Desserts

Before summer officially ends, I had to share this recipe for Lemon Blueberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt Bars. We usually get a few warm days in September, and with blueberries in season, these frozen treats are practically essential! With ingredients like almonds, protein powder, high-protein yogurt, lemon, honey and blueberries, these are so good you could almost eat them for breakfast!

How was everyone’s Labour Day weekend? Did you go blueberry picking? Blueberry season is in full swing in Newfoundland, and Labour Day weekend always reminds me of blueberry picking. Not that I go blueberry picking very often, but I’ve been known to do it once or twice. I’m more of the type that accepts blueberry donations from other pickers! Thanks Mom 🙂 .

So, with lots of blueberries in our house these days, I’ve been dreaming up all sorts of blueberry recipes. For instance, yesterday I made a large batch of blueberry chia jam. Hopefully it’s enough to get me through the week 😉 . While it’s a simple recipe, it is so good! I’ll be sharing it on Instagram over the next few days, so keep an eye out if you are interested. In the meantime, I’ve been making these Lemon Blueberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt Bars on repeat. Not only do they have loads of blueberries and lemon swirled around in them, but they include my new favourite yogurt – Skyr. Have you heard of it?

I think I’ve mentioned on the blog already that dairy and I are not always on good terms, especially ice cream and yogurt. (Thankfully, cheese seems to love me. Yay!) I’ve pretty much given up on ice cream, and I even gave up yogurt for a time, but couldn’t really commit to it. Yogurt is just such a convenient, healthy snack, and it’s great for baking, so I’ve been on a mission to find a yogurt that I can have a solid relationship with.

Skyr is an Icelandic yogurt that’s super thick and creamy, and high in protein (we are talking 19 grams per serving), which makes it perfect for breakfast or a mid-morning snack. A friend of mine introduced me to it a few months ago and I’ve been eating it ever since. It’s awesome with granola and fruit, but it’s also perfect in these Lemon Blueberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt Bars.

You might think that the yogurt would make these bars taste really tart. But the lemon, blueberries and vanilla totally balance out the tartness of the yogurt and the vanilla protein powder in the crust also adds a nice contrasting taste and texture.

You will also notice that I snuck a little bit of cream cheese in this recipe. Not exactly clean eating, but it’s organic cream cheese, so I think that gives me a bit of a pass! Plus, the cream cheese makes the yogurt extra creamy and it helps prevent the yogurt from getting too icy when it freezes.

So that’s it! These Lemon Blueberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt Bars are delicious and quick and easy to whip up. They are so good you might even want to go blueberry picking 😉 .

If you make these bars, snap a pic and post it to Instagram. Be sure to tag @crumbtopbaking so I will see it!

Lemon Blueberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt Bars

These Lemon Blueberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt Bars are loaded with protein and antioxidants, so feel free to “indulge” in dessert! They are made with almonds, protein powder, high-protein yogurt, organic cream cheese, lemon, honey and blueberries. Packed with so many filling ingredients, you could almost eat them for breakfast!

• Author: Leanne
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 16 1x
• Category: Dessert

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Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 cup ground almonds (not almond flour)
• 1/4 cup vanilla plant-based protein powder
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil (melted)

For the blueberry swirl:

• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp tapioca starch

For the yogurt mixture:

• 1 cup plain Skyr Icelandic yogurt (4% M.F.) (See note)
• 1 – 200 g pack of organic cream cheese
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• juice and zest from half a lemon

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8 inch square tart pan.
2. In a small bowl, add the ground almonds, protein powder and coconut oil and stir together until it gets a bit crumbly and sticks together. Press into the bottom of the tart pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely.
3. In a small sauce pan, add the blueberries. Bring to a low boil and simmer until stewed together. In a small bowl, combine the water and tapioca starch and stir until the starch is dissolved. Slowly pour into the blueberry mixture and stir vigorously until well combined and mixture begins to thicken. Let cool.
4. In a medium-sized bowl, add the cream cheese and beat on high until creamy (about 1 minute). Add the yogurt, honey, vanilla, lemon juice and zest and beat on low until combined. Add the blueberry mixture and fold it around a few times with a spoon to create the blueberry swirl. Do not beat in the blueberry mixture.
5. Pour the yogurt/blueberry mixture on top of the crust.
6. Place in freezer for 2-3 hours until almost frozen. Cut into 16 squares. If it fully freezes, just let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in the freezer.

