The Humble Keto “Queque”

A queque is a small cake muffin like that we eat very often for breakfast or with a coffee or tea.

It is very humble and pretty basic but it comes with a lot of childhood memories for me.

As we were quite poor, we did not have money for expensive cakes and desserts. My aunt was a spectacular cook and she would make cakes and desserts at home every time she could. However, often we went out for a walk, and used to sit at a caffe, people watching or reading. That is where my passion for books comes. My aunt used to stimulate reading and studying in such a way that by 6 I was able to read quite remarkably as compared with other children my age.

Sitting in caffés is a very common Portuguese habit. We can stay there for hours, chatting while sipping a coffee and having a glass of water, gossiping, reading, or merely enjoying the ambiance.

As we did not have much money, we would usually choose a queque as our cake to have with the coffee (she) and tea or lemon tea (me) – lemon tea is called carioca de limão and is made with just the lemon peel, no tea leaves.

So, the queque is a very fond and treasured memory for me. It brings my loved aunt back, and I can feel her presence, her smell, so dear and so missed.

But…. the queque is made with wheat flour, sugar, and thus not keto. I just had to replicate it. And I did, and the taste is exactly the same, buttery, sweet, melts in my mouth, makes me happy kind of taste.

I hope you like it, as much as I do. The chocolate topping is totally optional and in fact I prefer it without the chocolate.

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Keto “Queques” – Buttery Mini Muffins

by: Dalila Dias

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• V
• GF
• DF

Queque is a very humble but awesomely delicious small cake that we eat for breakfast or afternoon tea in Portugal. I intended to replicate the taste, which I achieved successfully. The chocolate toppingis optional.

• Difficulty:Easy
• Prep Time:10 mins
• Cook Time:25 mins
• Serves:18
• Freezable:Yes

Nutrition per portion

Ingredients

• For the mini muffins
• 6 medium sized eggs
• 1 cup fine almond flour
• 1/4 cup fine coconut flour
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup melted butter (salted)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp gluten free baking powder
• 1/2 cup swerve or any other keto approved sweetener (adjust to taste)
• For the chocolate topping
• 75g dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 2 tbsp water

Method

The mini muffins

• Pre-heat the oven to 180º C
• Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites in two different bowls
• Add all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well to remove any lumps
• In another bowl beat the egg yolks with the vanilla extract, olive oil, sweetener and melted butter until well mixed and sweetener dissolves
• Beat the egg whites until firm
• Add the egg yolk mix to the dry mix and beat well (it will be dense and hard to combine)
• Add 1/3 of the egg whites and beat until combined
• Add the remaining egg whites and fold in, until you get a light, aerated mix
• Put into a mini muffin pan (or any other pan you want) and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown
• Let it cool completely in a wire rack

The chocolate topping

We can make it in the microwave or stove. For the microwave, put all ingredients in a bowl and microwave till melted but not boiling. If necessary microwave for 30 seconds and then microwave at 10 seconds intervals until melted and smooth. If needed add more water For the stove, put a pan with boiling water to simmer, add another pan/bowl with the ingredients and let it slowly melt until smooth  

And now? Be happy!