Desserts & Drinks Recipes

• Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

  Cutting out dairy doesn't have to mean cutting out delicious, decadent desserts. Use the highest-quality dark chocolate for the best flavour in this tofu-based chocolate mousse.

• Dried-Fruit & Apple Strudel

  Phyllo pastry may seem decadent, but this is a great way to get healthy dried fruits, nuts and spices into your day—think of it as a healthy treat. This simple but elegant dessert will wow any guest. (And swapping the butter for low-fat vegetable oil spray will help to reduce the guilt factor!)

• Red Rustic Cherry and Apple Tart

  This freeform apple and cherry tart makes a nice change from classic pie. Use your favourite pie crust recipe if you have the extra time.

• Sparkling Red Cherry Punch

  Sweeten your parties with this festive punch made of cherry juice, orange juice and your favourite sparkling wine or champagne. Use sparkling water to make it alcohol free.

• Cranberry Semifreddo with Toasted Almond Meringue

  This almond-based dessert consists of 3 layers—a cranberry semifreddo, cranberry sorbet and crunchy toasted almond meringue.

• Raspberry Almond Macaroons

  These raspberry almond macaroons aren't the coconut macaroon you probably know. They're a light French sandwich cookie.

• Almond-Orange-Cardamom Cookies

  These nutty cookies are packed with heart-healthy almonds and delicately flavoured with orange and cardamom.

• Cherry, Quark and Pumpernickel Trifle

  These German-style trifles are made of hearty pumpernickel and fresh Quark cheese and flavoured with cherries.

• Cinnamon Star Cookies

  These crisp, spicy cinnamon star cookies make a perfect snack after a day outdoors. Serve them with big pitchers of mulled wine and hot chocolate.

• Apple Puff Pancake

  This amazing apple puff pancake can be ready for the oven in no time, and it only takes 20 minutes to bake. It makes a great dessert or brunch.

• Caramelized Apple Crêpes with Maple Syrup

  If you don’t have maple syrup, top the caramelized apple crêpes with honey, which is available locally in most places.

• Apple Cranberry Sangria

  To make this apple cranberry sangria recipe truly local, make sure to adapt the ingredients depending on what is available in your area.

• Crispy Cinnamon Cookies

  These crispy cinnamon cookies are wonderfully quick and easy to make.

• Vegan and Dairy-Free Fig and Raspberry Rice Pudding

  A warm and luscious fig and raspberry compote tops this cinnamon and lemon infused rice pudding for the perfect dairy-free and vegan after-dinner treat.

• Dr. Merrell’s Morning Shake

  Start your day right with this healthy, fruity morning shake.

• Chocolate Almond Smoothie

  This satisfying, antioxidant-rich chocolate almond smoothie will keep the hunger away for hours.

• Apple-Walnut Pancakes with Spelt

  Bring your family together on the weekend with homemade spelt pancakes that blend the best flavours of Canada’s changing seasons: crisp, sweet apples and real maple syrup.

• Apple Butter

  A perfect condiment for toast, pancakes or fruit parfaits, Apple Butter is as versatile as it is delicious.

• Glazed Apple-Ricotta Tarts

  Rich homemade pastry sets the stage for a creamy-sweet combination of ricotta cheese and caramelized apples. Infused with Calvados (apple brandy), these tarts make the perfect sweet ending to your next dinner party.

• Matcha Green Tea Torte

  Satisfy your craving for creamy cheesecake without eating fatty dairy with this green tea torte recipe, perfect for raw-food enthusiasts or anyone sensitive to milk products.

• Country Berry Smoothie

  Serve up this berry smoothie for a quick, light breakfast.

• Maple Walnut Coffee Cakes

  Perfect with coffee, tea or milk, these mouth-watering mini coffee cakes offer a flavourful combination of maple, cinnamon and crunchy walnuts.

• Flambéed Apple and Walnut Salad

  This delicious cold-weather dessert of flambéed apple and walnuts is still light on calories.

• Baked Apples with Currants

  This simple dessert will fill your home with the aroma of baking apples. Serve the baked apples and currants with plain yogurt, or with whipped cream for a more decadent touch.

• Whole Grain Crusted Apple Pie

  Even when you're baking a treat you can make healthy choices. This apple pie is full of whole grain goodness, and as an added bonus you'll find that the oat and whole wheat crust is easier to make than a normal pie crust.

• Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Bites

  Don't feel guilty about indulging in these bite-size chocolate raspberry brownies—the applesauce keeps them moist without any added fat. They freeze well and are great for take-along snacks or for a dessert tray.

• Vegan Apricot Creme Brulee

  You can make this vegan apricot creme brulee dessert well ahead, but caramelize the sugar topping just before you serve it. Professionals use a blow torch to get the perfect sugar crust, but the broiler in your oven works nearly as well.

