We discovered quinoa a couple of years ago as another option for lots of things, but it was this pudding with its combination of apple, orange and quinoa, that grabbed our enthusiasm. It’s designed as a breakfast porridge, but it also makes good dessert for the über health conscious.
Custardy popovers are a surprisingly simple but spectacular treat. We first discovered them when the kids wanted dessert one evening and nothing was prepared. I thought I had them snookered: I just pulled out the cookbooks and told the kids we could have dessert if they could find something easy and quick without sugar. But no, my…
This crumble is our easy-to-make dessert of choice. The tartness of the rhubarb is offset by the sweetness of the apple, so you don’t need to add any extra sugar to the filling. The crumb is a mixture of oats, coconut, honey and olive oil, whizzed in the food processor for just a few seconds.
Monday’s the day for trying something new. This past week, I’ve stumbled across five vegan desserts I had never thought to try, thanks to the ingenuity of Lori, Nadine, matchamochi, eatmunchlove and Indu. They look so good. And to top it off, some great reading for those who love dessert + coffee + a good read.
This fruitcake is another of the favourites on the local bushwalking club afternoon tea menu. It also tends to appear with the arrival of unexpected guests; and it makes a great dessert. Warm it up and pour a little custard over it, and there it is. Perfect!
This is a great, not-too-sweet alternative for breakfast. If you’re not a morning person, this is an easy way to prepare polenta for breakfast. No boiling and stirring in a saucepan with the resulting mess and washing up. No, just a quick soak in boiling water (the polenta, not you), and a microwave zap of rhubarb and it’s done.
This is an ideal dessert for one: take a pear, cut it in half, add a little sugar and cook it for a few minutes. It’s easy, very quick and has just enough sugar to satisfy a late-night sweet tooth without creating too much work.
It’s sweet, but there’s no (added) sugar in this dessert. It’s gluten-free, egg-free and easy. A small button of cashew paste adds substance to this ideal appetiser or an even-more-ideal light dessert.
I was hooked when the creator of this sweet dessert cake said her boy thought the caramelised sugar was chocolate. Could I fool my entire extended family? Not quite, but they all agreed it looked like chocolate, and it was just as satisfying. An unexpected and almost perfect result.
Persimmons poached with just a hint of spice and orange make a perfect light breakfast or a refreshing dessert. There is no sugar in this, making it suitable for even the healthiest of diets.
Our son’s French class visited a French restaurant as part of their appreciation of all things French. He came back with three amazing little treats, and we’ve been wanting to commit them to the formal kitchen notebook for some time. This is the first. It is sweet, but so very worth the effort.
This traditional egg custard is the perfect way to use up egg yolks. It is easy to make if you can stir and keep stirring, and it tastes rich and smooth and just like custard should. It helps if you have three hands, but even those of us with only two hands should be able to pour, hold and stir well enough for the smooth perfection we know we all want.
This easy-to-prepare yet decadent dessert is an enduring favourite in our household. Its rich, chocolatey, gooey sauce is a perfect complement to the soft crumb of the pudding, and better still, no egg: so everyone can enjoy it. Sans cream = a rich vegan dessert.
Be warned, you need a spoon to eat your piece of lemon and orange coconut cake; but it’s worth it for a delightful afternoon tea. As a bonus, he-who-won’t-eat-cake loves it too.
We made this up one morning before school, in an attempt to find an easy hot breakfast that would ‘stick to the ribs’. Some left-over rice and a glut of eggs, et viola! We now have a family favourite for hungry kids before school, after school, any time.
This ‘sponge’ is so easy the kids can make it (and they do). We usually just dish this out straight from the bowl: with boys in the house, it doesn’t last long enough to do anything other than wash up a few minutes later.
Mermaid's tresses 