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Keto/Low Carb Lemon Lush Dessert

Writer's picture: Keto UpgradeKeto Upgrade
May 3, 20249 min read

Was looking for a good spring/summer to make and I've seen these recipe pop up for awhile but never attempted one. I looked at the layers and most were easy to make keto and I had just figured out a lower carb shortbread crust so I would be able to make all four layers keto and still be pretty low carb/keto.



The base recipe is my keto shortbread crust which works well for this dessert (https://www.ketoupgrade.info/post/keto-shortbread-cookies) .

It is a super simple recipe with only a few ingredients. The flour I use is a combination of coconut flour and unflavored whey protein isolate. The whey protein gives a fluffy interior to the cookie. I use Isopure which is 0 carbs per scoop, you can probably use a concentrate but that will add carbs to the cookie. People have found that you can replace the whey protein with egg white protein powder in my cookie recipes but that will probably result in a crispier cookie. I always suggest weighing everything in this recipe it is really hard to get a correct weight with measuring spoons. The sweetener I used was a powdered which makes making the dough much easier because it dissolves easier. You can use any Erythritol blend or bocha sweet. Allulose makes baked goods brown very fast and stay soft, so I don't recommend allulose for much cookie making. The best way to cook the shortbread to make sure to chill completely solid then bake for 8-12 minutes depending on your oven. If your oven runs hot, keep an eye on it after 5 minutes. For the 9x13 pan crust you want it browned all around the edges and starting to brown on top because you ware not cooking it anymore and you want it crispy.

You could also use a keto graham cracker crust ( https://www.ketoupgrade.info/post/keto-graham-crackers-with-keto-marshmallow-crème-dip) or a premade keto cookie crushed up, blended with butter and baked.


The next layer is just a sweetened cream cheese layer which is easy to make keto. You can choose the sweetness level of the layer. Once it's whipped up I checked for sweetness and flavor and decided to add extra lemon extract to taste.


The next layer is the keto lemon pudding which is the hardest and highest carb layer. You could probably do one and a half batches and still keep the carbs the same. It is a pretty thin layer of pudding, but it packs a tangy lemon punch still.

For the sweetener you can use a powdered erythritol or erythritol blend or allulose to make this pudding. Allulose is a little less sweet than most erythritol blends so you may need to add additional sweetness to the pudding. I added a couple of drops of liquid stevia once I tasted it after it was cooked to make it to my liking.

I use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch because I try to avoid corn. But you can use cornstarch if you prefer. I cut down the amount drastically from an original pudding recipe because arrowroot contains quite a few carbs. To finish the setting of the pudding you need to add some gelatin at the end. I use grass-fed beef gelatin which has a stronger gelling powder than unflavored pork gelatin.  I tried to find the conversion on how much more you would need to get the same setting power and could not find a solid answer. So I suggest using Beef Gelatin for this recipe. If you have to use unflavored pork gelatin, I would use 2 Tbs. of cold water with 1 3/4 tsp.-2 tsp. of the unflavored gelatin. If it doesn't set you can always bloom extra gelatin in water and warm slowly in the microwave then add into the rewarmed pudding and place back into serving dishes.

The liquid I used was water and heavy cream because with using a low carb alternative milk, the lemon juice curdled the pudding once it was added. Most recipes called for just whole milk or a mixture of whole milk and heavy cream. The heavy cream adds a more creamy pudding like texture to the keto pudding. You can add more heavy cream instead of the water, even do half and half as long as you keep it at twelve ounce or 1-1/2 Cup of liquid. The carb count for a 4oz. portion of pudding will stay 3g Net Carbs no matter if you use 2 ounce of heavy cream or 6oz. of heavy cream. Using more heavy cream may mute the tang of the lemon though and add extra fat and calories per potion.

I always suggest fresh squeezed lemon juice and using the zest. I wouldn't use all bottled lemon juice but if you need a bit more because you didn't get enough juice out of then lemons you had, you can use a little bit of bottle juice. I suggest Santa Cruz lemon juice which is not concentrate but just pure organic lemon juice.


The last layer is a keto stabilized whipped cream. I have a video that shows 3 different ways you can do that (https://youtu.be/KAcoVoEGjMk). I chose the gelatin method for this dessert because it is the one that doesn't add an additional flavor but I lessened the gelatin a little so it wasn't so stiff and more creamy.

It's perfect if you want to put it on something that you want to serve the next day. The most important thing is making sure your gelatin is tempered correctly with the cold whipped cream that is at soft peaks. In the video I didn't even do it fully correct and had a few bits of gelatin in the whipped cream. I needed another scoop of cream in the gelatin but I was worried about the gelatin setting up to fast. So you need to work fast but also make sure it is sufficiently tempered before pouring into the whipping cream. Once done you want to frost right away before the gelatin sets up. So don't make the whipped cream until the cake, cupcakes, bars or pie are ready for the whipped cream topping. It will be thick and gelatinous in the fridge for a week or more. This recipe makes enough to cover 24 cupcakes and it will freeze and thaw perfectly.


Amazon Affiliate Links for products I use and items I regularly buy on Amazon: If you want to support my channel in a small way by buying ingredients you already use or need by clicking my links, I'd really appreciate it. I get a few cents per purchase which could really help with all the testing I do, to make these recipes the best possible.