• Dairy-Free Chocolate Birthday Cake

  For this ever-so-satisfying chocolate birthday cake, use the best bittersweet chocolate you can find. To keep the cake dairy-free, read the ingredient list carefully to make sure it doesn't contain any milk solids.

• Chocolate Banana Brownies

  There is quite a lot of fruit in these easy chocolate brownies: bananas, prune puree and dried cherries. They combine amazingly well to make a rich and chewy brownie that both kids and adults will love.

• Wild Blueberry Pear Crumble

  Ripe pears, wild blueberries and walnuts make this crumble a sweet treat on the healthier side. To make it even lighter, skip the whipped cream or serve with vanilla frozen yogurt.

• Dried Fruit Compote

  Dried fruit compote makes a delicious heart-healthy breakfast, snack or dessert rich in vitamins C and E.

• Red Alert

  This drink is a blend of lip-smacking cherry juice with another trendy ingredient, coconut water, which is gaining popularity as a cooking ingredient and sports drink (for its high potassium and mineral content). This blend is great for cooling off after a workout or as a morning wake-up drink.

• Cherry Red Eye Mojito

  This drink is an eye-catching twist on the Brazilian classic mojito, perfect for cocktail hour or special occasion entertaining.

• Smart Smoothie

  This 270-calorie smart smoothie breakfast, packed with vitamin D, is part of our summer-slim meal plan.

• Mango, Peach and Apricot Fizz

  A luscious combination of fruit puréed together with fizzy ginger ale, or with tonic, bitter lemon or sparkling mineral water, makes a wonderfully refreshing breakfast drink. Choose perfectly ripe fruit for the smoothest low-calorie mango, peach and apricot fizz.

• Banana and Mango Shake

  A thick banana-flavoured milk shake with a tropical touch, this will appeal to children and adults alike. The banana and mango shake is an ideal drink for busy breakfast times as it is packed with nourishment and very quick to prepare.

• Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie

  This refreshing strawberry yogurt smoothie takes only a few minutes to prepare, and is ideal as a nourishing start to the day.

• Banana and Peach Smoothie

  Bursting with vitamins and minerals, this banana and peach smoothie is ideal when you have little time for breakfast, and it makes a great snack.

• Cherry Clafouti

  Use fresh or frozen sweet cherries in this quick-to-make cherry clafouti, and serve with ice cream, whipped cream or frozen yogurt.

• Bing Cherry-Walnut Oatmeal Crumble

  This delicious Bing cherry-walnut oatmeal crumble dessert is topped with heart-healthy nuts and oats.

• Cherry-Melon Breakfast Drink

  Whip up this cherry-melon breakfast drink for a quick morning smoothie or refreshing dessert.

• Cherry Biscotti

  These twice-baked Italian cookies are perfect for dunking in coffee or milk. For variety, try using almonds or pecans instead of walnuts in the cherry biscotti.

• Fragrant Mango Cream in Brandy-Snap Baskets

  What could be more delicious than luscious fresh fruit blended with nonfat sour cream and lemon curd, and spooned into sweet brandy-snap baskets? This fragrant mango cream is a really special treat, wonderfully creamy without being too high in calories.

• Mango Brulee

  Voluptuous mangoes soaked in rum and cinnamon snuggle beneath a golden, grilled sugar topping in this delicious mango brulee.

• Apple and Muesli Rock Cakes

  A small amount of diced apple makes these cookies moist and fruity, and a perfect replacement for store-bought cookies. Easy to prepare, these apple and muesli rock cakes are ideal to make with children, who will enjoy making the nutritious treats as much as eating them.

• Ginger Nut Cookies

  Here's a healthier, less-fatty version of a traditional favourite cookie. Bake simple round cookies, or use fancy cutters and encourage children to stamp out gingerbread figures and shapes. Whatever the shape, these spicy, crunchy ginger nut cookies taste terrific.

• Chocolate-Nut Meringue Cookies

  Here’s an astounding achievement: chocolate-nut cookies with less than one gram of fat each! The secret is meringue. These chocolate-nut meringue cookies contain no butter or margarine and no egg yolks, yet they’re tender and rich tasting.

• Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

  Most people’s ideal brownie is one that is moist in the centre, with a deep chocolate flavour. This recipe for fudgy chocolate brownies uses chocolate and cocoa powder to give plenty of chocolate flavour, and dark brown sugar for the desired texture.

• Sweet Whole-Wheat Cookies

  These crunchy, golden cookies are full of nutty, slightly sweet flavours. They are sliced from a long piece of dough, which you can make ahead and store in the refrigerator or freezer. So you can bake the sweet whole-wheat cookies all at once or in batches.

• Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies

  Both children and adults will love these crisp, melt-in-the-mouth oatmeal and raisin cookies. They are a wholesome treat, packed with oatmeal and raisins for extra flavour and nutrition. It’s worth making a double batch and freezing some.

