Sweet Stuff
We all have that desire for something sweet after dinner...these are perfect in a hurry and some are even good for you!
Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse
This is my favourite fast dessert from the pantry, first published on my blog.
This gluten free recipe isn't obviously made from tofu...try it and see.
290g packet long life silken tofu
1/4 C honey
1/2 C cocoa powder or carob
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Beat or blend together until smooth.
Pour into a serving bowl or four glasses and chill until firm.
Serve with berries or chocolate shavings and cream if desired.
Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse
This is my favourite fast dessert from the pantry, first published on my blog.
This gluten free recipe isn't obviously made from tofu...try it and see.
290g packet long life silken tofu
1/4 C honey
1/2 C cocoa powder or carob
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Beat or blend together until smooth.
Pour into a serving bowl or four glasses and chill until firm.
Serve with berries or chocolate shavings and cream if desired.
Turkish Heaven
A delightful creamy dessert low in fat and calories for Moroccan or Indian cuisine. The longer the yoghurt is drained, the firmer the finished dessert will be. The spiced sugar can also be used on baked apples and in a fruit crumble. It is quick to make but remember to start the night before!
2Tbsp pistachios
Cover with boiling water and leave to soak 5 minutes. Rub off the skins and chop roughly.
1kg Greek style yoghurt
Drained overnight or longer, through cheesecloth or a tea towel.
Measure out 300g of the drained yoghurt (labneh).
1tsp orange flower water
4Tbsp spiced sugar
Beat into yoghurt
Divide into 4 serving bowls and sprinkle with pistachios and pomegranate seeds or rose petals.
Spiced sugar
3 cloves
¼ tsp black peppercorns
seed from 8 green cardamom pods
¼ t sp fennel seeds
Grind until fine in coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.
¼ tsp cinnamon
200g caster sugar
Mix together and store remainder in jar with close-fitting lid.
Apricot & Tofu Cheesecake
This is like a classic baked cheesecake, with out the dairy, or the fat content.
Make it gluten free by substituting with gluten free crumbs for the base.
The chopped fruit adds lovely texture; you can substitute the apricots for cranberries, figs, prunes or dates.
Base
3 C biscuit crumbs
¼ tsp cinnamon and nutmeg
2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp butter or non-dairy spread
Melt butter and honey together, stir into crumbs
Press into large spring form pan
Filling
1 C dried apricots
Chop roughly, cover in boiling water and soak 2 hours
Process with stick blender or chop finely.
Set aside.
Heat oven to 180˚C
500g tofu
4 eggs
½ C lemon juice
Zest of a lemon
½ C honey
2 tsp vanilla essence or one vanilla pod
Blend all except the fruit until very smooth- keep going, it takes a minute or two.
Stir in the fruit.
Check for taste, add extra honey or lemon juice if desired.
Pour over base and bake 30-40 minutes.
Chill before serving with extra fruit soaked in orange juice.
Make it gluten free by substituting with gluten free crumbs for the base.
The chopped fruit adds lovely texture; you can substitute the apricots for cranberries, figs, prunes or dates.
Base
3 C biscuit crumbs
¼ tsp cinnamon and nutmeg
2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp butter or non-dairy spread
Melt butter and honey together, stir into crumbs
Press into large spring form pan
Filling
1 C dried apricots
Chop roughly, cover in boiling water and soak 2 hours
Process with stick blender or chop finely.
Set aside.
Heat oven to 180˚C
500g tofu
4 eggs
½ C lemon juice
Zest of a lemon
½ C honey
2 tsp vanilla essence or one vanilla pod
Blend all except the fruit until very smooth- keep going, it takes a minute or two.
Stir in the fruit.
Check for taste, add extra honey or lemon juice if desired.
Pour over base and bake 30-40 minutes.
Chill before serving with extra fruit soaked in orange juice.
Date Slice
This recipe was originally devised at This Very Cafe to serve at Pappa Luigis, Fremantle's most famous coffee shop for many years. It is fast and easy, reasonably healthy and economical to make.
This is great for morning tea or for dessert served with icecream or custard. I like it best served really cold f rom the refrigerator. Choose what ever nuts and seeds you like for the topping. You can substitute prunes or figs for the dates, and brandy or juice for the water, pears or quinces for the apples and add spices to the topping.
