins, which have a milder flavour.
I have included the nutrition details below for the bars with and without the sugar-free chocolate topping. This nutritional information is based on generic brands of the ingredients I used; however, please keep in mind this could alter slightly between brands.
Nutrition information (per bar)
Without topping:
Calories – 221
Carbohydrates – 6.3g
Of which sugars (naturally occurring) – 2.4g
With topping:
Calories – 235
Carbohydrates – 6.6g
Of which sugars (naturally occurring) – 2.4g
Erythritol – You’ll notice I have used erythritol in the recipe, which I chose as it does not add calories or spike blood sugar, and it is about 70% as sweet as sugar, unlike many other sweeteners that can taste incredibly sweet with an artificial aftertaste. That said, you can replace the erythritol with a sweetener of your choosing, but keep in mind other sugar replacements have different sweetness levels, so it’s a good idea to find out how it compares to sugar so you can adjust the amount accordingly.
Sugar-free Chocolate Orange Flourless Cake Bars
Ingredients:
- 2 oranges or 4 clementines (clementines are sweeter)
- 6 eggs
- 150g butter
- 1 + ½ cups erythritol (or your sweetener of choice. See my notes above)
- 200g almond meal
- 1 heaped tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 60g cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- 50g sugar-free chocolate chips
Method:
- Place your oranges or clementines into a deep pan and cover with water. Bring up to the boil then simmer with a lid on for 2 hours or until the rind is very soft. Remove the fruit and allow to cool slightly.
- Roughly chop your fruit, removing any pips as you go, and put into a blender - rind and all. Blend into a smooth purée; you can add a little cold water if the mixture is too thick.
- Pre-heat your oven to 190°C (170°C Fan)/375°F/Gas Mark 5 and grease your muffin or loaf tin.
- Whisk the eggs in a bowl until light and foamy.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sweetener.
- Finally, in a third bowl, add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add all the wet ingredients to the dry and combine with a hand or stand mixer.
- Spoon the mix into your chosen moulds and bake for 20-25 minutes. You can test when the cakes are done by inserting a skewer or knife into the middle of one and checking it comes out clean.
- Leave to cool then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely. If you would like to add a decorative topping, you can melt sugar-free chocolate chips and drizzle over the top of each cake.