Hot out of the oven and still poofed up!
This one is adapted from a recipe shared by my friend Karen, who also keeps a lookout for Nora-friendly recipes for me. I didn’t have to do much to modify it; the original is from Primally Inspired’s Breakfast Fruit Souffle.
It was pretty easy to make, particularly if you have a stand mixer. I was burnt out on recipes with whipped egg whites until I got my stand mixer. It takes a bit of experience and persistance to get them fully whipped if you have a hand mixer, and lord help you if you are doing it by hand. I was intimidated by the notion of a “souffle,” but Nora eats it after it is cool anyway so no pressure to serve it before it falls. And you will see below that I whipped them all together then divided into 4 measured servings, which reduced the time in the kitchen.
Deflated after cooling, but still delicious!
Best of all, it was a smash hit! Nora ate hers so fast that I didn’t have a chance to take a picture. I always use a first-batch serving for the rest of the family to taste test, and when Anders tried a bite, he did his dreamy “this is so good I’m going to faint” eye flutter and smile. I agree, it was excellent.
But it is not high ratio. It’s only 1.5:1. If used as a snack or breakfast for Nora, I would pair it with 24 g of heavy cream (steamed or in tea) to get it up to a 3.5:1 snack totaling 170 calories. I think it is possible to sneak more fat into the egg mixture, but it’s also nice to have some food that are not so fat-laden on their own. I might experiment with upping the ratio another time. For now, it’s nice for the LGIT or MAD diet and works if paired with another fat to reach the desired ratio for the ketogenic diet. Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free.
Nutritional information for 1 serving (50 g) of Fruit Souffle. The recipe makes 4 servings. Analysis from www.caloriecount.com
Fruit Souffle
makes 4 servings
40 g strawberries
20 g blackberries
20 g raspberries
20 g coconut oil
32 g egg yolk
60 g egg white
6 g vanilla extract
2 g cinnamon
No carb sweetener to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Measure 10 g strawberries, 5 g blackberries, 5 g raspberries (all cut or broken into pieces) and 5 g coconut oil into each of 4 ramekins. If you use frozen fruit, put them in the oven while it preheats to thaw them and melt the oil.
Separate the whites and yolks from 2 large eggs. Weigh the whites, then whisk on high in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer for several minutes, until stiff peaks form.
While the whites are whipping, measure the yolks into a separate bowl and add the vanilla, cinnamon, and a bit of no carb sweetener of your choice. I used 2 g of Nora’s Cytra-K, which I use to sweeten everything for her. Mix the yolk mixture well. It turns out super cinnamon-y, which makes it light brown and extremely fragrant and delicious. I think a touch of sweetness is nice to balance it out if you use a no-carb sweetener, but it doesn’t require much.
After the whites are whipped until stiff, carefully mix in the yolks. I put them into the mixer on low for less than 1 minute and it turned out fine. You could also fold them in by hand.
Take the ramekins with fruit out of the oven if you have not already done so, and mix it up. Spoon 25 g of the egg mixture into each ramekin on top of the fruit. Place them in the hot oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until browning slightly on the top.
They came out beautifully puffed up, light brown and smelling of cinnamon. I let them cool on the counter so they deflated before serving, but we aren’t uptight about that kind of thing around here. I tried to max out the amount of fruit while keeping it under 2 g of net carbs, but it is still just a bit of fruit on the bottom. The egg mixture was so delicious though that it was very nicely balanced. A real treat with a good amount of protein and some precious fiber.
Christie,
You’ve inspired me to making souffle; even in my “real baking days,” prior to the diet, I always avoided it for the risk of deflation… But your instructions make it look easy, and you even mentioned that some ‘depuffing’ occurred, yet the recipe still passed Nora’s, and your son’s taste test! I may try following your suggestion on using a bit of sweetener (though in the past, my daughter’s stomach didn’t seem to like Sweet Leaf or Splenda… ). This seems like a nice dessert on a LGIT diet, and even for siblings not on it, too; and you can’t beat the good grade on the nutrition label! 🙂
I’ve been thinking about making the PBJ muffins, but I’m still debating whether I should invest in a whole bottle of whey protein… Maybe you could share some of yours!
Thanks for the wonderful new recipes! Gotta go bake!
Nat
After the souffle started deflating I was feeling deflated myself, but a baking friend of mine assured me that it is normal. The ideal is to get it out of the oven and serve while still poofed up, but it’s all for presentation, not necessarily taste.
If your daughter struggles with sweeteners I would suggest trying it without first. The berries add a bit of sweetness, and on the LGIT could she have a few more berries in there to add to the sweetness?
You could do the PBJ muffins without the whey protein and add more nut and/or coconut flour to make up the difference. And I’d be happy to share some of mine! Email me your address and I’ll ship some off! Honestly, I put it into this recipe to try to use it up. I have an enormous tub!
Happy baking!
Christy
Christy, A big thank you for such a wonderful recipe! Hannah loved it, and my son–not on a diet, inhaled it so fast he wanted more! A few glitches, e.g., I did not use coconut oil at the bottom and some souffle got stuck to the ramekins, but it was still tasty. I’m ready to try again tonight, time permitting… which brings me to my next dilemma: you can’t make this ahead and have it cold, right? Per your suggestion, I did not use the sweetener, and added a bit more fruit (since we’re on a relaxed LGIT diet). For the rest of us, I just sprinkled some powdered sugar on top… Overall, a big hit!
I also got ambitious and made your PBJ muffins; following your advice, used almond flour for the whey protein. This was my first time using coconut oil, which I think added some flavor. I substituted some of the cream with low fat milk and the results were still great. Someone will be happy at school today with a PBJ muffin for snack!
Cheers,
Nat
Great! I did make several and so the 2nd time it was served, Ted did not warm it up. The coconut oil hardened on the bottom and Nora didn’t want to eat that, but she didn’t mind the rest cold. The 3rd time we warmed it just a bit in the mic to melt the coconut oil. And when I do it again, I may put it in a separate bowl of warm water to warm it first–but that’s a little fussy!
Nora has been eating the PBJ muffins for breakfast too! I think getting to have something like a muffin on this diet makes it so much more “normal” and satisfying. I work on a lot of muffins!