Dessert ideas needed

May 9, 2007 9:55 AM

I need dessert idea(s) to accommodate some restrictions.

I've been delegated the task of making dessert for Mother's Day. Some family members are coming to our house for dinner and dessert. I need a dessert that will accommodate some restrictions, but not turn off the chocoholics. The group will consist of:

1 diabetic
1 dairy-free
2 crazy chocoholics
3 people who just want something tastey

The diabetic will only eat a small amount if any, so maybe it's not really something to take into consideration. At most family get-togethers no one takes it into consideration, but it's my grandmother and it's Mother's Day, so I'd like to accommodate her if possible.

Is it possible? Maybe I should just make 2 desserts.

posted by disaster77 to food & drink (17 comments total)

Depending on how diabetic she is and how she deals with it, you could make a Splenda based desert just for her (or for everyone but sometimes people bitch). My friend's dad is a diabetic and he can account for Splenda pretty easily. You can also usually make a splenda substitute fairly easily.

Dairy-free is really the hard one. Most things involve butter or milk somehow. I would look for recipes that you can use soymilk as a substitute, or just check out say, Silk's website, to see if they have any ideas.
posted by Medieval Maven at 10:04 AM on May 9, 2007

Fondue?
posted by mkultra at 10:05 AM on May 9, 2007

Perhaps chocolate fondue with lots of fresh fruit, and bits of cookies or other such? Your grandmother can eat mainly fruit and as much chocolate as she feels able to handle, while your chocoholics can slurp up the chocolate with a little fruit to keep it off their fingers. You sometimes thin the chocolate with milk, but there are also recipes using oils and alcohol that would work for your dairy free person.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:08 AM on May 9, 2007

for the dairy-free, chocoholics and 3 others:

Chocolate Pie

2 cups chocolate chips,
1/3 cup coffee liqueur
1 block silken tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1 prepared chocolate wafer crust

Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and coffee liqueur in the bowl. Stir in vanilla.

Combine the tofu, chocolate mixture, and honey in the blender jar. Liquefy until smooth.

Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the filling is set.

This recipe sounds quite gross - tofu in dessert? - but is actually very good. It has no soy flavor at all, it ends up like a rich, dense mousse. It's also good with added peanut butter, if you like the chocolate/peanut butter combo.
posted by skwm at 10:13 AM on May 9, 2007 [2 favorites]

Check out some vegan recipes for desserts. I've had some really great cookies and cakes that were vegan, and would satisfy everyone.

But then there's me and I would just make a couple of different (small) desserts so people could pick out what they wanted.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 10:51 AM on May 9, 2007

Fresh cut fruit/berries (and maybe some angel food cake or pound cake slices for those who want it) with various toppings to suit each preference:

Chocoholics
hot fudge
Chocolate whipped cream

Dairy-Free
marshmallow cream
Cool Whip

Diabetic
Unsweetened homemade whipped cream with or without artificial sweetner
Sugar-free marshmallow cream
posted by necessitas at 11:06 AM on May 9, 2007

Chocolate dipped fruit. Use a rich dark chocolate, without dairy. The amount of sugar is small so even a diabetic can handle this one.
posted by caddis at 11:10 AM on May 9, 2007

Sugar-free flourless chocolate cake might work. I have not had the sugar free version before, but it seems like the sort of thing that Splenda works really well in.
posted by TedW at 11:28 AM on May 9, 2007

I forgot to mention: substitute margarine for the butter in the chocolate cake recipe to get rid of the dairy; there will be some loss in quality but shouldn't be much.
posted by TedW at 11:30 AM on May 9, 2007

Fondue with plenty of fruit and either cookies or angel food cake seems like a good solution, since it gives each person more choice than a slice of cake or pie would. You'll want to be sure you get dairy-free chocolate, obviously.

I'll second the chocolate tofu pie; it's silky and luscious.

When I want to serve a fresh and not too sugary dessert, but still have it be special, I turn to meringues, which are snap to make (as long as the weather is fairly dry), low in calories, high in lean protein, delicious, elegant, and keep for a day or two beautifully. I like to make them fairly large, as big in diameter as a single-size yogurt cup and either peaked high, to serve one to a plate, or flat, to stack with berries for a meringue napoleon. Then they're crispy on the outside with a delicate bit of chew in the center.

