Picard Keto brownies
Ketonising cakes and pastries usually take us on a historical trip to the past. As you might know, Greek Goes Keto team is a couple of history Geeks that happen to love all things from the antiquity. However, you might not know about our love for science fiction. Yes, we admit, we are Trekkies. We simply love the idea behind an idealistic futuristic world that Gene Roddenberry created half a century ago. In particular, The Next Generation captain Picard is our favourite character. Not only that he loves archaeology and cultures of the distant past, but captain Picard is also a symbol of persistence, trust, legacy and team spirit.
Captain Picard portrait – finger-painting on iPhone by Roberta KapsalisA tribute Keto cake and Captain Picard?
This time, Keto Glamoutsa cake served as the base, but this particular Ketonisation is a tribute to the most beloved fictional character of the contemporary world. How can we connect food to this Sci-Fi icon? Well, simply, we’ll make something with his beloved beverage!
Tea – Earl Grey, Hot!
Captain Picard, played by marvellous Patrick Stewart, made this tea into an urban legend. Before Star Trek TNG became popular, nobody out of England knew about this tea. Well, maybe just some devoted tea lovers but in general, Earl Grey was not that popular. After I tried it for the first time, as a child, I literally fell in love with, what I later learned was, the bergamot orange peel aroma. As we already wrote in our Perfect Fasting Beverage article, Bergamot is a variety of orange that is often grown in Italy and France. The rind’s fragrant oil is added to black tea to give Earl Grey its unique taste.
History of Earl Grey
On March 13, 1764, a man was born in England. His name was Charles Grey, and his father inherited the title Earl Grey (the earliest title in England corresponds roughly to the title of Count in continental Europe). That is why Charles Grey became the second Earl Grey and could be addressed as Lord Grey. Earl Grey was a highly-positioned politician in the UK. He was even a British Prime Minister between 1830 and 1834, and formerly was the Foreign Minister of the British Government.
Earl Grey has been elected as a member of the British Parliament at the age of 22. At the time of the Napoleonic Wars – 1806 – Grey came to the high position of the first Lord of the Admiralty, which could be seen as the navy minister. Already as the first Lord of Admiralty, he was a member of the British cabinet (government) and soon transferred to the position of Foreign Minister.
In 1830 he became the British Prime Minister
Tea Earl Grey tea is special due to the bergamot oil aroma. There are tales of Lord Grey’s good deeds in China that produced the specific blend. Another story tells how the mixture was formed by chance when a gift of tea and bergamot oranges were sent together from representatives in China and the fruit flavour was absorbed by the tea while sailing. Yet another version of the story says that the addition of bergamot oil was saving the tea when the quality wasn’t good enough. In reality, it is not absolutely certain why the tea was named after Earl Grey. But today, it can be called Captain Picard tea because nobody made it as famous as he did. Even though captain Picard is French, Patrick Stewart’s strong English accent is unmatchable when ordering Earl Grey, hot from the replicator!
Captain Picard Keto brownies
When I was working on the Keto flour combination for these brownies, I wanted to make something new. Something unusual but with well-known ingredients. Of course, the syrup is always giving that final aroma. However, if the cake itself is eggy or dull in taste, there’s no syrup that can lift it up. So, I did a small experiment and to my surprise, it turned out so tasty! We already used sunflower seed flour for various Keto bread preparation and it always tasted perfect. The only secret is not to use it too much because your pastry will turn green after baking. Not only that, you will have to deal with some dose of bitterness!
Another thing I had in mind is the usage of baking soda. No matter what we do, when we add baking soda the cake always ends up a bit eggy. So, I went to my old friend sparkling mineral water for help! And did it help!? The result surprised me and I was so excited to share it with Greek Goes Keto social media followers. I am really excited to announce that Captain Picard brownies taste and look better than many carby versions in this universe!
Let’s get to the recipe you will fall in love with!
Picard Keto Brownies
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs I used duck eggs
- 6 tbsp sour cream
- 6 tbsp sparkling mineral water
- 100 g (1 cup) roasted almonds You can use hazelnuts
- 100 g 1 stick butter grass-fed, melted
- 1 tbsp psyllium powder
- 6 tbsp sunflower seed flour
- 6 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- 1/3 tsp ground nutmeg, clove and ginger mixture You can use ready Gingerbread spice mixture if it doesn't contain sugar
- 2 pinch freshly ground black pepper Trust me, it will work wonders
- 4 tbsp stevia-erythritol blend sweetener
- 2 tbsp organic dark cacao
Syrup
- 1 cup strong Earl Grey tea
- 1 tsp natural rum flavouring you can use real rum because the alcohol will evaporate
- 4 tbsp stevia-erythritol blend sweetener
- 4 stripes orange or lemon peel preferably bergamot orange peel
Instructions
- Place the almonds on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for 10 minutes at 150ºC (302ºF). Let them cool down and then finely grind them in the food processor.
- Melt the butter and set it aside to cool down a bit. Beat the eggs with salt and stevia and now add the butter, followed by sour cream. Keep beating at a high speed. At this point add lemon juice. When the mixture creates a shiny emulsion you can start adding the dry ingredients.
- Mix the ground almonds, sunflower seed flour, coconut flour and psyllium powder in a bowl and start adding this mixture spoon by spoon to the wet ingredient mixture. Add 6 tbsp of sparkling mineral water.
- Divide the mixture in two and add dark cacao to one to create a dark batter. Mix well so that cacao unifies with the mixture.
- Grease a 30x20 baking pan with butter or coconut oil and sprinkle with some coconut flour. Pour in the light batter and then add dark batter randomly in different spots. Using a long wooden stick (skewer) start creating circular movements so that the dark and light batters mix and create nebulae effects.
- Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes at 180ºC (356ºF). While the brownies are being baked, prepare the syrup.
- In a medium saucepan add a full cup of well infused Earl Grey tea, stripes of the citrus peel of your choice, natural rum flavouring and stevia blend sweetener. let it boil and set it aside.
- When the brownies are baked, remove them from the oven and cut in 28 pieces. Pour in the syrup gently so that each browny gets soaked.
- Let them cool down totally and serve with a cup of Earl Grey - Hot (Picard) or a cup of Coffee, black as Captain Janeway would!
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