Notes

1. I use the President’s Choice brand Skyr yogurt. I’ve tried these Lemon Blueberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt Bars with both the 0% M.F. and the 4% M.F Skyr yogurt. While I enjoy the 0% for yogurt bowls, I prefer the 4% in this dessert as it has cream added to it, which adds a creamier texture to the frozen yogurt and helps prevent it from getting too icy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cookie Cups. My all-time favourite clean eating dessert! Pretty bold statement, but I promise, if you love chocolate and peanut butter, you need this recipe in your life! It’s creamy chocolate peanut butter banana nice cream nestled on top of a no-bake hazelnut crust. And the best part? These mini cookie cups take just 10 minutes to make, use only 7 ingredients and require no oven time! Does it get any better?

When I first started clean eating, chocolate peanut butter nice cream was my go-to dessert. I love the chocolate and peanut butter combo, and when you add frozen banana, you get a rich and creamy dairy-free ice cream. Add some nuts, unsweetened coconut and dairy-free chocolate chips, and you have yourself a “nice” and healthy sundae of sorts!

For months now, I’ve been experimenting with different flourless pie crusts in an attempt to make a chocolate peanut butter nice cream pie. The crust experiments have not always gone well……

Baked pecan crust with coconut oil, no-bake almond crust with almond butter, no-bake pecan crust with peanut butter…..you get the picture.

They were either too chewy or too oily and definitely did not freeze well. Don’t get me wrong, they were still edible but just not spectacular 😉 .

A few weeks ago, I had some bananas rotting away on the counter, (seriously, they were that far gone, they could have peeled themselves!), so I thought I would play around with the chocolate peanut butter ice cream recipe again. But instead of making a pie crust, I decided to use mini baking cups. Anything mini is usually super cute, and individual serving sizes are much easier to sneak out of the freezer 😉 !

When I was assembling the ingredients, I came across a bag of hazelnuts in my cupboard, and it occurred to me that hazelnuts might make a nice cookie crust. I used them in these Chocolate Hazelnut Energy Bites and they weren’t too oily, so I figured it was worth a try.

I kept it simple and just added the hazelnuts to my food processor, along with some dates, coconut palm syrup and natural peanut butter. It turned out to be the perfect consistency, and the hazelnuts added a nice (Ferrero Rocher like) taste to the cookie crust 🙂 .

And just a note on coconut palm syrup. Have you ever tried it? I picked it up at the supermarket a few weeks ago and I’ve been adding it to everything lately. It’s thick like honey, but dark in colour like maple syrup, and has a sweet caramel taste. I’ve been using it in place of honey and maple syrup in recipes, and as a syrup on flourless waffles and protein pancakes. If you follow my Instagram stories, you may have seen some of these breakfast treats over the past few weekends! Be sure to look out for some waffle and pancake recipes on the blog this fall.

In the meantime, enjoy these Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cookie Cups, and soak up the rest of summer!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cookie Cups

If you love chocolate and peanut butter, you need these Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cookie Cups in your life! It’s creamy nice cream made with bananas, peanut butter and cocoa, and nestled on top of a no-bake hazelnut cookie crust. They take just 10 minutes to make, use only 7 ingredients and there is no oven time required. Yay!

• Author: Leanne
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Dessert

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of pitted dates (dried or medjool)
• 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
• 2 tbsp + 1/4 cup natural crunchy peanut butter (divided) (See note below)
• 1 tbsp coconut palm syrup
• 2 medium-sized ripe bananas
• 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Instructions

1. In a food processor, combine the dates, hazelnuts, 2 tbsp of peanut butter and coconut palm syrup and process on high for 3-5 minutes until the mixture is fine and crumbly.
2. Divide most of the mixture into 6 small paper baking cups (not cup cake liners) and press into the bottom of the cup. Place in a 6-cup muffin tin. Reserve a little bit of the mixture to sprinkle on top of the nice cream cups.
3. In a blender, add the bananas, 1/4 cup peanut butter, almond milk and cocoa. Blend until creamy. Pour on top of the hazelnut base in the 6 baking cups. Sprinkle with reserved cookie crust crumbs.
4. Freeze for 2-3 hours, or until nice cream has firmed up but is not completely frozen. If the cups fully freeze, just let them sit at room temperature for 10 -15 minutes before serving. Peel away paper cups before serving.

