Tag: healthy dessert
Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries
Lets do a pumpkin week- here is the first one.
- 1¼ cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon powdered cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
- 1 cup turbinado sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ extra light olive oil
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt into a medium bowl, set aside. Lightly brush a 9X5X3 inches loaf pan with butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add one egg at a time mixing in between. Add 1 cup pumpkin puree and orange zest and mix for about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
With a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the cranberries and transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 5 minutes before taking it out. Cool completely before serving.
Applesauce Chocolate Cake with a Spiced Icing
Great dessert for the holidays…
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon powdered nutmeg
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
- ½ cup extra light olive oil
- 1 cup turbinado sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup homemade or store bought applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 9” round pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a large bowl of a mixer, add the melted chocolate and the oil. Add sugar and beat until mixture is creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add the applesauce and vanilla and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients and pour into the round pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until tester is clean. Let cool and then top with the spiced icing.
Spiced Icing
- ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
- ¼ unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon powdered nutmeg
- 5 tablespoons milk
In a small mixing blow, combine the sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg and milk. Whisk well until all ingredients are incorporated and smooth. Add more milk if needed to reach the desired consistency.
Pour on top of the the cake and spread to the sides evenly.
Coconut Sweet Potato Cake
- 1 cup pureed sweet potatoes
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup extra light olive oil
- 1 cup turbinado sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 teaspoon powdered cloves
- 1/3 teaspoon powdered cardamom
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 9” round pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In a large bowl of a mixer, add the sugar and oil. Beat till the mixture is creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add the sweet potatoes and vanilla and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients and pour into the round pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until tester is clean. Let cool and then top with the coconut and pecan icing.
Toasted Coconut and Pecan Icing
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
- ½ pecans, chopped and toasted
In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and milk. Whisk well until all ingredients are incorporated and smooth. Add the coconut and pecans. Mix well and pour the mixture on top of the cake. Let it set for at least an hour before serving.
Spiced Chocolate Banana Bread
I thought I would do a week of different desserts….
- 1¼ cups unbleached white whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon clove powder
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for preparing the pan
- 1 cup turbinado sugar
- 3 very ripe bananas, peeled, and mashed with a fork (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup milk or dark chocolate, chips or grated
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, clove, cardamom and nutmeg into a medium bowl, set aside. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup with a spout, set aside. Lightly brush a 9X5X3 inches loaf pan with butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the butter while mixing until incorporated. Add the bananas (the mixture will appear to be curdled), and remove the bowl from the mixer.
With a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate pieces and transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 5 minutes before taking it out. Cool completely before serving.
Orange Cardamom Panna Cotta
I have decided to do all desserts this week in honor of Valentines day. I may disappoint all the chocolate lovers out there.. most of the desserts are fruit based- something different for V-Day!
I love any custardy dessert…I find them very comforting. This panna cotta is comforting and healthy at the same time. I have used cream, which can be substituted with all milk. Either way, this dessert is delicious, especially topped with fresh chopped oranges.
- ¼ cup 2% milk
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
Add the milk to a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin and let sit and absorb.
- ½ cup 2% milk
- ½ cup cream
- 3 to 4 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1/3 cup agave (add more according to taste)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups plain non-fat Greek yogurt
Add the milk, cream, cardamom and agave to a medium saucepan and simmer without boiling for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn heat off and add the gelatin mixture. Whisk well to make sure the gelatin dissolves. Add the vanilla extract and yogurt. Taste and add more agave if needed.
Pour into small bowls and refrigerate overnight. Make sure to cover with plastic wrap.
Orange Topping
- 2 navel oranges, peeled, segmented, chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
Add the chopped orange segments to a small bowl. Add the vanilla sugar and let sit for an hour. Top the panna cottas with the topping before serving.
Guilt Free Banana Chocolate Bread
This is a delicious recipe for people who are careful about carbs or for those who are allergic. I have to give credit to a wonderful site, http://comfybelly.com/. I got inspiration from a banana bread recipe from this site. I tweaked it a bit and came up with this yummy bread- do try it, it is very easy to put together…
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Chocolate Zucchini Bread
I continue with my quest for healthy kid friendly desserts and snacks. A friend makes my banana bread which her daughter loves- she asked if I could possibly come up with a similar recipe but with a vegetable- like a carrot cake. I remembered a zucchini bread I used to eat many moons ago from Starbucks. From work I would usually venture out to get a mid-afternoon snack which would be a tall Caffe Mocha usually with a slice of zucchini bread. The bread was absolutely delicious- I still remember the color and taste really well- this was about 10 years ago when I ate whatever I felt like and weight and nutrition were furthest from my mind. So when my friend reminded me of the zucchini bread, I immediately started looking for a recipe to adapt to my taste. I decided to include chocolate in the bread as anything with chocolate is good and I thought kids would be more likely to eat it and ignore the green stuff running through the cake! I tested a few recipes and finally liked this one- the texture was firm but moist and most of all, it was delicious! I baked it through the day, so neither my daughter nor my husband witnessed it. I gave a slice to my husband the next morning before he went to work- asked him how it was and once he told me it was really good, I informed him it was made out of zucchini. He was shocked! My daughter really enjoyed it as well, I decided not to enlighten her with all the ingredients. My husband, however, went ahead and divulged within minutes of eating it- Sia had a disgusted look on her face. I explained to her that if she likes the taste how does it matter what is inside the bread.. she thought about it for a few seconds and decided to have another slice. So my advice to parents out there would be that maybe you shouldn’t tell your kids what is in the bread- it may not go so well!!