Cherry Topping

I keep a couple cans of Oregon® Red Tart Cherries (water pack) in my pantry at all times. The hubs likes cherry desserts. Cherries are fairly high in carbs, so I can’t join him in such desserts very often. But for a real treat or special occasion we sometimes make a cherry topping for vanilla cake (as shown above), for spooning on vanilla cheesecake, for brandy-laced Cherries Jubilee over vanilla ice cream (a favorite dessert of mine) or for when I make my Black Forest Cake on Valentine’s Day. This only takes a few minutes to make, too! this topping is not suitable until you are at Atkins Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance or have reached the final rung of the carb ladder (higher-carb fruits) of your carb re-introduction process in your Ketogenic diet. Clearly if you are Primal or Paleo, you need to use some other sweetener and perhaps a chia gel made with the cherry juice to thicken.

INGREDIENTS: 1 14.T oz. can of red tart cherries (water pack)

2 T. erythritol (or sweetener equivalent to 2 T. sugar)

1 T. granula splenda (or other sweetener equivalent to 1 T. sugar)

¼ tsp. xanthan or guar gum to thicken

DIRECTIONS: Using a small saucepan, stir all ingredients together gently. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring, until it slightly thickens. Remove and allow to cool on the counter. Spoon over your cooled cheesecake, ice cream or cake and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 5 servings if you spoon the topping over desserts. But up to 8 servings, obviously, if you spread the topping onto an 8″ cheesecake and then cut into 8 slices. I’m providing numbers for the entire recipe and you’ll need to divide the numbers below by the number of servings you get/serve. Also be sure to add in the carb count for the cake, ice cream or cheesecake you serve this on!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: This entire batch of topping contains: (Determine your per serving carbs based on how many servings you get for your particular application.

98 calories, 0.0 g fat, 23.3 g carbs, 4.0 g fiber, 19.3 g NET CARBS Remember, this number is for the entire batch! 1.5 g protein, 16 mg sodium