Notes

1. I’ve tried this recipe with smooth and crunchy natural peanut butter and found that the crunchy adds a creamier texture to the nice cream and keeps the cookie base nice and crumbly (not chewy or oily).

Peaches and ice cream. Is there a better summer flavour combo? I mean, ice cream is a no brainer, but my love for fruit this time of year is also insatiable! For the past few weeks, our refrigerator has been filled with cherries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, and plums. I definitely bought way more than I could eat. But I couldn’t resist! So what does a girl do with so much fruit that can’t go to waste? The answer is: Stone Fruit Crisp with Peach Praline Ice Cream!

Unfortunately, ice cream is one of those foods that are just off limits for me. I know I’m not alone when it comes to dairy sensitivities, especially to ice cream. And, most times I can resist the temptation, but this time of year is so challenging! I mean, who doesn’t love a good ice cream cake or chocolate dipped cone?

This is where “nice” cream saves the day. AKA, dairy-free deliciousness! This ice cream is typically made with bananas and nut or coconut milk as the base. My go-to nice cream is usually chocolate peanut butter, which is made with cocoa, natural peanut butter, almond milk and bananas. I’m usually in a rush and never wait for it to fully freeze, so it ends up being more like an ice cream soup. I’m not going to lie, it’s quite  yummy!

After making this recipe, I think my new go-to nice cream is this creamy and nutty peach praline ice cream. The magic ingredient for extra creaminess? Coconut cream. Yes, I’m serious. Yet another one of my recipes with coconut cream!. To be honest, I’ve lost track of how many of my recipes include coconut cream. But if you remember this Cherry Chamomile Chia Pudding, it is one of my most popular recipes. Must be the coconut cream 😉 !

While the bananas and coconut cream add the creamy texture to this ice cream, the peaches, cinnamon and sweet toasted pecans add the flavour. A few scoops of this makes a lovely dessert or late night snack. And, it is so easy to make. No churning or fancy ice cream maker required. Just add the ingredients to a food processor and blend until creamy. Let it set up in the freezer for a few hours, and you have yourself dairy-free ice cream.

Just a tip: The first time I made this ice cream I thought I’d be a rock star and peel fresh peaches for the ice cream. Who has time for that? Now I’m using packaged frozen peaches. No shame here. It is much easier and cheaper!

While you can enjoy this Peach Praline Ice Cream on its own, it definitely tastes best when perched on top of Stone Fruit Crisp. Stone fruit, like plums, nectarines, peaches and cherries, have stones or pits in the middle. While I still have lots of cherries to eat, I opted to fill this crisp with fresh chopped plums and nectarines. I even left the skins on to save time!  (And yes, I peeled these too the first time I made this crisp. That’s now filed under “what was I thinking?”)

This crisp is quick to make and pretty wholesome with ingredients like oats, unsweetened coconut, almonds, honey, cinnamon and almond butter. I actually used sliced almonds in the crisp, and I have to say, I really liked the texture it added.

This recipe makes 12 fruit crisp cups. I like making these as individual cups as I find it easier for serving, and also making ahead and freezing. I like being able to pull a few of these out of the freezer for a quick dessert, or even breakfast. Just serve with some yogurt and additional fruit, and you have yourself a solid breakfast!

Stone Fruit Crisp with Peach Praline Ice Cream

Stone Fruit Crisp with Peach Praline Ice Cream is the ultimate summer dessert, that happens to be easy to prepare, super delicious and clean eating! The ice cream is no-churn and dairy-free, made with bananas, peaches, coconut cream and pecans. And the crisp is full of fresh nectarines and plums and lots of clean eating oats, almonds and honey. Bring on the healthy summer fruit crisp and ice cream!

• Author: Leanne
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 30
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x
• Category: Dessert

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Ingredients

Peach Praline Ice Cream

• 2 1/2 cups frozen peaches
• 2 bananas, sliced and frozen
• 1 can of full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup pecans, toasted with coconut sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon (see note below)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Stone Fruit Crisp

• 1 cup chopped fresh plums (skin on)
• 1 cup chopped fresh nectarines (skin on)
• 2 tsp coconut sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon, divided
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup natural almond butter

Instructions

Peach Praline Ice Cream

1. Open the can of full fat coconut milk and scoop out the solidified coconut cream into a medium sized mixing bowl. (Set aside the coconut water for later use or another recipe). Beat on high for 3-5 minutes.
2. In a large food processor, add the peaches, bananas and coconut cream. Process on high for 5 minutes or until the mixture becomes creamy. If your food processor is not powerful enough, you can use fresh peaches, which will enable the mixture to process more quickly. Or you can add a little bit of the coconut water from the can of coconut milk, which will also help process the frozen fruit.
3. Add the toasted pecans and cinnamon and process for another 30 seconds, or until the pecans are broken into small pieces.
4. Pour mixture into a wax paper lined loaf pan and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or until the ice cream is almost frozen but can still be scooped out easily with an ice cream scoop.

