A mini version of my famous low carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake! And a review of the new Panasonic Countertop Induction Oven. This post is sponsored by Panasonic. #myCIO #CES2017
There are a few things you should know about me. One is that I have an obsession with new kitchen appliances and gadgetry. The other is that I am never going to turn down an invitation to visit Napa Valley. If you happen to put these two things together and, say, invite me to Napa for the unveiling of a new and innovative kitchen appliance, you’ve pretty much got me. I am putty in your hands. Which is exactly what happened a few months ago, for the launch of the new Panasonic Countertop Induction Oven at the Culinary Institute of America. Napa was sunny and gorgeous, the wine and food were amazing, and the countertop induction oven (CIO for short) was astonishing. Yup, I was putty.
Now, you might be thinking that you’ve heard of induction cooktops. You may even own one. But the heck is an induction oven? How does that even work? Don’t you need special pans and cookware for it? Well, yes and no. It’s the first of its kind and as I watched it in action, I was really quite intrigued. This isn’t some fancy toaster oven. It’s larger and more comprehensive than that, but it’s still compact enough to sit on your kitchen counter. It heats primarily through an induction bottom surface, but it also has broiling elements in the top. You can roast, toast, broil, bake…and grill. The accompanying die-cast aluminum grill pan works like a stellar indoor grill so you can get that wonderful grilled flavour all year round. The grill pan also allows you to use other metal and glass pans and bakeware in the oven because it conducts the heat from the induction surface. It’s really is a small multi-purpose oven. And using induction technology, it heats quickly and evenly.
At the end of our stay in Napa, our Panasonic hosts revealed that all of the attendees were going to receive our own CIO. I admit, I may have squealed a little bit and I wasn’t alone in making that noise. Watching chefs from the Culinary Institute create lovely dishes in the induction oven was fun, of course, but I wanted to try it out for myself. So there it sits now, on my counter, and I am having so much fun. We grilled burgers and steak the other night and they were juicy and delicious. I toasted some soul bread for our breakfast the next morning. Then I decided I had to try baking with it, because that was one feature they didn’t show us in Napa and you know I can’t live without baking. If this was going to be worthy of some of my kitchen counter space, I’d better be able to bake in it.
What better thing to bake than one of my mini cakes? Obviously this is not a full size oven, although it does easily fit a 9×9 baking pan or a circular cake pan (I checked almost the moment I took it out of the box). But for me, the beauty of a countertop oven is that I don’t have to heat up my big conventional oven for something small. And since I’ve been planning a mini version of my famous low carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake, this seemed like a natural fit. It really worked out well. The cakes baked in a shorter time than they would in my oven, and they rose perfectly. I used my ceramic ramekins set onto the grill pan without any problems.
Admittedly, it’s not an inexpensive piece of equipment, but it holds great promise. I was saying to my husband how ideal this would be for someone in a small apartment or for a vacation cabin or trailer, as it’s space-saving and cooks whole meals for 2 to 4 easily . It’s also perfect for someone such as myself, who has a large oven but bakes and cooks so much that she maxes out her oven space frequently. The grill function is truly unique among countertop ovens, and I think it’s perhaps my favourite part. Grill 4 burgers and some veggies all in the same pan at any time of year. Then bake yourself a mini Peanut Butter Layer Cake. Dinner is served!
Available online at Williams-Sonoma, Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon and Panasonic. It is currently being showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show, going on now. Check it out and follow along with hashtags #myCIO and #CES2017
Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon unflavoured whey protein powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting:
- 1 ½ ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon butter softened
- 2 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 tablespoon whipping cream
Chocolate Ganache:
- 3 tablespoon whipping cream
- ½ ounce unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- Additional cream if necessary
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat countertop induction oven (or a conventional oven) to 325F and grease 2 (two) 4-inch ramekins or mini cake pans well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Whisk in butter, egg, and vanilla extract. If your batter is too thick to spread, whisk in a tablespoon of water.
- Divide between prepared baking dishes and bake 10 minutes for the Countertop Induction Oven (or 12 to 15 minutes for a conventional oven). Let cool in pans. If your cake layers have domes, slice the tops off to make them flat and even.
Peanut Butter Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and butter until well combined. Beat in the sweetener and vanilla extract, then beat in the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a spreadable consistency is achieved.
- Place one layer of the cake on a plate and spread with about ⅓ of the frosting. Add the second layer and spread the top with another ⅓ of the frosting. Spread the remaining frosting over the sides of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Chocolate Ganache:
- In a small bowl, heat the whipping cream until quite hot (you can do this in the microwave or you can heat the cream in a small pan... it's such a small amount, watch carefully!).
- Add the chocolate and sweetener and let sit a few minutes to melt, then whisk until smooth. If your ganache is very thick, add about 2 teaspoon more cream and whisk until it is pourable. Pour over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
Notes
Total fat: 27.07g
Calories from fat: 243
Cholesterol: 60mg
Carbohydrate: 6.43g
Total dietary fiber: 2.24g
Protein: 7.12g
Many thanks to Panasonic for partnering with me to bring you this recipe.