I often serve them with macerated strawberries: slice up some strawberries, fresh or even frozen, and toss them with a generous pinch of sugar, a good bit of lemon juice, and if desired a splash of fruity liqueur like Cointreau, Chambord, or Kirsch. Let them sit for several hours in the fridge to soften and develop flavor.

With this, you could serve a dish of dairy-free chocolate sauce, to drizzle discreetly or ladle with abandon.

I imagine you could easily substitute Splenda for the small amounts of sugar in these desserts, although if you use it, you'd be the better judge of that.
posted by Elsa at 11:36 AM on May 9, 2007

if the dairy frees can do eggs meringue nests with fresh fruit and non-dairy whipped cream!

the diabetic can do the fruit and whipped cream!

the chocaholics can do all the above and add some chocolate sauce/ice ream instead/addition to the cream!
posted by koahiatamadl at 11:44 AM on May 9, 2007

If you can get your hands on this cookbook or this one before Mother's Day, you're set. They're all dessert recipes with no refined sugar and no dairy, and both include tasty chocolatey things that will beat the hell out of anything made with Splenda.
posted by clavicle at 11:45 AM on May 9, 2007

Make a chocolate meringue and lemon meringue pie. The crusts and meringue can be shared, so it's the same amount of effort two make two as it is to make one! And you can use sugar free pudding for the pie body if you like!
posted by headspace at 12:14 PM on May 9, 2007

(Er, the recipe for the crusts and meringue, you can make enough for two as easy as one. Don't make a yin-yang chocolemon pie. Eewww!)
posted by headspace at 12:15 PM on May 9, 2007

I have two suggestions:
Chocolate Lava Cake (originally called Molleaux au Chocolat or something)
Preparation Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-14 minutes

6 oz. Semi-Sweet Dark Chocolate
6 oz. Butter (diced, room temperature, use margarine or shortening)
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar (or Splenda if you prefer, though it will give it more of a silky cakey texture)
1/3 cup Flour
Butter or Margarine for Ramekins (and ramekins if you don't have them I guess)

Preheat oven to 350°F
1. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Take off flame.
2. Stir in butter, until it melts.
3. Beat together eggs and sugar, until it whitens.
4. Stir in melted chocolate and then the flour.
5. Butter 4 individual (~8 oz) ramekins, and pour in chocolate batter. (can refrigerate at this point)
6. Cook for about 10 minutes. Let cool for 2.
7. Tip ramekins upside down onto plates to serve.

This will appease the choco-hounds Goes quite well with berries or whipped cream or both. Or just some powdered sugar, or even plain. This works well if you make ahead, refrigerate and place straight into the oven.
At 10 minutes it is just barely a chocolate cake shell with a ton of choco-lava. At 14 minutes it is mostly cake. Does not work at all in the microwave.

My other suggestion this time of year is to screw the chocolate fiends, bake a pavlova and serve with tons'o'fruit. You can also serve with whipped cream for the dairy-friendly. I would not attempt to make the merengue with Splenda. It browns too quickly and has the texture of a marshmallow, which, while good, does not a Pavlova make. You can find good recipes online. I've always had better luck with vinegar than with cream of tartar for Pavlova.
posted by Seamus at 12:38 PM on May 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

I don't have a recipe to offer, but as a recently-diagnosed Gestational Diabetic, I beg you to find out if the diabetic family member actually likes Splenda before you cook with it! I absolutely hate the stuff, and I can taste it every time. I would rather have a small portion of something yummy than a full portion of something fake-tasting.
posted by Joh at 3:50 PM on May 9, 2007

Make two desserts.

Fruit pie is always good, and adapts pretty well to dietary restrictions (e.g., no eggs, no nuts). Make the crust with shortening instead of butter and it's dairy free (or use a pre-made crust and check the ingredients). I use either potato starch or tapioca to thicken the fruit, along with some sugar; I suppose you could use fake sugar, but I've never done it so I don't know how it works. My usual pie uses 16 oz of frozen blackberries, mixed with a couple three tablespoons of minute tapioca and 1/4 - 1/2 C sugar (depending on how sweet you like things). Put the crust into a pie plate, put the fruit mix in, put the second crust on top, crimp the edges, poke some slits in the top, bake for 10 - 15 mins at 425 F and then 35 or so mins at 350 F.
posted by leahwrenn at 5:07 PM on May 9, 2007