Be creative!
Grease and line a 20cm square baking tray (this gives a nice deep slice.)
250g dates, halved
250g peeled, cubed apple
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 C water
Cook over a medium heat until dates are soft.
Set aside to cool.
1 ¼ C oats
¾ C dessicated coconut
1 C wholemeal flour
½ C raw sugar
175g melted butter
Mix well, set aside 1 Cup of mix for topping.
Press the remaining crumbs into the dish and top with the date mixture.
Add ¼ C of mixed nuts and seeds of your choice to the remaing crumbs and mix well before spreading over the dates.
Press down slightly.
Bake about 30minutes until brown.
Allow to cool before cutting.
This is great for morning tea or for dessert served with icecream or custard. I like it best served really cold f rom the refrigerator. Choose what ever nuts and seeds you like for the topping. You can substitute prunes or figs for the dates, and brandy or juice for the water, pears or quinces for the apples and add spices to the topping.
Be creative!
Grease and line a 20cm square baking tray (this gives a nice deep slice.)
250g dates, halved
250g peeled, cubed apple
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 C water
Cook over a medium heat until dates are soft.
Set aside to cool.
1 ¼ C oats
¾ C dessicated coconut
1 C wholemeal flour
½ C raw sugar
175g melted butter
Mix well, set aside 1 Cup of mix for topping.
Press the remaining crumbs into the dish and top with the date mixture.
Add ¼ C of mixed nuts and seeds of your choice to the remaing crumbs and mix well before spreading over the dates.
Press down slightly.
Bake about 30minutes until brown.
Allow to cool before cutting.
Rhubarb Brown Betty
This couldn't be any quicker to assemble ... no need to pre cook the fruit for a yummy winter dessert.
¾ C brown sugar
¼ C dry breadcrumbs
¼ C butter, melted
¼ tsp nutmeg, ground
1¾ C rhubarb, fresh, cut in pieces
2½ C apple, fresh, diced
¼ C preserved ginger, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 190c.
Grease a small casserole or baking dish. Use ceramic or Pyrex.
Stir together the crumbs, brown sugar and nutmeg.
Add the melted butter and mix well.
Combine the apples, rhubarb and ginger.
Sprinkle half the crumble mixture into the baking dish and spread with the filling.
Top with the remaining crumble mixture and bake 45 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Let sit for 15 minutes before serving with cream, custard or ice cream.
¾ C brown sugar
¼ C dry breadcrumbs
¼ C butter, melted
¼ tsp nutmeg, ground
1¾ C rhubarb, fresh, cut in pieces
2½ C apple, fresh, diced
¼ C preserved ginger, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 190c.
Grease a small casserole or baking dish. Use ceramic or Pyrex.
Stir together the crumbs, brown sugar and nutmeg.
Add the melted butter and mix well.
Combine the apples, rhubarb and ginger.
Sprinkle half the crumble mixture into the baking dish and spread with the filling.
Top with the remaining crumble mixture and bake 45 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Let sit for 15 minutes before serving with cream, custard or ice cream.
Cardamom Gulab Jamun
This is a dessert you can't resist...it should come with a warning.
It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week if you can bear to leave it that long!
1 C powdered milk
1/2 C self raising flour
1/2 t bicarbonate of soda
125g ( half a tub) of light cream cheese
Milk or water
Ghee/rice bran oil
Combine the dry ingredients and rub in the cream cheese. This can be done by pulsing in a food processor if you like - I feel that fingers are easier to wash!
When the mixture resembles breadcrums, add enough liquid to make a slightly sticky dough.
Roll into walnut sized balls and set aside.
Melt ghee, or combination of ghee and oil, in a small wok or saucepan - there should be enough depth to cover the balls.
Fry the balls in small batches until golden and drain on kitchen paper.
Syrup
1 litre of water
2 C sugar
1 tsp cardamom pods, crushed with a rolling pin
3 tsp rosewater
Combine sugar and water over a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Add cardamom pods and boil to reduce, uncovered for 10 minutes.
Allow to cool before straining and adding rosewater.