Stone Fruit Crisp

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a small saucepan, add the plums, nectarines, coconut sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and maple syrup. Heat on low for 10 minutes, or until the mixture comes to a low boil and the fruit begins to soften.
3. In a large bowl, add both kinds of oats, almonds, coconut, honey, almond butter and 1 tsp cinnamon, and stir until well combined and mixture clumps together.
4. Press half the oat mixture into the cupcake liners. Add the stone fruit mixture to each cup. Top with remaining oat mixture and press down to firm up.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the crisps have browned on top. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes.
6. Remove and serve warm with ice cream.
7. Store in the refrigerator and consume within 3-4 days, or freeze for later enjoyment!

Notes

1. To toast the pecans, add 1 tbsp coconut sugar, 1 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tsp cinnamon to 1 cup of pecans. Stir until well combined. Spread out in a frying pan greased with cooking spray. Cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes or until the pecans are browned and the sugar and maple syrup have caramelized. Stir the pecans frequently to ensure they do not burn.
2. If the peach ice cream has frozen too much, just let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, or until it has softened enough to scoop out. Do not defrost and freeze again.

If you enjoy chocolate covered cheesecake bites, you are going to love these Frozen Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs. I love the combination of blackberries and goat cheese. There is something about the slight sweetness of the blackberries and dark chocolate that complements the savory taste of the goat cheese. And best of all, you only need 7 ingredients for these chocolate bombs and they require zero baking, making them the perfect summertime dessert!

As the name suggests, these aren’t exactly cheesecake bites, but rather goat cheese bites, infused with coconut, vanilla, honey and smashed blackberries! And they are frozen, which adds a nice ice cream texture. Nothing says summer like a frozen dessert 🙂 .  And to make them a little more decadent, these blackberry goat cheese bombs are dipped in dark chocolate. Yum! While you could argue that the amount of goat cheese and chocolate in this recipe makes these bombs a bit on the indulgent side, they contain mostly clean eating ingredients, so I’m going to say they are Crumb Top Baking approved 😉 .

As the weather has started to heat up in Newfoundland, I’m looking forward to spending a little less time in the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s my favorite place to be, but when we only get a few nice days a year, I like to take advantage of them. I can always save my more intense kitchen days for rainy days, which we get plenty of….. year round! But when the sun is shining and the temperature starts to climb, I just want to be outside hiking or bike riding, enjoying some patio beverages, or simply hanging out in our backyard.

With that said, my goal for the summer is to create quick and easy recipes that require limited use of my oven! So there are definitely more frozen desserts in the near future. And, as it’s summer, you can be assured that most of my recipes for the next few months will likely incorporate some sort of fresh fruit. Like these Frozen Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs 🙂 .

These chocolate bombs require a little bit of prep work, but only in terms of chilling and freezing time. The actual time it takes to assemble and dip these bombs in chocolate is minimal. Which frees up your time for more outside activities 😉 ! So whip these up, stick them in the freezer and go out and enjoy summer!

It was a warm day when I shot these photos!

Frozen Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs

These Frozen Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs are like frozen cheesecake bites except they are made with goat cheese instead of cream cheese. They are also infused with coconut, vanilla, honey and smashed blackberries, turning the goat cheese into sweet and savory chocolate bombs! You only need 7 ingredients for this recipe and there is no baking involved! They are perfect to store in your freezer for a quick summertime dessert.

