Easter is a time of indulgence, treating yourself to chocolate and lovely steaming hot cross buns, writes Dee Copland.
However it can be detrimental to your health to overindulge, especially if people eat highly processed, sweet food regularly.
Also, for those who have cut or reduced sugar (fructose) from their diets, the time can be quite fraught with temptation.
Sarah Wilson, of I Quit Sugar fame, recognises this and believes people can still have chocolate and reduce their fructose intake.
In her latest book, The Ultimate Chocolate Cookbook, she talks about reducing fructose in treats by using raw cacao instead of cocoa to make chocolate and sweetening it with rice-malt syrup or stevia.
The book has an Easter chapter complete with tips on how to cope with the holiday without falling off the wagon, including trying some of the following recipes so people don't feel deprived.
A few squares of dark chocolate (85%-90% cocoa) can also help, she says.
She also lets people know what recipes can be eaten as treats, eaten daily or should be eaten rarely.
Photos supplied.
Choc-chip hot cross buns
Did you know you can make yeast rise without sugar? Which means you can make your favourite traditional recipes, only healthier, like these choc-chip hot-cross buns. Serve with a generous slather of butter.
Prep time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 15
Ingredients
1 Tbsp dried yeast
4 ¾cups spelt flour
1 ½ cups full-fat milk, lukewarm (not hot otherwise it will kill the yeast)
3 tsp rice malt syrup
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp granulated stevia
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
60g butter, at room temperature
1 egg, lightly beaten
50g dark chocolate(85%-90% cocoa), chopped finely
Glaze
2 tsp rice malt syrup
1 Tbsp boiling water
Method
1. Mix yeast, 1 tablespoon spelt flour, warm milk and 1 teaspoon of rice malt syrup in a mixing bowl. Cover and stand in a warm place for 15 minutes until mixture is frothy.
2. Meanwhile, sift 4 cups of the spelt flour, salt, stevia and spices into a large bowl and toss to combine. Add in the butter and rub with your fingers until combined.
3. Once the yeast mixture is frothy, add to the fl our mix with the whisked egg. Stir to combine. Add in the chocolate pieces then fold through. Cover the bowl again and allow to stand in a warm place for 40 minutes or until dough has almost doubled in size.
4. Preheat the oven to 200degC and lightly grease a 18cm x 30cm lamington tin.
5. Punch dough down, turn on to a floured surface, and knead well until dough is smooth and elastic. Cut into three equal pieces then cut each piece into five. Knead each into round shape.
6. Place buns in the prepared tin in rows. Don't worry if they don't touch, they will expand in the oven. Cover and allow to stand for 10-15 minutes in a warm place or until the buns have expanded.
7. Meanwhile, to make the crosses, sift remaining cup of spelt flour into a bowl and add cup of water. Mix to form a paste. You may need to add a touch more water to make the mixture a thick, but still fluid, consistency. Place in a small ziplock bag, then cut a hole across the corner. Use this to pipe crosses on to the top of each bun.
8. Place buns in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
9. For the glaze, combine the rice malt syrup with boiling water. Once hot cross buns have cooked, remove from the oven and immediately brush. Serve buns warm with a slather of butter.
Eggshell brownies
This recipe is a great showstopper! The novelty of peeling back the eggshells to reveal a chocolate brownie will have the kids busting with excitement.
Make this dish at Easter rather than loading the kids up with cheap and nasty store-bought guff.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes 12
Ingredients
12 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
⅓ cup milk
¼ cup rice malt syrup
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
2 tsp vanilla powder or extract, optional
⅓ cup coconut flour
¼ cup raw cacao powder
2 tsp baking powder
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180degC.
2. Using the pointy end of a sharp knife, pierce the top of 12 eggshells and peel back enough shell so that the opening is big enough to pipe brownie batter into. Shake contents of 10 of the eggs into a bowl to refrigerate for later, and two into a smaller bowl for use now. Wash the eggs out thoroughly using warm water.
3. Lay crumpled aluminium foil in a cupcake tin, forming a base to stand the eggs. Place the prepared eggshells in the cupcake tin.
4. In a small saucepan mix together the pumpkin puree, milk, rice malt syrup and coconut oil. Place over low heat and stir until the mixture begins to melt. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Add the vanilla to the reserved eggs and beat until light and fluffy.
5. In a large bowl mix the flour, cacao and baking powder. Add the pumpkin mixture and beaten eggs then stir to combine. Transfer mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Pipe batter into prepared eggshells to about three-quarters full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
White chocolate bunny tails
These are super rich. One serving is all you'll need. But boy, they're good!
Prep time: 1 hour
Makes 20
Ingredients
1¼ cup coconut butter
¼ cup raw cacao butter,
¼ cup buttons or shavings, melted
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup coconut milk
¼ cup rice malt syrup
1 tsp vanilla powder or extract, optional
pinch of sea salt
shredded coconut, for rolling
Method
1. Place 1 cup coconut butter, cacao butter, coconut oil, coconut milk, rice malt syrup, vanilla and salt in a food processor. Process until smooth.
2. Transfer mixture to a bowl and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes until firmed up enough to roll into balls but not too much that the mixture is solid. Roll mixture into teaspoon-sized balls. Refrigerate until hard.
3. Mould remaining coconut butter in a thin layer around each ball and then roll in shredded coconut. Refrigerate until firm.