Pierce the cooled balls all over with a toothpick and place into a shallow baking dish or lunch box.
Pour over the syrup until covered and allow to sit as long as possible before eating!
Any leftover syrup may be kept for another batch or used over ice cream or on pancakes.
From my new book, currently unnamed!
Easy Nut Slice
This recipe is so easy, in terms of equipment, ingredients and the time it takes to make , that it will be appearing in the second edition of Easy! Its also amazingly healthy, is gluten free and has no added fat or cane sugar and still tastes great.
2 C of nuts and seeds of your choice
1/4 C rice bran syrup
Oil and line a 20 x 15cm dish or lunch box.
Toast the nuts and seeds in a heavy pan, starting with the largest and gradually adding the smaller ones.
When they all are golden, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the rice syrup until all the nuts and seeds are coated.
Tip into prepared container and press down with a wet hand, taking care as this mixture can become very hot.
Mark the top into small squares with a sharp knife and allow to cool before cutting.
2 C of nuts and seeds of your choice
1/4 C rice bran syrup
Oil and line a 20 x 15cm dish or lunch box.
Toast the nuts and seeds in a heavy pan, starting with the largest and gradually adding the smaller ones.
When they all are golden, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the rice syrup until all the nuts and seeds are coated.
Tip into prepared container and press down with a wet hand, taking care as this mixture can become very hot.
Mark the top into small squares with a sharp knife and allow to cool before cutting.
Lemon Verbena Cookies
You can use any sweet herb instead of lemon verbena. Choose from lavender leaves (not as bitter as the flower), lemon balm, bergamot petals and scented rose petals. Taken from Cooking with Herbs.
200g butter
220g caster sugar
1 beaten egg
300g self raising flour
1 Tbsp very finely chopped lemon verbena leaves
Beat the butter and sugar until pale, add the egg a little at a time beating well.
Mix in the flour and lemon verbena.
Drop teaspoonful on a baking tray covered in baking parchment, spacing widely enough to allow for spreading.
Bake 15-20 minutes at 180C (350F) until pale golden brown.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
200g butter
220g caster sugar
1 beaten egg
300g self raising flour
1 Tbsp very finely chopped lemon verbena leaves
Beat the butter and sugar until pale, add the egg a little at a time beating well.
Mix in the flour and lemon verbena.
Drop teaspoonful on a baking tray covered in baking parchment, spacing widely enough to allow for spreading.
Bake 15-20 minutes at 180C (350F) until pale golden brown.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Poached Pears in Ginger Wine
8 Packham pears, peeled but with cores and stalks left intact
1 C clear apple juice
1/2 C green ginger wine
3 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla pod split lengthways
2 Tbsp honey
Cut a slice from the base of each pear so it sits flat.
Place in a slow cooker or a deep baking dish.
Place cinnamon, juice and wine into the dish, pouring the liquids over the pears.
Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add seeds and pod to the dish.
Drizzle the honey over the pears.
Cover and cook on high for six hours in the slow cooker or covered in foil for an hour in 180˚C oven.
Baste occasionally with the juices.
The cinnamon will turn the juice a lovely pink.
Serve pears with some of the syrup, which can be reduced to thicken if you wish, with crème fraiché, yoghurt or custard.
This gluten free recipe was born at http://frompotionstopesto.blogspot.com/ 30.8.2010
1 C clear apple juice
1/2 C green ginger wine
3 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla pod split lengthways
2 Tbsp honey
Cut a slice from the base of each pear so it sits flat.
Place in a slow cooker or a deep baking dish.
Place cinnamon, juice and wine into the dish, pouring the liquids over the pears.
Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add seeds and pod to the dish.
Drizzle the honey over the pears.
Cover and cook on high for six hours in the slow cooker or covered in foil for an hour in 180˚C oven.
Baste occasionally with the juices.
The cinnamon will turn the juice a lovely pink.
Serve pears with some of the syrup, which can be reduced to thicken if you wish, with crème fraiché, yoghurt or custard.
This gluten free recipe was born at http://frompotionstopesto.blogspot.com/ 30.8.2010
Fastest ever sugar free sauce
This recipe appeared in a flash of inspiration while catering for a special diet retreat.