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Keto Shortbread Recipe


10Tbs./5oz. Salted Butter (Softened)

60g/~1/2 Cup Powdered Erythritol Sweetener

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract (any extract you like)

60g/~3/4 Cup Unflavored Whey Protein Isolate

24g/~3 Tbs. Coconut Flour

1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum

1/2 tsp. Salt if using unsalted butter


Instructions:

  1. Beat the softened butter with the powdered sweetener until well mixed and smooth, scraping down a few times (do not make super fluffy)

  2. Well that's beating, weight/measure and whisk the dry ingredients together

  3. Add in the extract, beat and scrape down then add in all the dry ingredients and beat until a dough forms, scraping down a few times to insure all the butter is incorporated

  4. Pat evenly into a greased 9x13 pan and chill for 10-15 minutes while the oven preheats to 350F degrees

  5. While it's chilling and baking you can measure out all the ingredients for the cream cheese layer and the pudding

  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden all around the edges and starting to brown on top

  7. Set aside to cool and make the pudding next


Keto/Low Carb Lemon Pudding Recipe


90g/~3/4 Cup Powder Erythritol Sweetener or Allulose

8g/2 tsp. Arrowroot Powder

Pinch of Salt

Zest of 2-4 Lemons

3 Eggs (room temp.)

10oz./1-1/4 Cup Water (warm will make the process go faster)

2oz./1/4 Cup Heavy Cream

4oz./1/2 Cup Lemon Juice 2-4 Lemons

1-1/2 tsp. Grass-fed Beef Gelatin

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Liquid Stevia (optional) (to taste)

A few drops of yellow food coloring (optional)


Instruction:


  1. Measure out the powdered sweetener, arrowroot powder and salt into a medium sized pot and whisk together

  2. Zest the lemons into the pot then juice lemons into a measuring cup and sprinkle the gelatin over the lemon juice and set aside

  3. Weigh or measure the water and heavy cream into a measuring cup and set aside

  4. Measure out the extract and get the liquid stevia and yellow food coloring ready if using

  5. Once everything is ready to go add the eggs to the pot and whisk vigerously to get rid of as many lumps as possible

  6. Drizzle in the milk and water mixture slowly into the pot while whisking, if whisked well before you can add it faster, you want to make sure there are no stringy egg bits visible

  7. Once everything is well combined, place on medium low heat and whisk until it is starting to thicken then switch to a rubber spatula

  8. When you begin to see tiny bubbles and it has thickened slightly and over 170F pull off the heat and add the extract and lemon juice/gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved

  9. Stain into a bowl with a spout or measuring cup and taste to determine if you want to add any liquid stevia or food coloring

  10. Set aside to cool, stirring once in awhile, while you make the cream cheese layer, could take about 30 minutes for it to cool enough


Keto Sweetened Cream Cheese


16oz./2 Blocks Cream Cheese (softened)

180g/~1-1/2 Cup Powdered Alternative Sweetener

1oz./2 Tbs. Lemon Juice 1-2 lemons + the zest

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract (to taste)

1/2 tsp. Lemon Extract (optional, to taste)


Instructions:

  1. Mix the softened cream cheese with the powdered sweetener then beat until creamy

  2. Add the lemon juice, and extract and beat until fluffy

  3. Taste for flavor and sweetness and adjust accordingly

  4. Spread evenly on the cooled crust and chill until the pudding is ready to pour onto the layer

  5. Once the cream cheese layer is chilling in the fridge continue to stir the pudding until it is below 86 degrees Fahrenheit (do dishes!)

  6. Once the pudding is down to under 86 degrees, pour onto the chilled cream cheese layer, shake and tap the pan to spread evenly and get air bubbles out

  7. Chill for at least an hour then top with the stable whipped cream



Stable Whipped Cream with Gelatin Recipe:


16oz./2 Cups-Heavy Cream

30-90g/1/4-3/4 Cups-Powdered 1:1 Alternative Sweetener

1-1/2 Tbs. Cold Water

1-1/2 tsp. Gelatin

1-2 tsp. Vanilla Extract (or/and lemon, to taste)


Instruction-

  1. Sift powdered sweetener into heavy cream, bloom gelatin by sprinkling gently over the water

  2. Beat the heavy cream and add vanilla extract, when it begins to thicken melt the gelatin in the microwave on 50% power until completely melted

  3. Once the cream is at soft peaks, take a large scoop out turn the cream back on low speed and whisk the large scoop into the melted gelatin

  4. Once fully mixed, speed up the mixer and pour the gelatin cream mixture back into the whipped cream as quickly as possible

  5. Beat until stiff peaks form, spread onto the firm pudding layer and chill for at least 30 minutes, cut and serve or cover to serve the next day


Macros 1/16th


320 Calories

31g Fat

26g Total Carbs

<1g Fiber

23g Sugar Alcohol

3g Net Carbs

8g Protein


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I created a patreon account. I have many ideas for the future of this channel and maybe even creating my own keto line of desserts at some point. I'm going to be posting some inspirational stuff over there along with more information about my life, past, present and future. I'm excited to take this extra step and do some extra content for supporters. Some behind the scenes of my recipe testing successes and fails alike. Maybe even some merch down the line! If you would like to support me and this channel, please consider becoming a patron.


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