Sometimes we need a sweet treat, but with a little less sugar and a little more of the healthy bits, so here are some bakes, creations and puddings to beat those cravings.
Raspberry, Coconut and almond Oat Bars
These are way too good, I have to try and forget about them, to stop me from eating too many. I love fresh raspberries, but these are made from frozen and are just as good. With a little bit of coconut and a few blanched almonds, to add a nutty texture, they are a great snack.
- 100g Raspberries
- 20g Blanched almonds
- 2 dessert spoons desiccated coconut
- 200g Oats
- 100g Honey
- 2 dessert spoons golden syrup
- 100g vegan butter
- Heat the honey, golden syrup and butter in a saucepan.
- Once melted, add the oats, coconut and chop and add the almonds
- Next transfer into a baking tin, layered with a piece of grease proof paper. Add the raspberries on top and push them into the mixture.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes on 200C/180C fan. Picture below of mixture before it is cooked.
Pear and Strawberry Crumble
Crumble is a great way of using up old fruit and if your are not using a mountain of sugar and lashings of custard, which I know is hard to avoid, then it can be quite healthy.
- 1 Pear
- 4 Strawberries
- Dessert spoon Flaked almonds
- Dessert spoon Brown sugar
- Dessert spoon Desiccated coconut
- 2 tbsps GF flour
- Dessert spoon Margarine
- Dollop Yoghurt
- Tsp Honey
- OVEN 180c/ 160c 25 minutes
1) This is a really quick and simple crumble and for this particular dish, I just made it for myself as I had a pear to use up!! Just peel the pear and slice, together with the strawberries into an oven proof dish
2) Mix some flour and margarine together, using the tips of your fingers, until it resembles crumbs. Add dessert spoon of brown sugar. Add some flaked almonds and a sprinkle of desiccated coconut and mix.
3) Add the crumble to the top of the fruit. Cook in a pre-heated oven for approximately 25 minutes. Serve with yoghurt and a drizzle honey
Rice puffs, cocoa & seed bars
Another quick and easy bar to make, to get you through the times when you need a little pick me up.
- 1/2 medium saucepan of Rice puffs
- Dessert spoon cocoa
- 6 dessert spoon honey
- 6 dessert spoon coconut oil
- Seeds
- Spoonful Linseed mix
- Spoonful desiccated coconut
Heat oil and honey in a pan, add cocoa. Take off heat and mix all other ingredients in
Put into a grease proof lined tray and put in freezer for an hour.
Cut and put into container to keep air tight
Banana Bread
This is my favourite banana bread recipe. I change it up with chocolate chips, chopped nuts or fresh raspberries. In this recipe I have used honey instead of sugar and less of it. I have also used coconut oil. It is so simple to mix together and I tend to slice it and put it in the freezer, as an alternative snack.
- 220g Plain Flour
- 120g Honey or sugar
- 2 eggs whisked
- 2 mashed bananas
- Handful dark chocolate chips
- 75g melted Coconut oil (you can use any oil)
- 50ml milk
- Tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- Tsp salt
- Tsp cinnamon
- Tsp vanilla extract
- OVEN 160c /140fan 55-6o minutes
1. Heat coconut oil to melt and mix all wet ingredients together. Add all remaining ingredients together, but sift and add the flour last. Mix well.
2. Grease a loaf tin and pour in the cake mix. Tap the tin to ensure there are no bubbles.
3. Bake in pre heated oven. After 50 minutes check with a skewer.
Pecan nut and raisin oat bars
Well as always this has been put together with whatever is left in my cupboards . I always try and make a homemade bar most weeks. That way I can use a little bit less sugar, as well as different oils. This particular bar I only had normal sugar! So tasted a little sweet, because I generally only use honey. Still good though although they crumbled a little!
- 200g oats
- 100g sugar
- 100ml coconut oil (or any other oil you have)
- Handful raisins, pecans and seeds
1. Pre heat oven to 180c/160c fan
2. Heat oil and sugar together in a pan
3. Add all ingredients into pan and stir together
4. Grease and line a small square tin. Add oat mixture to tin and flatten with a spoon.
5. Cook for 15-20 mins in the oven
6. Once cooked leave to fully cool before cutting into squares
7. Keep in a air tight container
Lemon curd mousse
High in protein, uses up the water from chickpeas, called aquafaba. I was definitely surprised that it worked and had thought of trying it. It is totally fantastic and I mixed through some homemade lemon curd.
- The water from one tin chickpeas (aquafaba)
- 100g sugar
- 3 dessert spoons lemon curd (see separate recipe under sauces)
1. Whisk aquafaba with sugar for a minimum of 10 minutes. It will get thicker after this, so stop when it’s the consistency of mousse.
2. Mix through the lemon curd
3. I topped off with blackberries, grated dark chocolate and crushed pistachios. I served straight away, but I would suggest putting in the fridge to chill for a bit.
Amaretto Chocolate Vegan Mousse
Another firm favourite. I learnt a lot about aquafaba. It doesn’t always whisk up! The second tin worked fine, so if you find it doesn’t change to a white colour and start getting thicker, then it’s not gonna work! Apparently it’s not very often that it doesn’t work. Second tip is that you do need to serve the dessert pretty quickly once made. 15 minutes in the fridge is ok, but don’t take it on a bus journey to your friends house and eat it 2 hours later (yes I did do this!!). Amazingly, even though it had lost some of its foaminess, it still tasted great!!
- Water from one tin chickpeas
- 50g sugar
- Shot amaretto
- 50g dark chocolate
- 20g cocoa powder
1. Whisk sugar and aquafaba together, for about 15 minutes, until thick and creamy
2. Melt dark chocolate over hot water in a bowl. Add cocoa.
3. Alternative way is to boil kettle, add cocoa into a cup, with a little water, stir together, then add chocolate a little at a time.
4. Let the chocolate cool.
5. Fold the chocolate and the shot through the aquafaba. It will lose some of its height, but should still retain some.
6. Pour into bowls and put in the fridge for 10-15 minutes and serve. I added grated dark chocolate to the top.
Button Bakes & Creates 