Nothing says ‘I love you’ like sweet homemade no-sugar treats for Valentine’s Day.
Still stuck with what to give to your love on Valentine’s Day?
Baking some romantic yet healthy treats will set the mood with your lover, by giving the sweetest gift of all.
The delicious, easy to make desserts are made with the natural no-sugar sweetener, Lakanto, and their range of low-carb, low calorie Monkfruit products as an alternative to sugar or maple syrup.
Choc Beet Maple Muffins
Red Velvet muffins, but with real red colouring – beets. This dessert serves 9-12 muffins and only takes under half an hour to cook.
Ingredients
•2/3 cup Coconut oil or Olive oil
•1/2 cup Lakanto Maple Flavoured Syrup
•50 g Sugar Free Dark Chocolate broken into pieces
•250 g (2 cups) Raw Beetroots, grated
•3 Eggs
•1 ½ cups Spelt Flour
•2 tsp Baking Powder
•5 tbsp Cacao Powder
•a pinch Salt
•1 tbsp Dried Desiccated Coconut
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175°C. Grease a muffin tray with oil.
2. Warm the oil in a medium size sauce pan on very low heat. Add maple syrup and chocolate and syrup and the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
3. Add the grated beets.
4. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and then add them to the sauce pan.
5. Sift flour, baking powder, cacao powder and salt together and stir into the beet mixture.
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until slightly dark and cracked on top and still a little moist inside.
7. Sprinkle coconut on top and enjoy.
Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake
This delicious cheesecake may have a lot of chocolate, but it still remains to be vegan, gluten free and low carb.
Ingredients
Cookie Crumb Base – Dry Ingredients
• 2 cups almond meal
• 1 cup Lakanto Baking Blend
• ¾ cup gluten free flour
• 4 Tbsp cacao powder
• ½ tsp bi carbonate soda1
• tsp chia seeds
• Pinch salt
Wet Ingredients
• ⅓ cup coconut oil
• 2-3 Tbsp almond milk (to bind)
Filling
• 2 cups coconut cream chilled
• ½ cup Lakanto Icing Powder
• 2 tsp Agar Agar
• 50ml Water
• Lakanto Chocolate Topping
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. In a large-size bowl, add all the dry ingredients and half of the chocolate bits and mix until combined.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until the mixture forms a soft dough and can be pinched between two fingers and stays together. Add more milk if necessary.
4. Line a baking tray. Roll the cookie dough into one sheet and flatten on the baking tray.
5. Bake the cookie base for 12-18 minutes or until the edges are crisp.
6. Allow the mix to cool and dry out then put into a food processor and make the mixture into chucky crumble and add ¼ cup coconut oil.
7. Press the mixture into a springform cake tin 6 inch and drizzle some chocolate sauce over the base (Chill in the fridge)
Filling
1.Whisk the Coconut cream and Lakanto Icing Powder until it thickens, dissolve the agar agar in warm water and whisk into the coconut cream, remove the base from the fridge and pour the mixture into the tin, place back in the fridge and allow to set.
2. Once set, use the chocolate sauce to create a swirl pattern over the top and then use any cookie crumb left over to sprinkle on the cake.
Matcha Muesli Maple Slice
For any green tea or matcha lovers, this dessert also contains various healthy gems such as pumpkin seeds and dried fruit. It serves to 10 slices/people.
Ingredients
• 2 cups Rolled oats
• 1 cup Pumpkin seeds
• 1 ½ cups Puffed Millet (or puffed rice or buckwheat)
• ½ cup dried fruit, roughly chopped (sultanas, dates, figs, goji berries)
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1 – 1 ½ Tbsp matcha powder (to your taste)
• 1/2 cup Lakanto Maple Syrup
• ½ cup Hulled Tahini
• 2 Tbsp Coconut oil
Method
1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Combine oats and pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the oats are golden.
2. In a small saucepan combine the maple syrup, tahini, & coconut oil. Whisk to combine. Be careful not to overheat.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cooled oats and pumpkin seeds with the chopped dried fruit, millet puffs, salt, and matcha. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir quickly to mix.
4. Pour the mix into a pan lined with baking paper. Press the mixture firmly, especially into the corners. Place in the fridge for a couple hours to firm up, then remove from fridge and slice into bars. Keep ledovers in the fridge for up two weeks.
Vegan Valentines Meringue Nests
Vegan Meringue? Well in 2015, after the vegan community had tried everything to re-create the elusive egg white meringue, it was discovered that the liquid in canned beans, specifically chickpeas, when whipped like egg whites, turned into a perfect, airy, sweet, and crispy meringue. This sweet dessert serves 8 meringue nests.
Ingredients
No-Sugar Vegan Meringues
• liquid from 1 can of chickpeas
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Lakanto Baking Blend
Coconut whipped cream
• 1 cup full fat coconut, solids only
• 1/4 cup Lakanto Pure Icing Powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Toppings
• Fresh berries
• White Cacao Butter
• Dried Rose Petals
Method
1. Place the chickpea liquid in a stand-up mixer with the whisk attachment. Add cream of tartar and vanilla extract. Whip on high for 5-6 minutes until the aquafaba has formed medium-stiff peaks. During that time, slowly add Baking Blend, about 1/4 cup at a time.
2. Pipe the meringue nests about 2 inches in diameter on a parchment-lined baking sheet. With a spoon, create a well in the middle. Bake at 90 degrees for 2 hours, until firm.
3. To make coconut whipped cream, whip up coconut solids with a handheld mixer. Add icing powder and vanilla extract and whipped until the coconut cream is similar in texture to whipped cream.
4. Once meringues have baked, top with about 1 tablespoon of coconut whipped cream each and 3-4 berries. Drizzle melted cacao butter and sprinkle with dried rose petals.Serve immediately.
Peanut Butter No-Sugar Cookies
This simple yet delicious dessert is all natural with no added sugar and can be whipped up in just fifteen minutes and can serve up to 24 cookies, perfect for a last-minute gift.
Ingredients
• ¾ Cup Lakanto Monkfruit Golden Sweetener
• ½ Cup -Butter Unsalted Melted
• ¾ Cup -Peanut Butter
• 1 Whole Egg
• 1 ½ Cups Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 1/4 Cup Peanut Butter (to fill)
Method
1. Combine the sweetener andmelted butter, peanut butterand lightly beaten egg. Mix well.
2. Gradually add sifted flour and remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly.
3. Place teaspoonfuls of mixture onto a greased tray, flattening with a fork.
4. Bake for about 12-15 minutes at 160C.
