Christmas is around the corner and it’s time to start making traditional sweets! Sunny Rodricks brings you few healthy recipes to make your Christmas a sweet one
Come Christmas and everyone wants to savour the best sweets and treats that are made during the season. Every year we binge on traditional Christmas sweets such as the kalkal, marzipan, rose cookies, dodol and bebinca, so why should this Christmas be any different? Well, the answer is that you can be healthy while bingeing on delicacies, with our organic sweet recipes.
HELLO SANTA POUCHES
This cheerful recipe comes courtesy chef Nitin Bhardwaj, senior sous chef at Hello Guppy, who says, “It’s simple, easy to make, and a Christmas special!”
Ingredients: 125g apricots, 100g prunes, 4g cinnamon powder, 8 sheets filo pastry, 70g water chestnuts, 70g pine nuts, 90g butter, 100g strawberry grape compote, 4 watermelon scoops and 4 mint leaves.
Method:
- Mix the apricots, prunes and water chestnuts and chop them into fine pieces.
- Spread the sheets of filo pastry and fill them with this chopped mixture. Add small cubes of butter, cinnamon powder and some pine nuts to this.
- Fold the filo sheets like pouches and bake at 160°C in the oven for about 15 minutes.
- Garnish with mint leaves, strawberry grape compote and watermelon balls.
RICH XMAS FRUIT CAKE
Nothing says Christmas quite like an Xmas fruit cake, and chef Mahek Mandlik of Mahek’s Atelier gives us a healthy recipe for one. She says, “The rich Xmas fruit cake makes for a great healthy serving and you can binge on it without guilt.”
Ingredients: 1½ cup almond meal, ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt, ½ cup dates (pitted and chopped), ½ cup raisins, ½ cup dried cranberries, ½ cup fruit peel, 1 cup cashew nuts, 4 eggs, 2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp coconut or palm sugar, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 tbsp lemon zest and 1 tbsp orange zest
Method:
- In a large bowl, combine the almond meal, salt and baking soda. Add the dried fruits and nuts, and stir it to mix it well.
- Take another bowl and combine eggs, oil, coconut sugar, vanilla and the zest.
- Stir all of the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and pour into a 6-inch greased and dusted tin.
- Bake the cake in the oven at 180°C for around 30 minutes.
- Your rich Xmas fruit cake is ready to eat.
COCONUT ROUGH
This simple and quick-to-prepare coconut dish will offer a nourishing, coco-nutty and rich chocolaty treat to satisfy your sweet cravings this Christmas.
Ingredients: 1½ cup desiccated coconut, 150g cacao butter, 150g coconut butter (softened or melted), ½ cup brown rice syrup (or maple syrup or raw honey), 3 tbsp tahini, 1 cup cacao powder (sifted) and a pinch of salt
Method:
- Toast the desiccated coconut in a large pan over medium-high heat until lightly golden.
- Melt the cacao butter in a large heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Keep aside to cool for five to 10 minutes.
- Whisk in the melted coconut butter until well combined.
- Let it cool for a few minutes before adding the brown rice syrup and tahini. Whisk until well combined.
- Add cacao powder and salt to the bowl and whisk it all together. Stir the toasted coconut until all ingredients are properly blended.
- Pour the mixture into a lined square tin and spread it evenly.
- Chill in the fridge until completely set. Slice into cubes or smaller bite-sized pieces and enjoy!
FLUFFY HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS
Who doesn’t love soft marshmallows? But this Christmas try something different. Make your own!
Ingredients: 1 cup filtered water, 3 tbsp beef gelatin, 1 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ¼ tsp sea salt and ¼ cup powdered arrowroot
Method:
- Grease a large pan and sprinkle with some arrowroot powder.
- In a mixing bowl, add the gelatin and half a cup of water, and allow the gelatin to melt.
- In a pan, add honey, vanilla extract, salt and half a cup of water and set on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
- Pour the melted gelatin in a mixer and run it on medium speed, slowly pouring the honey mixture in. Set the mixer to high and run until the mixture turns thick, like marshmallow creme.
- Transfer this thick mixture to the greased pan and spread it out evenly. Finish by sprinkling arrowroot powder on top.
- Set this pan aside until the mixture sets. Once set, cut out your marshmallows to a desired size and enjoy.