The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: Keto Churro Swirls

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was the first book I’ve read in 2019. My stepdaughter bought it for me for Christmas this year and it’s a book that’s been on my list of to-reads.

The Night Circus is very much a love story. It is also a story of magic. Celia and Marco, both magicians (or illusionists) in their own right, fall deeply and madly in love with each other. But unlike a love story with kissing at the end, this has a more magical Shakespearan Romeo and Juliet outcome.

Morgenstern writes her story to let you see the circus. You can see the magic shows, the tarot readings, the tent of bottles full of scents which invoke memories and stories.

There is a lot of food throughout this book, from the dinners hosted to the circus food. Just before reading this book I had went to Cirque du Soleil with my family and saw the show Volta. I love Cirque shows and Volta was no exception. As I read this book I remembered sitting under the tent as I watched the amazing acts these performers did from acrobats to BMX biking. The lobby had the standard circus food, including churros. I decided for this blog to make a twist (a literal twist) on a churro, because anything in The Night Circus circus would have some different take on it. Other foods mentioned in the book included:

• Vermouth poached oysters
• Creations flavored with vanilla and honey, chocolate and cinnamon
• Chocolate-covered popcorn
• Mulled cider
• Layers of pastry and cinnamon and sugar all rolled into a twist and covered in icing
• Chocolate mice
• Strawberries coated in looping patterns of dark and white chocolate

With all the mentions of chocolate, cinnamon, and sugar, churros seemed to be the right call. Though I have promised not all of the foods I post here will be keto, I’m not cheating today so I wanted to make something I could actually eat. And keto treats and keto breads really fascinate me, so I’m still playing around with that.

Keto Churro Swirls

Ingredients

1/3 cup almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tbsp ground psyllium husk
1/2 tsp xanthum gun
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp erythritol, divided
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar free hazelnut spread (amazon link)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift together the almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk, and xanthum gum. Set aside.
3. In a small pot mix together water, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp erythritol, and salt. Once the liquid starts simmering, add the flour mixture. Mix together over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until the dough creates a ball and pulls away from the sides. Let cool for 5 minutes.
4. In a stand mixture combine the dough with the egg. After the egg has been mixed in, mix in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Place the mixture into a piping bag. Pipe the dough into swirls on a baking sheet covered with a silpat mat.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. While the churro swirls are baking, melt 1 tbsp of butter. Melt the hazelnut spread. Combine the remaining erythritol and cinnamon in a bowl.
8. Immediately after the churros come out of the oven, brush with the melted button. Sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture. Drizzle with the hazelnut spread.

Makes approximately 8 churro swirls.

This entry was shared with Foodies Read, Weekend Cooking, and Full Plate Thursday.