Keto Orange Creamsicle Poke Cake

Wanted to make a festive cake that could be taken to a Fourth of July BBQ. And I have been seeing poke cakes on Facebook recently and I remember having the orange Jell-O poke cake when I was younger. So I already have a keto vanilla cake, I just had to figure out the keto Jell-O. I looked up the ingredients in sugar free Jell-O and it contained aspartame and maltodextrin, which are ingredients I avoid. Then I looked at Simply delish keto Jel dessert and the second ingredient is carrageenan which I try to avoid cause it's been shown to cause digestive issues. So it was on to testing!!!

I did try many different variations on making a jello and figured out some things to say the least. Probably the easiest way to make jello is just by using a flavored keto drink as part of the liquid. I didn't have anything on hand that was orange flavored plus I wanted the most natural simple kind of jello I could make. Most keto drinks or mixes still have natural or artificial flavors in them and the best sweetener used in most is sucralose. So if you want to just use a drink mix just heat up 1 cup of the liquid to melt the bloomed gelatin then add the 3/4 cup of the cold drink mix. Then just check for sweetness and add liquid stevia if you want it sweeter.

I tried different extracts to make the jello and found orange was the most natural tasting extract. I tried making a cherry jello and you have to use so much that it kind of tasted like a cough syrup. I also tried making a strawberry jello with using actual pureed strawberries. It was good but very hard to get a good strawberry flavor and sweetness because you need to get really good strawberries (which I could not get).

I used 6 oz. of fresh strawberries pureed and added strawberry extract to boost the flavor. I added 1/4 Cup of granular monkfruit to the boiling water then once combined added liquid stevia until it was sweet enough. I tried it with straining out the seeds and not straining it and it was better to me if it was strained but totally optional.

Now the easiest and most natural orange jello recipe that I developed. The sweetness level is completely up to you. You can use any sweetener you like and in any amounts you like. The important part is the ratio of liquid to gelatin.

Keto Orange Jell-O recipe

3/4 Cup cold water

1 1/2 Tbs. Orange extract

1 tsp. Liquid stevia

1/4 cup cold water

2 1/4 tsp. Unflavored gelatin

1 Cup boiling water

1/4 Cup Granular monkfruit sweetener

Orange food coloring- optional

Instructions:

1. Once the cake is cooled poke holes in the cake with the back of a wooden spoon about a 1/2-1 inch apart

2. Bloom gelatin in 1/4 Cup of cold water

3. Heat 1 Cup of water and sweetener of choice until boiling

4. Measure out the 3/4 cup cold water and add the orange extract, stevia and food coloring in using

5. Once the water and sweetener are boiling add in the bloomed gelatin and stir until completely dissolved

6. Add the the cold water and stir

7. Pour into desired serving dishes or pour over a cake to make a orange creamsicle poke cake

Amazon Products I found and used for this recipe:

Orange Extract - https://amzn.to/2SSDaQn

Liquid Stevia - https://amzn.to/3nGEReD

Granular monkfruit- https://amzn.to/3u7ebGd

Lakanto powdered monkfruit- https://amzn.to/3eHaz7u

Anthony's powdered monkfruit - https://amzn.to/3oqS241

Isopure Unflavored whey protein isolate- https://amzn.to/2Saz1q9

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

To make a poke cake I just used my Keto Lancaster Sour Milk Cake recipe baked into a 9 x 13 cake pan. (https://www.ketoupgrade.info/post/grandmas-lancaster-sour-milk-cake-made-keto-with-chocolaty-buttercream-frosting )

But you can use any keto cake mix but most if not all only make 1-8 inch round so you will need 2 packages to fill a 9 x 13 pan and definitely cook longer than the package says.