No one will ever guess it's sugar free and gluten free!
It is fantastically flexible, just change your fruit combinations.
1 jar (284g) of St Dalfour blackberry sugar free jam
freshly squeezed orange juice
Blend together until combined and the consistency you need.
Serve over baked apples or pears, with yoghurt, ice cream, fruit pies or crumbles.
Try also:
Black cherry and lime
Raspberry and lemon
Blackberry and apple
Marmalade and brandy (for your Christmas pudding)
No one will ever guess it's sugar free and gluten free!
It is fantastically flexible, just change your fruit combinations.
1 jar (284g) of St Dalfour blackberry sugar free jam
freshly squeezed orange juice
Blend together until combined and the consistency you need.
Serve over baked apples or pears, with yoghurt, ice cream, fruit pies or crumbles.
Try also:
Black cherry and lime
Raspberry and lemon
Blackberry and apple
Marmalade and brandy (for your Christmas pudding)
Falooda
This dessert drink is perfect served after spicy food. Depending on what recipe you choose, falooda can be as simple as a milkshake or as elaborate as a Knickerbocker Glory. The Hari Krishna cookbook has a version that contains jelly and custard as well as the more traditional ingredients of milk, ice cream, noodles and rose syrup. All the recipes contained massive amounts of sugar, so I have taken some elements from a few recipes. It is a quick and easy dessert that looks impressive. Feel free to adjust the amount of sweetener to suit your own palate.
1 tsp basil seed (tukmaria)
1 litre milk
2 pinches of powdered cardamom
1 Tbsp sugar
1½ C rose syrup
1 litre vanilla ice cream
Chopped nuts to garnish( pistachios look nice)
Soak the basil seed in one cup of water for at least half an hour to swell.
Heat the milk until it boils, remove from the heat and add ½ cup rose syrup, the cardamom and the sugar, mix well and chill in the refrigerator.
Strain the water from the basil seeds and add them to the cooled milk.
Whisk in ½ C ice cream until dissolved. At this stage you can store in a covered jug in the refrigerator until needed.
To serve, in a tall glass for each person, place a scoop of vanilla ice cream and one or two teaspoons of rose syrup. Top up with the well stirred milk mixture and garnish with chopped nuts. Serve with a long spoon and a straw.
You can thicken with a little corn flour when boiling the milk or serve with a spoonful of Falooda sev noodles in the bottom of the glass. Falooda sev is available at Asian stores. This recipe will serve 8-12 people depending on the size of your glasses. You can keep any remaining milk mixture in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
I made my own rose syrup. If you can’t find any, use half a teaspoon of rosewater in half a cup of corn syrup or mild honey with a little red food colour if required.
Children love the pink sweetness of this dessert. I created a little kit for Christmas gifts which included seeds, rose syrup and rosewater with the recipe.
1 tsp basil seed (tukmaria)
1 litre milk
2 pinches of powdered cardamom
1 Tbsp sugar
1½ C rose syrup
1 litre vanilla ice cream
Chopped nuts to garnish( pistachios look nice)
Soak the basil seed in one cup of water for at least half an hour to swell.
Heat the milk until it boils, remove from the heat and add ½ cup rose syrup, the cardamom and the sugar, mix well and chill in the refrigerator.
Strain the water from the basil seeds and add them to the cooled milk.
Whisk in ½ C ice cream until dissolved. At this stage you can store in a covered jug in the refrigerator until needed.
To serve, in a tall glass for each person, place a scoop of vanilla ice cream and one or two teaspoons of rose syrup. Top up with the well stirred milk mixture and garnish with chopped nuts. Serve with a long spoon and a straw.
You can thicken with a little corn flour when boiling the milk or serve with a spoonful of Falooda sev noodles in the bottom of the glass. Falooda sev is available at Asian stores. This recipe will serve 8-12 people depending on the size of your glasses. You can keep any remaining milk mixture in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
I made my own rose syrup. If you can’t find any, use half a teaspoon of rosewater in half a cup of corn syrup or mild honey with a little red food colour if required.
Children love the pink sweetness of this dessert. I created a little kit for Christmas gifts which included seeds, rose syrup and rosewater with the recipe.
