Naturally Sweetened Desserts
Are you looking for some naturally sweetened desserts? I love sweets! Especially on Valentine’s Day! However, too much sugar may lead to increased inflammation in our bodies, so it is something many people are trying to include only moderately in their daily intake.
But on special occasions, desserts are a special treat, and the desserts that I am sharing with you in this post are made from fruit, such as mashed bananas, applesauce or dried fruit, and sweet potatoes, without the added sugar, so they have fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.
What is even better is that they taste great, too! These fruit desserts are a great way to eat more of what is good for us, and I hope that you get a chance to give them a try!
Naturally Sweetened Dessert Recipes
This recipe from a previous blog post was almost free from added sugar and got a lot of its sweetness from dates. So, I was inspired to see if I could make a recipe using entirely dates instead of the maple syrup and brown sugar from this recipe. Both of these little chocolate cakes are delicious!
Mini Heart-Shaped Chocolate Cakes
I adapted one of my chocolate cakes to make these sweet little cakes, which are vegan and gluten-free, too. These cakes are very rich, almost like chocolate truffles. I made a raspberry sauce with pureed dates. My grandson tried them out and gave these natural desserts using dates a thumbs up. I love the fact that these mini cakes are naturally sweetened desserts.
Makes four servings.
6 ounces chopped dates
1/4 cup Earth Balance Margarine
6 ounces baking chocolate
Three tablespoons ground flax seed
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ground almonds
One teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
Garnish with coconut flakes or shaved white chocolate
Baking pan with six hearts like this pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop up dates and simmer them in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup water until they dissolve in the water. Let cool and add to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Let it sit for a few minutes. In the saucepan, add baking chocolate, ground flax seed, and the rest of the water. Heat until it is all melted together. Remove the saucepan from the stove and add the date puree, almonds, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
Grease heart-shaped pans well and divide the cake batter between them. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes and carefully remove to a serving platter. When the cake is excellent and close to ready to serve, make the raspberry sauce and pour it over the cake. Decorate with shaved white chocolate or coconut flakes. Add a few whole raspberries on top.
Raspberry Sauce
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 ounce chopped dates
1/4 cup water
Two teaspoons corn starch
Add raspberries, chopped dates, and water in a small or medium saucepan. Allow to simmer until dates start to dissolve. In a custard cup, make a slurry with the cornstarch and a tablespoon of water and add to the sauce. Allow it to thicken, and then cool. After the sauce has cooled, blend until smooth in the food processor!
Other Natural Desserts from Dietitian Food Bloggers
Charlene Pors, Registered Dietitian from Euphoria Nutrition, shared two of her favorite desserts, which use dates and applesauce as sweeteners.
http://www.euphorianutrition.ca/naturally-sweetened-black-bean-brownies/
Registered Dietitian Judith Scharman from Food with Jules made these Cherry Power Balls sweetened with dates that are just so delicious that fellow registered dietitian Krista Ulatowski recommended them to me to share!
Apricot Balls with Dates, Cashews, & Coconut (eastewart.com)
These delicious energy balls are from the Spicy RD’s website and have dried apricots and dates for sweetener.
https://bucketlisttummy.com/chocolatecoconutcreampudding/
Amy Gorin, a Registered Dietitian, shared a frozen chocolate dessert recipe using bananas as the sweetener. I love all the garnishes that she used to decorate, they add texture and flavor too!
A collection of naturally sweet desserts would not be complete without one using sweet potatoes, and I think this one from MCKel Hill at Nutrition Stripped looks great.
Cinnamon Sweet Potato Truffles
Make Some Naturally Sweetened Dessert Recipes
I hope that you get a chance to try these naturally sweetened dessert recipes and that they inspire you to start using dates, applesauce, bananas, and coconut sugar in recipes instead of regular sugar. You may create something so rich and creamy that you won’t believe it is so good for you, too!
Do you have a favorite dessert that you naturally sweeten that you would like to share? I would love to know! As a registered dietitian nutritionist living in Asheville, I love sharing recipes to help clients live healthier, more delicious lives! I am so glad that you stopped by the blog and checked out the chocolate cake that inspired me to create my new little Valentine’s cakes!
You also may want to make your Valentine a delicious breakfast with one of these 10 Vegetarian Brunch Recipes for the Holidays – Vine Ripe Nutrition.