• Author: Leanne
• Prep Time: 25
• Cook Time: 15
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 20-22 chocolate bombs 1x
• Category: Dessert

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Ingredients

• 300 g package of goat cheese
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup chopped or smashed fresh blackberries
• 1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 3 tbsp. unrefined coconut oil
• Sea salt (optional)

Instructions

1. In a medium sized bowl, add the goat cheese, honey and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat on high for 2 minutes or until well combined. Add the coconut and beat for another 15-20 seconds. Stir in the blackberries. (Do not beat in the blackberries as they will blend too much and the mixture will turn purple).
2. Place mixture in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firmed up. (See note below).
3. Remove from the refrigerator and roll into balls. Mixture should yield 20-22 balls.
4. Place balls on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and place in the freezer for 2-3 hours, or until frozen.
5. Once the balls are frozen, place a 1/2 cup of the dark chocolate chips and 1 tbsp. of the coconut oil in a small sauce pan and melt on low heat. Remove 1/3 of the blackberry goat cheese balls from the freezer and dip each one in the melted chocolate. (Use a fork and let the excess chocolate drip off). Place each dipped ball back on the baking sheet. Place back in the freezer while you repeat the process two more times. (See note below).
6. Once all the balls are dipped in chocolate, let them sit in the freezer until the chocolate has set.
7. Store the chocolate bombs in the freezer and remove 5 minutes before ready to serve.

Notes

1. The blackberry goat cheese mixture will still be a bit soft, so don’t worry about rolling into perfect balls. As they settle on the baking sheet, they will also lose their shape slightly when freezing, so your bombs will not be perfectly round. Don’t sweat it!
2. As the weather is warmer, I like to dip the balls in chocolate in three separate batches. This means only removing 1/3 of the blackberry goat cheese balls from the freezer at a time. Also, while dipping the balls, a little bit of the goat cheese mixture may end up in the chocolate, which will cause the chocolate to thicken. By melting the chocolate and dipping the balls in three different batches, the chocolate will remain fresh and smooth.
3. If you like the pairing of dark chocolate and sea salt, you can sprinkle a tiny amount of sea salt on top of the chocolate bombs as the chocolate is setting.

I love this time of year when you start to see fresh berries at the supermarket. Especially strawberries! While it is not quite summer yet (and not even really spring in Newfoundland 🙁 ), I’ve decided I can no longer hold out on sharing summer desserts. So I’m starting today and declaring this Almond Butter Strawberry Shortcake Tart with Coconut Cream the first dessert of my summer baking season! This tart is quick, delicious and, you guessed it, clean! It’s dairy free too, which is an added bonus 🙂 !

First, let’s start with the amazing almond butter cookie crust which is the base of this tart. It’s pretty much the same as the cookie crust I used in these Peanut Butter and Chia Jam Cookie Cups, except I used almond butter instead of peanut butter. I love how this crust stays chewy but gets crispy around the edges. And it bakes up super quick. We are talking 5 minutes to assemble and 10 minutes in the oven! Done!

You could even bake this cookie crust and freeze it for later use. Or you could bake the cookie dough in muffin pans and serve up individual dessert cups. (This would work for 6 regular sized or 12 mini muffins). I like making it as a tart because it allows you to pile on the fruit and stretch out the dessert to feed 8 – 10 people. Which is a nice number for a summer gathering! (Or for a smaller gathering, in which case everyone can have seconds …..because it will happen with this dessert!)

The filling is pretty simple, and that’s what is so great about this Almond Butter Strawberry Shortcake Tart. I used chopped fresh strawberries but you could also use blueberries, blackberries and/or raspberries. The red berries and coconut cream would make a pretty awesome looking Canada Day dessert! Or throw some blueberries in there too and make it a Memorial Day or 4th of July dessert! (BTW, Happy Memorial Day to those readers in the US!).

As the summer goes on, you can substitute other seasonal fruits in this dessert. I think fresh cherries or peaches would be amazing!

In addition to the fruit, I sometimes drizzle a little bit of honey on top of the fruit before I add the coconut cream. This is optional and depends on how sweet you like your dessert!

If you haven’t noticed from my other recipes, I am obsessed with coconut cream. It is so delicious, and so easy to make. Just refrigerate a can of full fat coconut milk, scoop the solidified coconut milk off the top and whip it up in an electric mixer. (I’ve been testing out different brands, and I think the Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk is the best so far).

You can add different sweeteners or flavours to the cream. For these Flourless Ricotta Cupcakes I made a chocolate coconut cream, so I added cocoa powder and maple syrup. For this Almond Butter Strawberry Shortcake Tart, I used some maple syrup, but I also added cinnamon and almond extract. It tastes fresh and creamy and the hint of cinnamon and almond pairs nicely with the strawberries and the almond butter cookie crust. Yum!

