Hey everyone. I’m sure a lot of you have heard of the Keto diet, or know someone personally who is following that way of eating.  Myself, I have been on it for about 50 days now and loving how I’ve been able to incorporate it into my life rather easily and still lose weight. One of the things I enjoy most about being a baker is the creative process of recipe development; it’s one of the reasons why I went to pastry school so that I could learn the science behind what works in a recipe. There are so many options now for sugar substitutes than say ten years ago. Sure, I still love to make regular desserts-that has not changed and it will never change. This is just another role play in my arsenal of becoming a better baker and what I can offer people.

I was intrigued with the whole sugar substitute thing and ways I could incorporate it into a brownie recipe as the Keto diet has become all the rage. This is my first foray into recipe development with replacing both sugar and flour. I’m no stranger to almond flour as a replacement for wheat flour as I’ve used it many times before. I was pretty pleased with the outcome of this brownie recipe. They came out fudgy and full of flavor and no weird aftertaste.

If you’re following a Keto diet, I hope you give these a try. There is a baking company called (Lillys click here) that makes chocolate chips and bars (my fave is the milk chocolate salted almond)  that use Stevia, and you would be amazed at how they taste! You cannot even tell a difference in the taste- there is no weird aftertaste at all!! They definitely cure a chocolate craving for sure!

Fudgy Keto Brownies 

1 stick (1/2 Cup) unsalted butter, melted

1/3 Cup Lily’s brand chocolate chips

4 oz. softened cream cheese

3/4 Cup Lakanto “classic” monkfruit sugar substitute* (see below)

2 large whole eggs, + 1 yolk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 Cup almond flour

2 Tbsp. Hersheys (or another brand of natural) cocoa powder

2 Tbsp. black cocoa powder  (I use King Arthur brand)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 bar Lily’s milk chocolate caramelized and salted, coarsely chopped

*Note: Since my original post I’ve updated another version of these; I now use 1/4 Golden Lakanto sweetener, 2/4 Classic Lakanto granulated sweetener, and in place of vanilla I use 2 tsp. of bourbon. To the batter I add in 2/3 Cup milk chocolate Lily’s chips instead of the chopped caramelized salted Lilys bar. When I first  created my recipe the milk chocolate chips were not out yet. Enjoy~ 

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Prepare an 8×8 inch pan by spraying with nonstick spray and lining one side with a parchment sling.

In a large bowl microwave the butter until melted. Toss in the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Add in the softened cream cheese and stir to combine. Add in the sugar substitute and whisk to combine-note it will not melt like regular sugar and appear grainy (this is normal). Add the eggs one at a time and mix to combine, then stir in the vanilla.

Place a sifter over the bowl and add in the dry ingredients, then whisk gently to combine. Fold in the chopped “milk chocolate caramelized and salted Lily’s bar”.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level the batter with an offset spatula.  Bake until a few moist crumbs appear once pierced with a toothpick, and the top no longer appears wet; about 25-27 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool completely over a wire rack in the pan, then pull out the entire slab using the sling and cut into squares.