Hello, dear readers. As you read this, I am heading off on a much-needed, completely unplugged family vacation. I have no access to access to the internet whatsoever, and although the very thought makes me twitchy, I have promised my husband that I will not dream about food or my blog all day. But I have left you in very good hands, as I have asked three of my favourite bloggers to cover for me. Not all of them are necessarily low carb or gluten free bloggers, and I gave them free reign to post whatever sort of recipe they chose. But I was so very touched to find that each one of them tried, in their own way, to create something that was lower carb and healthier than the typical sugar-filled treats, to fit with the overall theme of my blog.

My first guest is Katrina and I heart Katrina and her blog, In Katrina’s Kitchen. Most of her posts are filled with delectable sweets and I’ve heard her called an evil genius for some of her decadent creations. That she may be, but she is also one of the sweetest bloggers I have ever met, always ready to give you a shout out or send a sweet word your way. Please welcome her and enjoy her post!

Hi! I’m Katrina from In Katrina’s Kitchen! You’ll usually find me in the kitchen baking up something sweet for my house full of boys. I’ll just come right out and say it…I was SO nervous to be posting here on Carolyn’s delicious blog. Not only is she a fabulous blogger and amazing in the photography department, but Carolyn is super-talented at making tasty low carb treats (as you know), and I’m…well…not. I tried my best for you. And these Diet Coke Cake Bites pack a lot of chocolaty flavor in an itty bitty package. I hope you like them!

I am not the inventor of Coke Cake (obviously- or else I’d be rich and would have fancy stock in Coca-Cola, or something else that rich people have), but I have been wanting to play with this recipe for a long while. I know a few lot of people who are obsessed with Diet Coke so I thought it would be fun to switch things up a bit from the norm. I used the classic Coke Cake recipe and made these substitutions: I swapped wheat flour for all-purpose flour, Diet Coke for Coke, canola oil for vegetable oil, and Stevia in the Raw for sugar. **Stevia in the Raw is my friend because it measures cup for cup the same as sugar.** This is good because I pretty much abandoned math like and old boyfriend in college and I’ve never looked back. This is also good because I cannot handle simple tasks while baking with my boys on a day-to-day basis, let alone complicated things like ratios and conversions. More on this later.

I was pleased with the outcome. A huge, delicious baking sheet full of chocolate deliciousness is not very diabetic-friendly however. So I thought bite-sized pieces would help us all out in the portion-control department. Oh and just so you know this recipe is apparently idiot-proof. Remember when I said I can’t handle simple, everyday tasks with a baby on my hip and a Hot Wheels car in my hand? Well I accidentally swapped baking powder for baking soda. Everything came out okay thankfully because I may or may not have squeezed a lime into the remaining Diet Coke.

Here is the recipe printed with my substitutions. The original recipe can be printed from The Coca-Cola Company.

{Diet} Coke Cake

Cake Ingredients:
• 2 cups Stevia in the Raw
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 ½ cups mini marshmallows
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 cup Diet Coke
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients:
• ½ cup butter
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Diet Coke
• 1 16oz bag powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In the bowl of your mixer sift together Stevia and flour. Add marshmallows.
3. In a saucepan mix butter, oil, cocoa, and Diet Coke. Bring to a boil and pour over dry ingredients; combine until smooth and marshmallows are melted.
4. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to the batter. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well.
5. Pour into a well-greased 9×13 baking dish and bake 35 minutes. Let cool, cut into small circles or squares.
6. Assemble frosting: Combine butter, cocoa, and Diet Coke in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and pour over powdered sugar. Stir until smooth. Add vanilla extract and then pour over cake pieces.

**This recipe made a HUGE amount of glaze. I would suggest halving the glaze recipe if you are making the cake into bite-sized pieces.

That’s it folks! I hope you’ll stop by my kitchen and introduce yourself; I would love to meet you! Carolyn did a guest post for me while I was on vacation this past summer: Carmelitas – you won’t be disappointed!