Category: Dessert

Looking for a lighter Thanksgiving dessert that happens to be gluten and dairy free? Here is a tart and refreshing cranberry sorbet – very easy to make and perfect with a slice of pumpkin cake. It would also make a delightful Christmas dinner palate cleanser.

As well as being delicious and vibrantly colored, cranberries are packed with disease-fighting antioxidants. There’s something to be thankful for!

Cranberry Sorbet

600 g fresh cranberries

200 g caster sugar

pinch of salt

350 ml water

1 vanilla bean

juice of 1 lemon

Serves 8

Place the cranberries, sugar, salt and water in a large pot that can go on the hob. Slice the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the mixture, then add the beans as well. Bring to the boil, stirring well to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for about 10 minutes until the cranberries have popped. Cool to room temperature and remove the vanilla beans.

Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. Add the lemon juice and taste – if it is too tart add a touch more sugar. Place a fine sieve over a bowl and pour the cranberry pulp into the sieve. Strain well, rubbing the pulp through the sieve with a spoon. Discard the remaining pulp. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Switch on your ice cream machine and pour in the fruit mixture. Churn until the sorbet is firm enough to serve, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately or freeze in a plastic container.

 

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I have been busy testing some new dessert ideas. I have not yet managed to produce a gluten and dairy free pie that meets my family’s approval – maybe next year? – but fortunately this Pumpkin Cake was judged a winner and I will be baking it again on Thursday. It is a moist almond-based cake with no gluten or dairy, but plenty of spiced pumpkin flavor. It would pair well with vanilla ice cream (try Booja Booja for a good non-dairy version, or make your own), although I am thinking of making some cranberry sorbet to eat alongside the cake.

I also recommend my Cranberry Amaretti for Thanksgiving or, for a dessert with no refined sugar, my Spiced Pumpkin Mousse Pots. 

 

Pumpkin Cake

2 medium bananas, peeled – about 150g

175 g pumpkin puree (I used Libby’s)

200g caster sugar

6 large eggs

200g ground almonds

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground five spice blend

ghee or oil to grease the cake pan

Serves 8-10

Preheat your oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.

On a plate or cutting board, mash up the bananas into chunks using a fork. Scrape into a bowl, add the pumpkin puree and blend in the sugar until smooth (I use my handheld mixer to do this).

In another bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy. Pour into to the banana/pumpkin mixture, and mix well.

Fold the ground almonds, spices and baking powder into the batter, then pour the batter into a 23cm springform cake pan, lined and greased (I used ghee but you could also use a bit of oil).

Bake for one hour. Cool on a rack, then remove from the tin.