Kiwi and Blueberry Cheesecake Cups

I love cheesecakes but they are so not diet foods, but this gives me a little bit of relief from my cravings without breaking the syn bank. This is a nice and easy recipe which is assembled in minutes. 

 

Serves 2

Syn free on Extra Easy*

* providing you use the cream cheese as your Healthy Extra A

2 kiwis

a handful blueberries

150g Philadelphia Light

200g fat free fromage frais

sweetener to taste

a few drops rum essence

2-3 tbsp caramelised buckwheat

In tall wine glasses, place the finely chopped kiwi flesh and blueberries. Mix together the cream cheese, fromage frais, sweetener and rum essence and spoon over the fruit. Just as you are about to serve, sprinkle the buckwheat over.

Carrot and Ginger Cupcakes

Another variation on my favourite – and immensely popular – butternut squash muffins. These are dangerously moreish, but at just half a syn (less in fact) each, you can really enjoy a couple without feeling guilty. They don't last very well in the fridge or a cake tin; but they freeze well – I have placed mine in containers with six cakes (without the icing) to take out for as and when we want a little treat, without going overboard.

Makes 36

½ syn each*

* providing you use the oats as your Healthy Extra b and cheese as your Healthy Extra A. Nine cakes constitutes one HexB and HexA.

140g porridge oats

2 tubs fat free thick plain Greek yogurt

100g sultanas

2 tsp baking powder

8 eggs, separated

2-3 tbsps mixed spice

½ – 1 cup of sweetener to taste

1 can sugar free ginger beer

3-4 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

a knob of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

300g cream cheese

sweetener to taste

a few drops of rum essence

First of all, in a small bow, place the sultanas and pour over enough ginger beer to cover. Leave to infuse and swell. Next put the oats in a large bowl and mix in the yogurt and the rest of the ginger beer. If you are using a thinner, runnier yogurt, cut down on the amount of liquid you use.

Leave these mixtures to soak for at least a couple of hours, ideally overnight. Boil the carrots with the ginger and leave to cool. Whizz in a food processor until smooth.

In a large bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg yolks and add the sweetener, mixed spice and baking powder. (Don't do as I did – thinking that I might forget to add the baking powder – I wasn't following a recipe, I was making it up as I went along – I measured it out when I thought of it earlier and just put it on top of the oat mixture for stirring in later. Wrong! By the time I came to stir it in, the baking powder had drawn the moisture from the oat mix and was one hard, white cake. Oops. I managed to break it up by whisking it in with the egg whites, but it was certainly a learning point!)

Stir the egg yolks and carrot mix into the oat mixture, add the sultanas and gently fold in the egg whites, making sure everything is mixed in well. Spoon into well greased muffin cases. I find I like to keep stirring the mixture while I am putting it into the little muffin cases, as the sultanas tend to sink to the bottom fairly quickly.

Bake in the oven at 180°C for 20-30 minutes, until they are cooked through. They should be springy, not fluffy when you touch them gently with your finger, and a skewer inserted should come out clean.

For the icing, mix together the cream cheese, sweetener and rum essence and spread on top of the cakes.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

These work out at under than half a syn per cupcake providing you use the oats as your Healthy Extra B and the cream cheese as your Healthy Extra A

Makes 12 little cakes

70g rolled oats

1 tub Müllerlight toffee yogurt

1-2 tbsp water

4 tbsp cocoa powder

sweetener to taste

3-4 beetroots, depending on size

1 tbsp baking powder

4 eggs, separated

150g reduced fat cream cheese

200g fat free fromage frais

sweetener

a few drops of red food colouring

Soak the oats in the yogurt for at least two hours, ideally overnight. Add the cocoa powder and sweetener to taste. Add some water if necessary to make a soft consistency.

Peel and cook the beetroot until soft and mash using a potato masher or a fork. Be careful at this stage as it can be quite a slippery customer and bits have a habit of flying out of the bowl and staining whatever they land on.

Mix the beetroot in with the oats and add the baking powder.

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks. Mix the yolks with the oats and beetroot and carefully fold in the whites. 

 

Spoon in to 12 greased muffin cases and bake for 20-25 minutes at 180°C until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool.

For the icing, mix together the cream cheese, fromage frais, sweetener to taste and a few drops of red food colouring. When the cakes are cool, pipe the icing on top. 

 

Raspberry Cheese Crunch

A nice, easy dessert which is very filling so a great choice after a light meal, or maybe as a treat later in the evening.

