Low Glycemic Desserts
Pumpkin Mousse
Serves 4-6
2 cans of Plain Pumpkin
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Ginger
1 tsp Salt
1 TBS molasses
Scant 3/4 cup Raw Honey (put the tablespoon of molasses into the cup measure and then add honey up to the 3/4 line).
4 eggs (whipped to a light froth)
2 tsp. Xanthum Gum (easily available in health food stores).
Mix all ingredients well in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a prepared dutch oven (sides slathered in ghee), cover the pot, and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Let cool completely.
You can serve the mousse as is with a dollop of coconut crème fraîche (recipe), or you can layer the mousse and the coconut crème fraîche in tall decorative glasses, for parfaits.
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Maple-Pecan Pie Filling
Adapted from the gluten-dairy-sugarfree blog.
Most traditional pecan pie recipes call for sugar and/or corn syrup. That’s a LOT of refined sugar. This recipe cuts the amount of sweetener in half, using maple and brown rice syrup and omitting the cane sugar completel
1/4 cup butter (ghee)**
1/3 cup dark maple syrup
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
In a double-boiler (or a metal bowl atop a saucepan of simmering water), melt the ghee. Add the brown rice syrup and salt, stir, and remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then add them to the butter-syrup mixture and stir well. Add the maple syrup and return to heat, stirring well. Toss in the pecans and pour everything into the prepared Cinnamon-Pecan pie shell (recipe below).
Bake at 275 degrees F for about 60 minutes. It should have firmness similar to gelatin. Remove from oven and cool completely before serving.
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Cinnamon-Pecan Pie Shell
2 1/2 cups ground pecans
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup coconut sugar (or date sugar)
4 tablespoons butter (ghee)
Stir together ground nuts, cinnamon, and sugar. Mix in melted ghee.
Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch, deep-dish style, pie pan. Chill the unbaked crust in the refrigerator for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Place pie crust on a cookie sheet, and position on the middle rack of a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. WATCH it carefully, as nut crusts burn easily; they DON’T have to turn black to taste burnt! Cool completely before filling.
** Butter is another dairy commonly used in preparing holiday desserts. Those with dairy allergies should replace butter with ghee, which is clarified butter and has the milk solids removed. For those who are not bothered by dairy, butter is a delicious whole food.
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Chocolate Cake (Gateau au Chocolat)
Adapted from Wolfgang Puck’s Modern French Cooking
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
4 oz. ghee
5 eggs, separated
a pinch of salt
2/3 cup coconut sugar (or date sugar)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heavily ghee and dust a 10″ cake pan with cocoa powder. If you have parchment paper, lining the bottom of the pan works better.
Combine chocolate and ghee and melt over simmering water.
Whisk together the egg yolks and all but 3 Tablespoons of the coconut sugar. Stir melted chocolate into egg yolks until thoroughly combined.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining coconut sugar and continue to whip until egg whites are stiff but not dry.
Carefully fold chocolate mixture into egg whites. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn out onto a rack immediately. As the cake cools, the center will sink and crack…do not worry!
Serve with unsweetened coconut crème fraîche (see recipe here)
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Fresh Fruit Parfaits
Fresh fruit is a sensible alternative from the sugary pies, cakes and cookies during the holidays. In fact, many cultures prefer a simple slice of fruit to satisfy that end-of-meal craving for something sweet.
You’ll be surprised. After your next holiday feast, when the craving begins to take over, go for a couple of slices of ripe orange. See if the desire for sugar decreases.
And if a slice or two doesn’t cut it, make yourself a fresh fruit parfait using the coconut crème fraîche recipe above, or different flavors of coconut yogurt, layered between whole berries, sliced bananas, chunks of pineapple, strawberries, etc. You can even layer spoonfuls of gluten-free granola into the mix.
Put the parfaits in fancy clear glass containers like martini glasses, wine goblets or champagne flutes, and garnish with a sprig of mint.
