Desserts

CHEESECAKE (dairy)

This is my most requested dessert recipe. The trick for using banana is to either use baby food or to puree the banana in a food processor or blender until it is completely smooth. This recipe makes two 8" cheesecakes.

Crust:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 2 Tbsp. sugar free grated coconut
• 2 Tbsp. vanilla
• 2 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 6 Tbsp. butter

Toast all ingredients, except butter, at 350 degrees in a pan for about 15-20 minutes until golden. Process the mixture in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. Separate into two 8" pans. Add 3 tablespoons of melted butter to each pan and mix well. Press into pan to form crust.

Filling:

• 3 (8oz.) packages of cream cheese (the block type)
• 1 jar banana baby food (or 1/2 cup of mashed fresh banana)
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Soften cream cheese. Whip cream cheese with beaters until smooth. Add eggs and banana and vanilla. Beat well until smooth and creamy. Pour cheese mixture in crust-lined pans, dividing the cheese equally. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Topping:

• 1 pint sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 Tbsp. mashed banana (or 4 Tbsp. from banana baby food)

Stir sour cream, vanilla and banana together. Spread over baked cheese filling, again dividing the sour cream equally between the two pans. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

CAROB MUFFINS

• 1 jar banana baby food (or ½ cup mashed banana)
• 3 Tbsp. light tasting olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup oat milk
• 1 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
• ¼ cup carob powder
• 1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• ½ cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the banana, oil and egg until creamy. Add in the milk and vanilla extract. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix until just combined. Spray nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the tops spring back when touched.

PASSOVER NUT CAKE

With limited options, many Passover cakes are filled with sugar. I created this recipe to give my family a healthful alternative to traditional Passover cakes. They love it and I have to make several batches of this cake to keep up with the demand. To make the apple syrup for this recipe, boil one jar of apple juice in a heavy bottomed saucepan until reduced by half.  Let the syrup come to room temperature. You can refrigerate any leftover syrup for one week.

• 12 eggs, separated
• 1/3 cup apple syrup
• 6 oz. ground almonds
• 1 medium banana, pureed
• 6 Tbsp. apple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whip egg whites until stiff. Slowly add 1/3 cup apple syrup and keep beating until stiff. In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks, almonds, banana and 6 Tbsp. apple syrup. Fold the whites into the egg yolk mixture and gently pour into a 9" x 13" pan. Bake for 50 minutes.

MAPLE ALMOND OATIES

These cookies do not expand in the oven. They are wonderfully crunchy and a great treat for the children. Sometimes recipes cannot be converted to using only oil and margarine must be used. In those cases, there is only one margarine that I recommend using since it is non-hydrogenated and has no trans fat and that is called Earth Balance. You can find it in your local health food store.

• ½ lb Earth Balance margarine (2 sticks)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 1 ½ Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 ½ Tbsp. alcohol-free maple extract
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 ½ cups slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the margarine and egg together until well blended and smooth. Gradually beat in the banana, cinnamon and maple extract. Mix well until all ingredients are well blended.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, oats, coconut and almonds. Using a wooden spoon, combine the dry ingredients until they are blended well and evenly distributed. Stir the dry ingredients into the margarine/egg mixture and mix thoroughly until there is no sign of dryness.

Cover two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the cookie sheets, about 2" apart and press down lightly to flatten. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies.