Twice as nice – recipes low in sugar

Posted on 20 March 2015

Abigail Donnelly  from TASTE magazine shares four recipes guaranteed to make your taste buds happy using less sugar than your regular sweet treat.

Chocolate* and peanut butter cups
Makes 6 cups

200g 70% dark chocolate
100g All Bran flakes
1/4 cup salt- and sugar-free peanut butter
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the base, melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir gently until smooth and evenly melted. Mix in the All Bran flakes and use the mixture to line a greased muffin tray.
For the filling, combine the peanut butter, coconut oil and vanilla until smooth. Spoon the filling over the chocolate bases and set in the fridge for one hour or until firm. Remove from tray. Store in an airtight container in the fridge (they keep for a week) until you’re ready to serve them.

*Although dark chocolate isn’t entirely sugar-free, it does contains less sugar than milk chocolate. Stick to high cacao percentages of 70% and more.

Creamy yoghurt panna cotta with poached plums
Serves 4

10 gelatine sheets
4 tablespoons xylitol
(artificial sweetener)
4 cups full-cream natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or rose extract
8 ripe plums, halved
1 cup berry juice

Soak the gelatine sheets in one cup of cold water until completely soft. Place the gelatine and water in a pot over medium heat with the xylitol and dissolve together to form a syrup. Allow to cool for five minutes. Whip the syrup with the yoghurt and vanilla or rose extract until well combined. Pour into a large serving dish or individual serving bowls. Set the panna cotta in the fridge for four hours or until firm.
For the poached plums, simmer the plum halves in the berry juice over medium heat until soft and tender. Remove the plums and allow the liquid to reduce slightly. Serve it drizzled over the panna cotta with the plums.

Lemon curd free-form tart
Serves 4

For the lemon curd
120g butter
3 tablespoons xylitol
(artificial sweetener)
3 free-range eggs
4 lemons, juiced

For the pastry
90g ground almonds
90g cake flour
115g butter, softened
2 free-range egg yolks

For the caramelised lemon slices
4 tablespoons xylitol
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Lemon curd: Heat the butter, xylitol, eggs and lemon juice over a low heat while whisking. Make sure all the ingredients are combined and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and cover the surface of the curd with a sheet of clingwrap to prevent a skin forming over it.
Pastry: Preheat the oven to 180°C. Combine the ground almonds, cake flour, butter and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl until a crumbly dough forms. Cover the dough with clingwrap and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Once chilled, roll the dough out onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked evenly. Allow it to cool before gently placing on a serving dish. Spoon over the lemon curd and top with a few caramelised lemon slices.
Caramelised lemon slices: Heat the xylitol over a high heat until the pan begins to smoke. Carefully add the lemon slices and caramelise before turning over. Repeat on the other side. Use to top the tart.

Fragrant apple crumble with easy banana ice cream
Serves 4

For the ice cream
6 bananas
1 lemon, juiced

For the apple base
6 Granny Smith apples,
cut into small cubes
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the crumble
50g oats
50g walnuts, roughly chopped
100g blueberries
100g butter, softened
1 tablespoon xylitol

Banana ice cream: Freeze the bananas in their skins overnight or until completely frozen. Peel and blend them in a food processor with the lemon juice until the mixture is smooth and resembles ice cream. Place in an airtight container and store in the freezer.
Apple base: Toss the apple and nutmeg together and place in an oven dish.
Crumble: Mix the oats, walnuts, blueberries, butter and xylitol together, then scatter the mixture over the apple base. Bake at 180°C in a preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the apple is soft and the crumble is golden and crisp. Serve with a scoop of banana ice cream.

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.