Serves 2

Syn free on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the cheese as you Healthy Extra A

500g frozen raspberries, thawed

sweetener to taste

150g reduced fat cream cheese

1 cup buckwheat

½ cup sweetener

2 tsp cinnamon

Dry fry the buckwheat until browned and fragrant. Take the pan off the heat and add the sweetener and cinnamon with 1-2 tbsp water. Stir until the water has evaporated and leave to cool.

Place the raspberries in the bottom of a knickerbocker glory glass. Stir the cream cheese with a tablespoon or two of water to make it soft and a little runnier, then add sweetener to taste. Spoon on top of the raspberries and top with the crunchy buckwheat.

Blueberry Cheese Crunch

Being a great lover of berries with yogurt, I thought I'd give it a little twist and have the berries with cream cheese instead. Oh dear. Big mistake. It was just so delicious I am now well and truly hooked. Not good for the waistline...

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the cheese as your Healthy Extra A

250g blueberries

150g cream cheese

sweetener to taste

½ cup buckwheat

1 tbs sweetener

½ tsp ginger

Heat a pan and dry fry the buckwheat over a medium-high heat until nicely browned and fragrant. Take the pan off the heat and add 1 tbsp sweetener and the ginger, with around 1tbsp of water to mix. Stir well until the water has evaporated. Leave to cool.

Mix the cream cheese with sweetener to taste and a tablespoon or two of water to soften the consistency.

Place the blueberries in the bottom of two tall, thin glasses, then divide the cream cheese between the glasses. Finally top them with the crunchy buckwheat. 

 

Redcurrant Layered Mess

I recently bought a food dehydrator to dry my chilli plants, and I am still exploring various foods I can dry in it, when someone suggested I could use it to make meringues. Great idea. My first attempt were not pretty, but they were feather light (and very brittle) and melted in your mouth. I might have to experiment with adding a pinch of salt, some bicarbonate of soda or vinegar to see if this makes a difference. 

 

Of course, you could use shop bought meringues and calculate the syns accordingly.

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

*Providing you use the cream cheese as your Healthy Extra A

2 egg whites

½ cup sweetener

punnet redcurrants

sweetener to taste

150g reduced fat cream cheese

1 tbsp sweetener (or to taste)

1 tsp vanilla essence

Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold in the sweetener. Place spoonfuls of the whipped whites on baking paper on the trays of the food dehydrator. 'Cook' for 5-6 hours at 50°C or until crispy and no longer soft. 

 

Meanwhile remove the redcurrants from their stalks and place in a bowl with sweetener to taste. Crush a few berries gently with a fork and stir well. Leave to infuse for at least an hour.

Break the meringues in small pieces and place in the bottom of two glasses. Top with the redcurrants. Mix the cream cheese with sweetener and vanilla essence and pipe or spoon on top of the redcurrants. 

 

Apple Cake with Summer Fruits

This was a complete experiment as I had a whole bag of apples from a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Husband loves apple cakes and puddings, so I had to think of something to do with the apples that was also portable for our picnic. It makes a very moist cake, and because of the relatively short baking time, the apples retain a nice crunch. 

It is no doubt best the day it is made, as the juice from the berries stained everything blue the next day. It comes out a little messy on the plate (the slices don't retain their shape very well), but tastes absolutely yummy.

 

Serves 6-8

½ syn for the whole cake on Extra Easy*

*Providing you use the cooked apples and cream cheese as your Healthy Extras

1 tub quark

½ tsp baking powder

4 eggs, separated

vanilla essence

6 tbsp sweetener, or to taste

1 tsp cinnamon

4 apples

200g frozen mixed summer fruits, thawed

125g blackcurrants to decorate

150g reduced fat cream cheese

Peel and finely chop the apples. Mix together the egg yolks, baking powder, 1-2 tsp vanilla essence, 2 tbsp sweetener, cinnamon and half the tub of quark, using an electric whisk. In a separate clean bowl, using a clean whisk, whip the egg whites until firm. Carefully fold the yokes into the whites.

Grease two 20cm springform cake times and divide the mixture between the two. Place the apples into the cake mix in the tins. Bake at 180°C for 10-15 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.

Remove the cakes from the tins. Spread one of the cakes with the rest of the quark mixed with 2 tbsp sweetener. Top with the mixed berries and carefully place the other cake on top. Mix together the cream cheese and 2 tbsp sweetener and spread on the top of the cake. Top with the blackcurrants.