Saturday 7 December 2013

Sweet treats

Here are a few treats that will satisfy your sweet cravings but won't end up on your hips.

Banana and nutty gooey chocolate 

Ok, this probably shouldn't be an everyday treat but frankly sometimes, only chocolate will do. It really hits the spot when you feel like chocolate and it's pretty filling - don't let your children see it though or you may have to share!

Ingredients: (serves 1)

  • 1 banana sliced
  • 1 heaped tsp. cocoa powder
  • 1 heaped tsp. crunchy hazelnut butter (I use Meridian's)
  • 1 tsp. coconut sugar or xylitol
  • a bit of warm water (about 1 or 2 tbsp.)
Method:
Mix the cocoa powder, hazelnut butter and sugar into a paste  then gradually add the water until you get a smooth and spoonable sauce. Fold the chocolate sauce into the banana slices and tuck in!




Baked apple 

I grew up in the countryside in Brittany. We had a huge orchard so most of my Autumn weekends were spent picking apples in the rain in preparation for the cider making around December. Needless to say that I hated it, I hated the cold, the rain, the mud, the worms, the rotten apples, the lot. Thankfully we also had some eating apples, which were turned into all sorts of hearty desserts: apple tarts (mum always burned hers a little bit but I don't hold it against her anymore), apple compote, apple and banana compote, apple far (a traditional Breton cake, a bit a a flan) and of course baked apples. We were obviously sick of apples by Spring but now I'm quite nostalgic of those times (age I'm sure) and really wish my apples didn't come from Sainsbury's...

Ingredients: (serves 1 - I do sometimes make treats for other people then myself by the way...)
  • 1 large apple
  • a little chunk of marzipan
  • a splash of water
  • Greek/natural yoghurt
  • Cinnamon
Method:

Wash and core the apple, ideally with an apple corer, it's less faffy. Place your apple in an oven-proof dish and insert a little chunk of marzipan in the hole. Add a splash of water in the dish to prevent it from burning and bake for 20 min or so in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees. Serve with cold yoghurt to which you've added a pinch or two of cinnamon.




Raspberry ice cream

This is an old time favourite with the kids and it tastes so good that they have no idea it's uber healthy.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 2 handfuls of frozen raspberries (it works with strawberries too but not so well with blueberries)
  • 1 tbsp. of cashew butter (again, I use Meridian's)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Method:

Place everything in a blender and blitz until smooth. You can eat it straight away but it'll be a bit like a slush puppy in consistency. If you place it in the freezer for an hour, you'll end up with a consistency closer to ice cream.