• Chocolate Chunk and Nut Cookies

  These chocolate chunk and nut cookies are simply irresistible eaten while still warm, when the chocolate chunks are soft and melting. Macadamia nuts add a crunchy texture, but can be omitted if you prefer. Like the chocolate, the nuts should be in large pieces.

• Banana Cake

  Quick and easy to prepare, this banana cake makes a healthy snack for hungry children or a handy addition to lunchboxes. And it’s a great way to use up bananas that have been sitting in the fruit bowl for too long.

• Black Forest Mousse Cake

  This very light cake is almost fat-free, being based on egg whites beaten to firm peaks and folded together with flour, sugar and cocoa powder. Cocoa delivers the rich chocolate flavour in this Black Forest mousse cake without the fat of chocolate.

• Cappuccino Chiffon Cake

  When chiffon cakes first appeared in the 1940s, the focus was on how easy they were to mix. Today, however, we also value the fact that they are sweet treats (such as this cappuccino chiffon cake) which are lower in fat and cholesterol than most.

• Blueberry Cheesecake

  Compared with most cheesecakes, this version of blueberry cheesecake isn’t particularly high in fat, as it uses low-fat cottage cheese instead of the traditional cream cheese, and is lightened by folding in whisked egg whites before baking.

• Spanish Orange and Almond Cake

  Made with whole oranges—simmered until very tender and then finely chopped—and ground almonds, this classic Spanish cake has a moist, light texture and a wonderful fresh flavour.

• Carrot Cake with Light Cream Cheese Icing

  Go ahead, take another bite. This carrot cake with light cream cheese icing is delicious, and really good for you! Each bite provides beta carotene, which helps protect your heart. And you don’t need to be a pastry chef in a four-star restaurant to make it.

• Cherry and Almond Strudel

  Strudel, Austria’s famous melt-in-the-mouth pastry, looks very impressive but is surprisingly easy to make. In this cherry and almond strudel, ground almonds and breadcrumbs absorb the juice from the cherries, so the layers of filo pastry bake wonderfully light and crisp.

• Fruit and Pistachio Baklava

  Here is an updated version of the traditional Greek pastry, made with a filling of dates, dried mango and pistachio nuts. Although this fruit and pistachio baklava uses less fat and honey than usual, it is most definitely a special sweet snack.

• Gingerbread

  This delicious, lightly spiced gingerbread is hard to resist. Enjoy a slice with a cup of tea or try it for dessert, with custard or a little reduced-fat cream or plain yogurt plus, perhaps, a spoonful of fresh apple compote.

• Cinnamon Banana Caramels

  Any fruit—fresh, canned or frozen—can be used to make this instant version of crème brûlée. In this recipe for cinnamon banana caramels, the fruit is topped with Greek-style yogurt—lower in fat than cream—then with golden brown sugar, and grilled to a rich caramel topping.

• Iced Fairy Cakes

  Iced fairy cakes are easy to prepare and always popular with children. Using ricotta cheese in the topping makes a lighter, fresher alternative to the more usual glacé icing. The cakes are best iced shortly before serving.

• Upside-Down Pear Pudding

  This comforting pear pudding is perfect for a Sunday lunch on a chilly day. Pears and blackberries are topped with an orange-scented sponge mixture and baked, then the pudding is turned out upside-down, so the luscious fruit is on top.

• Very Fruity Christmas Pudding

  Lighter than the traditional pudding, this very fruity Christmas pudding is packed with flavour and soaked in sherry or brandy and orange juice so it’s extra juicy. Served with brandy sauce, it won’t leave you feeling uncomfortably full.

• Citrus Meringue Pie

  A modern twist on lemon meringue, this citrus meringue pie recipe uses lime and orange as well as lemon in the filling. The case is made with crushed cookie crumbs held together with egg white, rather than melted butter, to reduce the fat content.

• Raspberry and Passion Fruit Sponge Roll

  This light, almost fat-free sponge, rolled up around a raspberry and passion fruit filling, makes a very pretty dessert. It’s ideal with sweet raspberries. Serve the raspberry and passion fruit sponge roll with homemade custard, if desired.

• Daffodil Cake

  Usher in spring by baking a daffodil cake—a fragrant, delicate sponge cake with swirls of yellow and white in every slice. This festive treat is lightly flavoured with orange, and it boasts one mere gram of fat per serving.

• Rich Chocolate Torte

  A generous amount of good-quality dark chocolate makes this cake beautifully moist and rich. The chocolate torte is perfect with a cup of coffee, or warm for dessert, with a spoonful of reduced-fat cream or yogurt and some fresh berries.

• Pimm's Melon Cup

  This fruit salad is inspired by the classic summer drink. A mixture of melon, berries, pear and cucumber is marinated in Pimm’s and then served in the cantaloupe shells. A decoration of pretty borage flowers is a traditional finish for a Pimm's melon cup.