In addition to the coconut cream, I also topped this tart with toasted coconut. I think it makes it look more like a shortcake, and let’s face it, desserts are better with coconut sprinkled on top 🙂 . You could say I have an obsession with all things coconut! Another example would be this Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake. Yum!

This Almond Butter Strawberry Shortcake Tart is a perfect summer dessert and a great addition to a pot luck or BBQ gathering. It is not overly sweet or heavy, so it’s a nice light dessert to finish off a big meal. I know, in the summer heat, no-bake desserts are ideal. But this crust can be made ahead of time and it only takes 10 minutes to bake. So your oven is barely on really 😉 !

I will definitely be sharing other fruit/berry/coconut cream type recipes for the summer, so if you enjoy this combo, keep an eye on the blog and let me know what else you would like to see! And, as usual, if you make this dessert for any of your upcoming BBQs or summer gatherings, let me know how it goes in the comments below!

Almond Butter Strawberry Shortcake Tart with Coconut Cream

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Strawberry shortcake that’s clean eating? Yes please! This Almond Butter Strawberry Shortcake Tart with Coconut Cream is light, tasty and dairy free. With ingredients like almond butter, whole wheat flour, egg whites, strawberries and coconut cream, this tart is the perfect “good for you” summer dessert. Plus, it’s quick and easy. Yay!

• Author: Leanne
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 8-10 slices 1x
• Category: Dessert

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1/4 cup natural almond butter
• 1/4 cup solid coconut oil (I used unrefined)
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2 tbsp. egg whites
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch of kosher salt

For the filling:

• 2 cups fresh strawberries (chopped)
• 1 can of full fat coconut milk
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• toasted coconut for topping

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a tart pan with cooking spray. (I used a 14′ x 4′ tart pan).
2. Beat together the almond butter, coconut oil and honey with an electric mixer on high speed until well combined (approximately 3-5 minutes). Add the sugar and beat on high for another 30 seconds. Finally, add the egg whites and beat on medium speed until well combined and creamy. Remember to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as you go.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat on low speed until combined, about one minute. The mixture will be crumbly.
5. Press the mixture into the greased tart pan, making sure to shape the crust around the sides of the pan. Poke small holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork to prevent the crust from puffing up too much.
6. Place the crust in the pre-heated oven and bake for 5 minutes. The tart will puff up a bit. Remove from the oven and carefully press down the crust with a teaspoon in order to maintain the shape. Poke additional fork holes in the crust if necessary.
7. Place the crust back in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes until the edges of the crust are browned. (Do not over bake as the crust will continue to firm up once removed from the oven).
8. Remove the crust from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
9. While the crust is cooling, chop the strawberries and prepare the coconut cream.
10. To prepare the cream, refrigerate the can of coconut milk overnight. Scoop the solidified coconut cream off the top and add to a bowl along with the maple syrup, cinnamon and almond extract. Beat on high with an electric mixer for 3-5 minutes, or until the coconut cream is smooth.
11. Add the strawberries to the cooled crust, then spread the coconut cream on top and sprinkle with coconut.
12. Store leftovers covered in the fridge and enjoy within 2 days!

Notes

1. You can also make individual cookie crusts by baking the dough in muffin pans. This recipe will make 6 regular muffins or 12 mini muffins. Remember to reduce the baking time accordingly.
2. I wouldn’t make this dessert a day in advance of your gathering. I suggest waiting to whip up the coconut cream and assembling the dessert until you are almost ready to serve it. This way the coconut cream will be at its freshest.

 

Chocolate cake with triple the chocolate and chocolate icing! Need I say more? This Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Avocado Icing is loaded with cocoa, dark chocolate chips and dark chocolate almond milk. It is moist and decadent, and believe it or not, it’s clean eating and dairy free! We are talking whole wheat flour, honey, apple sauce, flax meal, olive oil, avocado and you guessed it, zucchini! I’m declaring this the perfect clean eating Mother’s Day brunch dessert!

I’ve made this Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Avocado Icing four times in the past five days! Partly to perfect the recipe and to take photos for this post (hundreds of photos!), but mostly because it has been popular with my taste testers. AKA, family, friends and my husband’s co-workers! (Thank you taste testers!) And, if I’m being honest, this cake has been my evening snack with tea for the past five nights!