Krissy Allori says
This looks like my dream cake on a plate! I’ll be trying it soon.
Vanessa says
Anyone try adapting this recipe to a regular size (8-9 inch) cake?
Andi says
This cake is super awesome! As I am the only one in my house who loves chocolate and peanut butter together, the small version is perfect for me. I have 2 little star shaped baking tins and use these for this cake which I have made a few times. I have also made a chocolate frosting and hence had a delicious chocolate cake too.
Natasha says
Just have to say this turned out amazing, and super pretty! I almost felt like a pro! This, coming from a girl who couldn’t cook or bake (boxed cakes were about it) for anything, a couple years ago – Keto has seriously brought out a whole new side of me that never existed before! And I’m so glad to have your recipes available. There are so many to try, I can’t keep up! I used Lily’s dark chocolate for the ganache instead of the unsweetened chocolate and sweetener, just to make a bit easier. Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
So glad it worked out!
Donna says
Carolyn you are AMAZING!! This cake is delicious, rich and moist!
LuAnne says
I made this for Valentines Day dessert for hubby and me. It was deeeeeeelicious! I had some 4-1/2″ ramekins, greased them with coconut oil, and they worked great. The peanut butter frosting is so yummy (for the person who said they were going to skip this part, you don’t know what you’re missing). The only tiny issue I had is that there was some graininess from the sweetener in the ganache but it tasted great. The hard part about this was only eating one serving. This was so good that I’ll make the regular sized one next time!
Julie says
Is the whey protein powder essential to the success of this recipe?’
Carolyn says
You can leave it out but your cakes won’t rise as well or hold their shape as well.
Julie Millard says
Thanks for the quick response. I made the cake tonight without the protein powder but doubled the baking powder. It was delicious! The peanut butter frosting is fantastic.
Pam says
Thanks for letting us know how it turned out without the whey! I’m looking forward to making this for Valentiens!! ?
Kim Beaulieu says
I need that oven as soon as possible. It’s SO cool. I’ve never seen one before. We could use one downstairs for the kiddos.
Love the cake. Peanut butter and chocolate are everything.
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
I love anything chocolate peanut butter!! Yes please!
Nicole says
I’m loving this oven and those mini cakes! I cook for just my daughter and I, so this is perfect!
Jenny Flake says
Simply beautiful!!!
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy says
Ummm this cake is gorgeous! Can’t believe it’s low carb!
Elizabeth I Schiwal says
My cake turned out beautiful I used the Wilton mini cheesecake pans the springform ones I didn’t have quite enough frosting for the outside so it’s a little bare-bones but I accidentally read ganache chocolate as 1 1/2 ounces so an extra carb per serving and I thick chocolate coating that covered my bare spot
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
We are chocolate and peanut butter twins today! I never say no to this combo and, in cake form? SIGN ME UP.
Sonya says
I love that you’re doing a mini version. It is so much more practical for me. Thanks.
Freda says
The Jimmy Dean breakfast meals come in a re-usable container that is approximately 4″ in diameter. I make cakes in them in microwave cooking for approximately 2 mins 15 seconds and works great. In fact I intend to make this cake in that way. Should work great. I’m going to leave cake in two layers and eliminate the Peanut butter frosting – keeping the Chocolate Ganache of course. By doing so, I have 8 servings with each carb serving level at “guess-timating” w/o PB frosting approximately 20-25gr carbs each. A nice treat that won’t “blow” my sugar level and keep insulin level constant instead of elevated. Can’t wait to try it.
Cheryl P says
Freda, I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I think you may have read the nutritional info in error. The total carbs per serving as the recipe is written (1/4 of the double layer with the PB frosting and ganache) is only 6.43 grams; net carbs is 4.19. If you make 8 single layer servings including the PB frosting you’re going to be at 3.2 total carbs, or 2.1 net carbs per serving. You could eat the whole cake as the recipe is written and be just shy of 27 total grams of carbs. 🙂
Nita says
Thank you so much for all your yummy looking recipes for people like me who need a dessert!!!
Michi says
Uhhh, I hate being that person but the ramekins? Suggestions of where to get something similar?
Carolyn says
Many bakeware stores will carry them. But Amazon does too. http://amzn.to/2jhkF0o
Michi says
True I can get plain ramekins anywhere, was wondering about the ones in the picture with the pretty leaves. I’m now thinking Pottery Barn or Williams Sonoma. Haven’t checked yet though!
Mary Barnes says
Walmart sells “The Pioneer Woman” ramekins. They’re very pretty ruffle topped and on sale now, $9.84 for a set of 8.
Joy says
The cake looks scrumptious! I can’t wait to try this new recipe. 🙂
Deb says
Hubby and I are dreaming about our next 5 yrs planning to make a jump into full time nomadic RV living and this looks like an awesome appliance for us! And of course staying Ketogenic regardless of where the roads take us 🙂 once again you, you never disappoint with your recipes. As always, thanks for all the work you do <3 you are total awesomeness!
Carolyn says
That’s the sort of use I think it would be perfect for!