• Double Raspberry Sorbet

  Go ahead, raspberry lovers, take a bite. This velvety-smooth raspberry sorbet and rich sauce give you a double dose of your favourite fruit—and you can make it from frozen raspberries any time of year.

• Little Custard Pots with Cherries

  These creamy baked custard pots, flavoured with vanilla and accompanied by a cherry compote, are sure to be popular with all ages. Take care not to overcook the custards—they should be just set when you take them out of the oven.

• Raspberry Frozen Yogurt

  This raspberry frozen yogurt, exotically flavoured with rosewater and crème de cassis, is much lower in sugar than store-bought frozen yogurt. Serve scoops on their own, or pile into sundae glasses with fresh fruit and sprigs of mint.

• Lemon Mousse with Strawberries

  Sampling this lemon mousse with strawberries is like spooning up sunshine; the jewel-like layers of berries are an unexpected delight. We’ve lightened up the mousse by substituting gelatin and fat-free yogurt for the usual quantities of eggs and cream.

• Mocha Ricotta Tiramisu

  This delectable version of tiramisu, the popular Italian dessert, includes the traditional lady fingers cookies soaked in coffee and liqueur. A creamy mixture of sweetened ricotta and yogurt is sprinkled with grated dark chocolate to make this elegant mocha ricotta tiramisu.

• Hazelnut Meringue Cake

  Simply add candles to turn this light but gooey hazelnut meringue cake into a birthday cake. As it has a pastry cream and fresh raspberry filling, it’s much lower in fat and calories than conventional celebration cakes.

• Apricot and Rum Brioche Pudding

  This glamorous version of bread and butter pudding is based on brioche and custard spiked with rum or brandy for a seductive flavour. Sultanas, dried apricots and apricot preserve provide lots of sweetness, so no sugar is needed.

• Sticky Date and Walnut Pudding

  On a cold winter day, nothing could be more welcoming than a pudding full of dates and toasted walnuts. It is easy to make and has a lovely moist texture. A tangy pineapple and marmalade sauce makes a perfect accompaniment for this sticky date and walnut pudding.

• Steamed Kumquat Honey Pudding

  A pleasingly light yet traditional pudding for wintry days, this offers all the pleasure of a steamed pudding without unhealthy saturated fat. The steamed kumquat honey pudding has a deliciously tangy citrus flavour thanks to layers of sliced kumquats.

• Peach and Berry Cobbler

  Want to put big smiles on their faces? Bring this luscious dessert straight from the oven to the table. Dripping with fruit and topped with pecan dumplings, this peach and berry cobbler is sure to please. And don’t worry if they ask for seconds—it’s a low-fat treat.

• Caramelized Pineapple, Balsamic Strawberries & Orange Ice

  Very simple to prepare and easily elevated to suit any dinner. The caramelized pineapple, strawberries and balsamic vinegar provide natural sweetness. The addition of the orange ice lends an interesting contrast of flavour and texture.

• Cinnamon Raisin Bread

  This milk-enriched fruity cinnamon raisin bread tastes good plain or can be served spread with a little honey or jam. It’s also wonderful toasted for breakfast, when the gentle aroma of warm cinnamon makes a soothing start to the day.

• Summer Berry Muffins

  Fresh summer berries add delicious flavour, colour and nutrition to these tempting berry muffins. They are best fresh from the oven, but are also good once cooled—an ideal addition to a lunchbox, or for breakfast on the go.

• Banana Cinnamon Muffins

  These delicious, moist muffins with a crunchy sweet topping are low in fat and contain bananas, oat bran, soy milk and soy flour—all beneficial for anyone eating for a healthy heart. Enjoy banana cinnamon muffins warm at breakfast or at morning coffee.

• Spiced Pumpkin Tea Bread

  Here’s a delicious, richly coloured tea bread that is moist enough to eat without butter. Spiced pumpkin tea bread makes a great addition to a healthy lunchbox, being rich in essential antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

• Caramelized Banana Crumpets

  Forget about smothering toasted crumpets in butter; this low-fat topping is yummy and much healthier. Mashed bananas are mixed with ricotta and spices and piled onto crumpet fingers, then drizzled with honey and broiled.

• Blueberry Popovers with Berry Salad

  Similar to Yorkshire puddings, popovers are a much-loved treat, and the sweet version here is perfect for breakfast or brunch. The batter is baked, and the blueberry popovers are served with sweet, fresh berries to add extra vitamin C.

• Waffle with Glazed Nectarines

  Waffles aren’t just for weekends any more! You can dig into this hot breakfast any weekday morning. Light and simple ingredients and plenty of juicy glazed nectarines make these wonderful waffles a heart-healthy way to start the day.