What a difference a week makes. My mother in law is now living in our old house. It’s a bit stressful because we realized she has stage three dementia. While that’s classified as early dementia, it’s still stressful as we have to provide help. She is already prone to outbursts, so it will be hard to distinguish if she gets to a later stage.

We have her living by us because it’s too expensive to do otherwise. I also think is does a disservice to just throw them in a home. I worked at those types of homes when I was in college. Families just dumped their relatives there and never came back. I’m not suggesting not getting help. We will need help if she gets into later dementia stages. But throwing her in a home is not the answer.

This week I am doing a simple recipe that I have never though of before. I have used sumac in other recipes, but not in a dessert. I am starting with a recipe from Southern Living for Sumac Snack Cake. This one looks pretty easy to swap out some ingredients to make this low carb. I think I can substitute some of the oil to lower the calories too.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I replaced the regular Greek yogurt with a plant-based variety to remove the dairy.
• I replaced the sugars with their sweetener equivalents to remove the sugar.
• I replaced the flour with almond and coconut flours to reduce the carbs.
• I reduced the amount of added salt to reduce the sodium.
• I reduced the amount of olive oil to 1/4 cup and replaced the rest with unsweetened applesauce to reduce the calories.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Low Sugar Sumac Snack Cake

Serves 9

• Cooking spray 
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sweetener
• 1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest, plus 2 Tbsp. fresh juice (from 2 medium lemons)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Tbsp., plus 1/2 tsp. ground sumac, divided, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup plant-based strained (Greek-style) yogurt, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup (about 4 oz.) powdered sweetener
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar Free Sumac Simple Syrup (recipe follows)
• 1/2 to 1 Tbsp. tap water, as needed

1. Preheat oven to 325℉. Grease an 8- x 8- inch baking pan with cooking spray; line bottom and sides using parchment paper, leaving at least 1 inch overhanging on all sides.
2. Stir together sweetener and lemon zest in a large bowl, rubbing zest and sweetener between fingers to release oils from zest. Whisk in lemon juice, oil, applesauce, baking powder, vanilla, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sumac, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Whisk eggs into sweetener mixture until fully incorporated; whisk in yogurt. Whisk in flours until just combined. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan, spreading evenly; bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.
4. Let cake cool in cake pan for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan using parchment paper overhang as handles, and place on a wire rack; let cool completely, about 1 hour. Remove and discard parchment paper.
5. Whisk together powdered sugar, Sumac Simple Syrup, 1/2 tablespoon of the water, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon sumac in a medium bowl until smooth, adding up to 1/2 tablespoon additional water for a thinner, more translucent glaze, if desired. Spread evenly over cooled cake. Sprinkle evenly with additional sumac.

Sumac Simple Syrup

Makes about 1 1/4 cups  Active 5 min. Total 1 hour, 35 min. 

Stir together 1 cup water and 1 cup granulated sweetener in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium. Remove from heat; stir in 2 Tbsp. ground sumac, and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup, discarding solids. Refrigerate, covered, until cold, about 1 hour.