Like many of my recipes, this one started out a little differently. It was first a muffin recipe. The muffins were tasty, but something was definitely missing. They needed icing, and the icing needed to be on a cake. A loaf cake! Enter the idea for this Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Avocado Icing. The avocado icing is decadent and super chocolatey, which is perfect for this moist chocolate zucchini cake!

Avocado icing is super easy to make and it’s dairy free. It tastes very similar to a butter cream icing (in my opinion) but much healthier! I used just one avocado, some cocoa, maple syrup and dark chocolate almond milk and whipped the ingredients together using a handheld electric mixer. Done in 5 minutes. Easy peasy! Please don’t skip the icing! While you can certainly eat this cake on its own, I highly recommend the icing! I will go so far as to say that the icing makes the cake 🙂 .

The cake itself comes together really quickly. It takes just a few minutes to assemble the ingredients and less than 40 minutes to bake in the oven. Once it’s cooled, just add the icing and it’s ready to serve!

You can also sprinkle some coconut or nuts on the top for added taste and texture. I love the dark chocolate and coconut combination. (As you can tell from these Chocolate Hazelnut Energy Bites). The first few times I made this cake, coconut was my topping of choice. However, the last time I made it, I wanted to add a pop of color that would make this Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Avocado Icing a recipe worthy of a Spring brunch! So I added crushed pistachios, which looks super pretty and tastes just as delicious as the coconut!

I love a good loaf cake! And they are so easy to cut into even slices. I cut this loaf into eight thick slices, but you could definitely get ten, and they would still be a good size.

As I so boldly stated at the beginning of this post, I think this makes a great brunch dessert! But of course, this Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Avocado Icing would be equally delightful as a supper dessert, or even a mid-afternoon snack 😉 .

I hope you make this cake and enjoy it as much as I have! Let me know if you do 🙂 .

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Avocado Icing

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

This Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Avocado Icing is loaded with cocoa, dark chocolate chips and dark chocolate almond milk. It is moist and decadent, and full of clean eating goodness like whole wheat flour, honey, apple sauce, flax meal, olive oil, avocado and, of course, zucchini! Plus, it can be made dairy-free! Yum!

• Author: Leanne
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 38
• Total Time: 48 minutes
• Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
• Category: Dessert

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp. flax meal
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate almond milk (or unsweetened or vanilla almond milk)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 2 tbsp. dark mini chocolate chips (use dairy free chocolate chips for a dairy free cake)

For the Icing:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp. dark chocolate almond milk (or unsweetened or vanilla almond milk)

Instructions

For the Cake:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, coconut sugar, flax meal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, beat together the egg, olive oil, honey, almond milk, apple sauce and vanilla.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Do not over mix. Add the zucchini and chocolate chips and stir again until combined.
5. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. (I used a 5″x9″ loaf pan).
6. Bake for 35-38 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Cool on a wire rack.

For the Icing:

1. Add the avocado, cocoa, maple syrup and almond milk to a medium sized bowl and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high until well combined (until the avocado is well blended). This will take about 5 minutes. To minimize the cocoa dust, you can add the cocoa in small portions and beat after each addition.
2. Spread the icing on the cooled zucchini cake. Sprinkle with coconut, crushed pistachios, or other nuts.
3. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated until ready to serve. The loaf will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.

Notes

 

Need a last-minute dessert for Easter Sunday? This quick and easy Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake is a healthier version of carrot cake, but it’s versatile, so it can be made as elaborate and decadent as you like!

For some reason, carrot cake always reminds me of Easter. I’m not sure why. It’s not like this was a traditional Easter dessert when I was growing up. Who had time for dessert when there were so many crispy, nutty, chocolate bunnies to eat? In our house, carrot cake was probably more common around Christmastime, and now that I’m older, it is definitely more common around my birthday. Yup, I said it. I love carrot cake that much that it is usually my birthday cake 🙂 .

Carrot cakes are moist and delicious and are covered with sweet, butter cream/cream cheese frosting. What’s not to love? Unfortunately, the buttery, sugary, creamy frosting now conflicts with my clean eating ambitions. So I decided to try to create a clean-ish carrot cake recipe that was still moist and delicious but had a few more wholesome ingredients baked into it. The result (after some trial and error), is this Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake.

