Guilt-Free Desserts: The Oasis To Your Summer Sugar Fix

Our dessert cravings do not care for weather or calories and we’re always on the lookout for something sinful to gobble down. However with the mercury rising like it’s nobody’s business and our gym classes on hold, we knew it was time we put our sugar levels on check. To the rescue, the DSSC kitchen kept bustling for a week and out came five delicious desserts we could eat guilt-free. #DSSCRecommends you put on your chef hat and crank out these desserts to #BeatTheHeat without regrets.

Hawaiian Granita

Image: girlversusdough.com

Our love for coconut grows by a multifold as summers approach and not to boast but we can down one cocot in 9.43 seconds. Making merry with summer’s wise pineapple and king coconut, we created a granita that you wouldn’t be able to resist. Icy, tangy, and soothing, it is everything you want in a spoonful minus the nagging guilt that comes with a pint of ice-cream. Spike it if you want to make things more interesting and enjoy the Hawaiian granita à la vodka; you can thank us later in kind, maybe with a box of it?

Prep Time: 20 minutes + 4 hours refrigeration

Caters To: 4 gobblers

Challenge Level: Beginner

From The Pantry:

• Honey to taste
• 1 and 1/2 cups coconut water
• 5ml vodka (optional)
• 1.4 kg pineapple, chopped in cubes
• Handful of fresh mint leaves

Cook Away:

1. Mix together honey and coconut water until dissolved.
2. Add the pineapple cubes in an electric juicer to obtain 1 litre of fresh pineapple juice.
3. Mix together the coconut water, vodka and pineapple juice and pour in a metal container.
4. Place in the freezer and break with a fork after 2 hours.
5. Stir to break the ice crystals every hour, until the desired consistency is reached.
6. Serve garnished with fresh mint leaves.

Make a shot game with the granitas and enjoy some brain freeze!

Fresh Fruit Granola Tart

Image: onegreenplanet.org

A fresh fruit tart may sound boring, but put the DSSC spin on it and it’s a hoot. We created a recipe that is not only guilt-free, but scrumptious enough to make you gorge it to bits. Using our go-to granola, greek yogurt, and fresh fruits, our tart was ready in the same time you read this (okay, maybe a few minutes more). Now constituting as the dessert/breakfast we reach out for every morning, we suggest you try your hand at it.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Caters To: 2 gobblers

Challenge Level: Beginner

From The Pantry:

Crust –

• 130 grams granola of choice
• 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
• 3 tablespoons honey/maple syrup
• Butter as per requirement

Topping –

• 250 grams greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey/maple syrup
• Handful of fresh fruits of choice

Cook Away:

Crust –

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Add granola and desiccated coconut in a food processor and blitz until it reaches a crumb consistency. Pour in honey/maple syrup and mix till everything is combined well.
3. Lightly grease a cupcake tray and add the blitzed mixture, pressing down with a spoon.
4. Bake the granola crust for 6 – 8 minutes, checking after 5 minutes to ensure it doesn’t burn.
5. Allow the tarts to come to room temperature before removing from the tray.

Topping –

1. Layer the crust with greek yogurt, honey/maple syrup, and top off with fresh fruits of choice – berries, mangoes, lychees, the options are many!  

Your breakfast tart is now ready!

Filo Lemon Stack

Image: sobeys.com

Summers are incomplete without the celebration of citrus and while under-appreciated by many, lemons aren’t just meant for garnish. In mood to showcase the ingredient so widely available, we got crackling in the test kitchen and created a filo lemon stack. Garnished with fresh raspberries, it makes for a perfect dessert in this heat. Light, crunchy, creamy, and refreshing, it can woo even the most skeptic tooth.

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Caters To: 4 gobblers

Challenge Level: Intermediate

From The Pantry:

Filo –

• 2 large filo sheets, cut in rectangle as per desired size
• Butter as per requirement, melted

Lemon Filling –

• 2 lemons, freshly juiced
• 1/4 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 cups greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Raspberries for garnishing

Cook Away:

Filo –

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Place five layers of filo pastry on top of each other, layering with (very) judicious amounts of melted butter with a brush.
3. Bake for about 8 -10 minutes or until beautifully golden.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Lemon Filling –

1. In a bowl, whisk lemon juice, zest, greek yogurt, cream cheese, and honey until it reaches a smooth consistency.
2. Add the filling between two baked filo squares.
3. Top with a dollop of the creamy filling and some raspberries.

Your filo lemon stack is now ready to be demolished!

Watermelon & Kiwi Popsicles

Image: bbritnell.com

Presenting the summer’s luscious red melon in it’s most refreshing form – juiced and frozen! No matter what time of day or how strong the sun shines, we created popsicles that you can always fall back on. Three ingredients you’ll surely have in your summer stock brought together in the most fun way possible. Watermelon, kiwi, and coconut water, you oughta try it. Yes, we mean it. No, we aren’t loopy.

Prep Time: 10 minutes + 6 hours refrigeration

Caters To: 8 gobblers

Challenge Level: Beginner

From The Pantry:

• 4 kiwis, peeled
• 6 cups of watermelon, cubed
• 1/4 cup coconut water

Cook Away:

1. Add kiwi in a food processor and blitz with coconut water until it reaches a liquid consistency.
2. Pour the kiwi mix up to 1/4th of the popsicle moulds and freeze for 2 hours.
3. Juice the watermelon and pour into the popsicle moulds already filled with kiwi.
4. Place the popsicle sticks into the mould and freeze for 4 hours or more.

Your summer delights are now ready, enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Yogurt Mousse

Image: edsmith.com

How can we miss out on chocolate when talking about desserts? We bring to you the guilt-free version of a classic mousse. Dark chocolate + greek yogurt and you have the winning combo to indulge your sweet tooth, minus the fat. Throw in some cherries and your 3am indulgence is ready to be devoured.

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Caters To: 2 gobblers

Challenge Level: Beginner

From The Pantry:

• 2/3 cup vanilla greek yogurt
• 35 grams dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh cherries, halved
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 sprigs mint

Cook Away:

1. Line a sieve with two layers of paper towel and add the measured amount of greek yogurt. Place in the refrigerator and allow it to drain for 30 minutes.
2. Transfer to a bowl and whisk to get a creamy consistency.
3. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and allow it to cool down to room temperature.
4. Whisk together with yogurt until smooth.
5. In a small saucepan, add cherries, honey, vanilla extract, and water. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Stirring occasionally cook for 5 minutes or until the cherries have softened.
6. Top the chocolate yogurt mousse with cherry compote and fresh mint.

Guilt-free chocolate indulgence is now ready!

Our summer indulgences are sorted, what about you?

Get your load of greek yogurt, cream cheese, and filo sheets from the ace gourmet store Modern Bazaar, present across Delhi.

Featured Image Courtesy: holisticwellness.ca