Four heart-healthy dessert recipes for Mother’s Day

Spoil mom this Mother’s Day on Sunday, 10 May with some heart-healthy treats and desserts.

These recipes from Pharma Dynamics’ Cooking from the Heart cookbook are all easy to make, affordable and consist of essential ingredients, which make them ideal for cooking during lockdown.

Chocolate cake

There is nothing like some chocolate to treat yourself. This is so easy to bake and ideal for Mother’s Day or to celebrate a birthday while in lockdown.

Ingredients
3 cups cake flour
1¼ cups sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
6 tbsp cocoa
2 cups hot water
½ cup buttermilk
5 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp white grape vinegar
2 tsp vanilla essence

Topping
⅔ cup sugar
300ml water
1 tbsp soft tub margarine
¼ cup cocoa
½ tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp grated chocolate

Method

1. Preheat oven to a 180°C and line a large rectangular (20 x 30 cm) baking tin or oven dish with baking paper.

2. Sift all dry ingredients together. Mix the liquids together and gradually fold into the dry ingredients. Pour batter into tin or dish.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the tin and cool.

4. Topping: place all the ingredients, except the chocolate, in a pot and stir over low heat to dissolve the sugar.

5. Bring to the boil and simmer gently. Stir until the mixture thickens.

6. Cool slightly and pour over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with grated chocolate.

Milk tart

This no-bake custard filling is delicious and easy to make.

Crust
3 tbsp soft tub margarine
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ cup cake flour
¼ cup whole-wheat flour

Filling
2 cups low-fat or fat-free milk
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup sugar
3 tbsp cornflour
½ tsp vanilla or almond essence
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. Crust: preheat oven to 180°C. Beat together the margarine and sugar. Add the egg and mix well.

2. Mix cinnamon and flours together. Gradually add to the egg mixture to form a soft dough. Press the dough into a 22cm tart or pie dish.

3. Prick with a fork and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool.

4. Filling: place milk in a pot, bring to the boil and remove from heat. Beat eggs and sugar well.

5. Mix cornflour with a little water to make a paste. Stir into egg mixture.

6. Add half the milk into egg mixture and stir well.

7. Pour egg mixture into the pot with the rest of the milk and stir well.

8. Return to low heat and stir continuously. Allow to simmer very gently until it thickens – at least 10 minutes.

9. Stir vanilla in and pour into pie crust.

10. Allow to cool and refrigerate. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.

Apple pudding

Apples and cinnamon are comforting flavours. Swop your custard or ice cream for plain low-fat yoghurt.

Ingredients
4 medium Granny Smith apples, seeds removed and cut in wedges
1 cinnamon stick
¼ cup sugar
3 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp sunflower oil
¾ cup low-fat or fat-free milk
½ cup plain low-fat yoghurt
1 cup cake flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Syrup
½ cup low-fat or fat-free milk
½ cup water
¼ cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick, optional

Method

1. Place apples with 2 tbsp of water and the cinnamon in a pot. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until just tender, but not mushy.

2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Beat sugar and eggs until well blended. Add oil, milk and yoghurt and mix well.

3. Combine the flours, baking powder and half the cinnamon in a mixing bowl.

4. Beat liquid into the flour mixture to form a smooth batter.

5. Spoon apples into an oven dish and pour batter on top.

6. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked.

7. Syrup: place all the ingredients in a small pot and stir over a low heat.

8. Simmer for a few minutes or until slightly thickened.

9. Prick the warm pudding with a fork or skewer and pour syrup over. Sprinkle with the rest of the ground cinnamon.

10. Serve warm with plain low-fat or fat-free yoghurt.

Tip: make the pudding with fresh pears as above. Or use a tin of pie apples or peach slices and leave out step 1.

Baked sticky pudding

The combination of buttermilk and ginger makes this an interesting variation of a well-loved favourite.

Ingredients
1 cup cake flour
½ cup sugar
½ tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp sunflower oil
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup low-fat or fat-free milk
½ cup buttermilk
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp white grape vinegar

Syrup
½ cup water
½ cup apple juice
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine the flour, sugar and ginger in a large mixing bowl.

2. Mix oil, eggs, milk and buttermilk and stir in the bicarb until dissolved.

3. Mix in the jam and vinegar.

4. Gradually stir liquid into the flour mixture until a smooth batter forms, with no lumps.

4. Pour the batter into an oven dish and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Syrup: place all the syrup ingredients in a small pot. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until syrupy.

6. Prick the warm pudding with a fork and pour syrup over. Allow the pudding to absorb the syrup. The pudding will sink quite a bit as it absorbs the syrup.

7. Serve warm with fresh fruit of your choice like pears or bananas.

Tips

• Soak ¼ cup chopped dates in hot water. Add with the vinegar to the batter.

• Chocolate pudding: substitute 2 tbsp of the flour with cocoa.

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