The great thing about carrot cake is that it already starts with a clean ingredient….carrots! I just made this version with whole wheat flour, cane sugar, unsweetened coconut, unsweetened almond milk, olive oil and a few other necessary ingredients. You can even eat this Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake on its own, without frosting. In fact, for the first few versions of this recipe, I actually made muffins. Plain muffins, no frosting. And they were delicious! But I couldn’t resist turning this into a cake and experimenting with some frostings.

This cake is really easy to pull together. I didn’t use a mixer, just two separate bowls to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Then I just stirred the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients. Once combined, I added the carrots, and then onto the greased bundt pan. And by greased, I mean I just sprayed the pan with cooking spray, no buttering or flouring the pan. After 50 minutes, this Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake baked up golden, staying perfectly moist on the inside. It didn’t burn or brown too much on the edges, which sometimes happens with a cake if you need to leave it in the oven long enough for the middle to bake. But this cake baked evenly and, once cooled, came clean right out the pan. Love it!

For the frosting, I’m going to admit that it’s not entirely clean. Hence, my suggestion for enjoying this Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake without frosting. But I also said it was a versatile recipe. So you can use whatever frosting you like. For the frosting in this recipe, I kept it half clean 🙂 . I used coconut milk and mascarpone cheese. (I am a bit obsessed with coconut milk as the basis of a frosting – remember these Flourless Ricotta Cupcakes with Chocolate Coconut Cream?). For this carrot cake recipe, I used one can of full fat coconut milk, refrigerated for 24 hours to solidify the coconut milk into cream, and half a 275 gram tub of mascarpone cheese.

Mascarpone cheese isn’t really a clean eating ingredient. Sorry, clean eating friends, but I wanted to add a bit of cream cheese like texture to the coconut cream and I had a tub of mascarpone cheese in the fridge, so I thought I would give it a whirl. I think it turned out well! And this frosting is still a bit forgiving because I didn’t add a lot of sugar. I added just enough cinnamon, vanilla and maple syrup to sweeten it up a bit. (You can add a little bit more cinnamon or maple syrup to adjust the taste, but I wouldn’t go overboard). Overall, this cake is not as sweet as a traditional carrot cake, but it is still super tasty! I’ve already ate a piece and I’m probably going to eat another piece after I finish this post 🙂 .

If you don’t have mascarpone cheese (because I realize this is not a staple food in most refrigerators!), you can just use another can of coconut milk. If you don’t have coconut milk or don’t have time to refrigerate it for 24 hours, then go ahead and use Cool Whip or whipping cream. A little bit of decadence isn’t going to hurt anyone, right? And if you don’t have time to frost this Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake (remember I did say this was a quick and easy recipe), then just serve up a slice with the cream of your choice on the side. Dress it up with a cinnamon stick or a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, and boom, you’re done!

As always, if you make this, let me know your thoughts. And let me know what kind of frosting you decide to go with!

Happy Easter!

Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake

This Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake is a perfect spring dessert. It is easy and versatile, and with ingredients like whole wheat flour, cane sugar, olive oil, and unsweetened coconut, it’s cleaner than a traditional carrot cake.

• Author: Leanne
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 50
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x
• Category: Dessert

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup cane sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 5 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups grated carrot

For the Frosting:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• half of a 275 gram tub of mascarpone cheese (about 5/8 of a cup)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• Unsweetened coconut and toasted coconut chips for decorating

Instructions

For the Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 10″ bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and coconut.
3. In a separate large bowl, mix together the oil, almond milk, vanilla and almond extracts.
4. Gradually stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Once combined, stir in the grated carrot.
5. Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

For the Frosting:

1. Open the can of full fat coconut milk that has been refrigerated for 24 hours. Scoop the solidified coconut cream from the top of the can (leaving the coconut water in the bottom of the can) and add to a deep mixing bowl.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the coconut cream on high for one minute.  Scrape down the sides and add the mascarpone cheese, cinnamon, vanilla and maple syrup.
3. Continue beating the coconut cream/mascarpone cheese mixture on high until all ingredients are well combined. This could take a few minutes.
4. Once whipped together, begin frosting the cake. (If pressed for time, just serve the frosting on the side with each slice of cake). Decorate with unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut and/or toasted coconut chips.

Notes

1. You can definitely get 10-12 servings from this cake. If the cake is frosted, leftovers should be stored in the fridge and consumed within 2-3 days.  If the cake is unfrosted, store on the counter in a covered container for up to 5 days.