Keto Lancaster Sour Milk Cake:

80 g Powdered Sweetener (2/3 Cup)

102 g ISOpure unflavored whey Protein Isolate (approximately 3 1/2 scoops)

128 g Coconut Flour (1 Cup)

3/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum

2 1/4 tsp. Baking powder

1- 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda

1/8 tsp. Salt

5 Eggs (room temp)

1 -1/4 Cup Alternative buttermilk (1 Tablespoon Vinegar + unsweetened almond/cashew/macadamia nut milk) warmed in microwave

10 Tbs. Butter (melted)

2 Tbs. Vanilla Extract

20-30 Drops of liquid stevia (optional)

Instructions:

1. Make the homemade buttermilk, pull out eggs and melt butter

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 pan

3. Weigh/measure and sift all dry ingredients and whisk everything together well

4. If eggs aren't room temperature, soak in some warm water until no longer cold, crack into a large bowl, and whip with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, double in volume

5. While whipping, stream in the melted butter then the warmed buttermilk and vanilla

6. Switching to a hand whisk, mix all the dry ingredients into the egg mixture

7. Pour into a greases 9 x 13 pan and smooth out the top with an offset spatula

8. Bake on middle rack for 30-34 minutes, turning half way threw baking

9. Test with a toothpick in the center, to make sure it's not gooey and press gently to see if it is firm in the middle the toothpick my come out clean but it must be firm also

10. Let cool completely before poking holes and pouring the jello over it

11. Once cool poke holes into the cake with the back of a wooden spoon and pour the jello mix over the cake

12. Let chill in the refrigerator until completely cool

13. Top with keto whipped topping and decorate

For the keto whipped cream we need to do a little extra to keep the whipped cream from turning liquid after whipped up. I opted to use gelatin to stabilize it but there are other options. You can use 4 ounces of very soft cream cheese and whip it into 1 cup of heavy cream.

The amount of sweetener used is up to you also. You can use all liquid stevia or all powdered sweetener you prefer or a combination of both. I wanted to combine erythritol/monkfruit and liquid stevia to cut down on the amount of erythritol in the recipe. And the amounts of sweetener I chose is the sweetness level I like. So if you don't like keto desserts as sweet, start with less and add more if needed.

An alternative to using gelatin is to use cream cheese to stabilize the whipped cream. Just use 4 ounces of very soft cream cheese and whip it into 1 Cup of heavy cream. Sweeten with powdered sweetener or liquid stevia or both and add vanilla extract.

Whipped cream topping:

2 Cups Heavy whipping cream

1/4 Cup powdered Sweetener

1 tsp. Liquid stevia

1 Tbs. Vanilla extract

2 Tbs. Cold water

2 tsp. Unflavored gelatin

Instructions:

1. Bloom the gelatin into the cold water and let bloom

2. Start whipping the heavy cream as that whips, melt the bloomed gelatin for 10 second intervals until completely melted and set aside

3. Once the whip cream is at soft peaks, turn off and add 2 spoonful of whip cream to the gelatin and whisk to temper the liquid gelatin

4. Once well mixed turn the whipped cream back on medium speed and pour the tempered gelatin into the whipping cream

5. Whip to stiff peaks, then top the cake! Decorate with berries, orange zest, shave keto chocolate, keto chocolate ganache, strawberry topping (chocolate ganache recipe: https://www.ketoupgrade.info/post/keto-moist-chocolate-fudge-cake Strawberry jam (topping): https://www.ketoupgrade.info/post/the-best-keto-buttery-buttermilk-biscuits-coconut-flour-moist-and-fluffy-and-keto-strawberry-jam )

6. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving

This is how the gelatin should look when tempered with 2 scoops of the soft whipped cream.

I made this specific cake to be able to take to a fourth of July party so I decorated it with sliced strawberries and blueberries to make a flag on top of the cake. This cake is the perfect dessert for a backyard summer BBQ. Light, sweet, moist and delicious!

Check out the video or any other 70 videos at YouTube.com/ketoupgrade

Macros for 1/16th of this cake:

254 Calories

20 g Fat

6 g Total Carbs

2.75 g Fiber

3.25 g Net Carbs

10.4 g Protein