Healthy, Beautiful Fruit Desserts Perfect For Any Dinner Party

Here are some healthy dessert recipes that are sure to wow even the pickiest dinner guest! Enjoy!

(All photo's and recipes are found here)

© Ben Dearly

Plum Compote with Star Anise

Contributed by Quick From Scratch Herbs & Spices

• ACTIVE:
• TOTAL TIME:
• SERVINGS:4

• •FAST

Plums and star anise form a brilliant and novel pairing. Although you don't eat it, we like to leave the star anise in the syrup because it looks so beautiful; you can remove it if you prefer. Serve the compote with pound cake or butter cookies.

1. 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
2. 1 1/2 cups water
3. 1/2 cup sugar, more if the plums are tart
4. 8 whole star anise
5. 2 pounds red and/or black plums (about 9), halved and pitted
6. 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1. In a medium stainless-steel saucepan, combine the wine, water, sugar, and star anise and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat.
2. Add the plums. Bring the poaching liquid back to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the plums are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour the plums and their liquid into a glass or stainless-steel bowl and let cool. Stir in the lemon juice.

NotesVariations You can use red wine instead of white.
Add several strips of orange zest to the saucepan along with the star anise.
To help keep the plums submerged, create a "lid" from parchment paper. Just cut out a round that's the size of the saucepan with a hole in the middle to allow steam to escape. Put the parchment on top of the liquid, so it keeps the plums submerged as much as possible. To be certain that the plums poach evenly, turn them halfway through the cooking.

• FromPerfecting Fruit Desserts

Strawberries with Buttermilk Ice and Balsamic Vinegar

© Tina Rupp

 

Contributed byDeanie Fox

• ACTIVE:
• TOTAL TIME:20 MIN plus 3 hr freezing
• SERVINGS:4

• •HEALTHY
• •MAKE-AHEAD

Pastry chef Deanie Fox makes this fluffy granita with buttermilk, which is low in fat, high in calcium and easy to digest. She spoons the creamy, tangy ice over lightly sweetened strawberries, a vitamin C–loaded fruit.

1. 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2. 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3. 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
4. 1 pint strawberries, quartered
5. 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
6. 1 teaspoon aged balsamic vinegar
7. 4 tiny tarragon sprigs

1. In a bowl, whisk 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sugar with 1/2 tablespoon of the lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the buttermilk and pour into a shallow baking dish; freeze until firm, whisking the mixture every 30 minutes, about 3 hours.
2. In a bowl, toss the strawberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Add the lemon zest and vinegar; let stand for 30 minutes. Spoon the berries and any juices into glasses. Using a fork, scrape the buttermilk ice into fluffy crystals and spoon over the strawberries. Garnish with the tarragon and serve.

NotesOne Serving 97 cal, 20 gm carb, 1.5 gm fat, 0.8 gm sat fat, 3 gm protein, 2.2 gm fiber.

• FromAmerica’s Best Vegetarian Cooking
• PublishedApril 2009

 

Roasted Bananas with Spiced Syrup and Candied Nuts

© John Kernick

 

Contributed byMichel Bras

• ACTIVE:50 MIN
• TOTAL TIME:1 HR 15 MIN
• SERVINGS:12

• •HEALTHY
• •VEGETARIAN

"We didn't have much in the way of spices growing up, but you can't tie everything to terroir," Michel Bras says about the ingredients available to him in the Aubrac mountains. Here the chef uses an international array of ingredients, studding bananas with cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans and coffee beans, then serving them, roasted, with a cinnamony syrup scented with the Moroccan spice blend ras el hanout.

Nuts

1. 1 cup sugar
2. 1/3 cup water
3. 2/3 cup roasted and skinned hazelnuts
4. 1/3 cup unsalted pistachios

Spiced Syrup

1. 2 cups water
2. 1/2 cup sugar
3. 2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 1/2 tablespoons of water
4. 1/2 teaspoon ras el hanout (see Note)

Bananas

1. 18 medium bananas
2. 72 coffee beans (3 tablespoons)
3. Thirty-six 2-inch-long julienne strips of candied orange peel (2 ounces)
4. 2 vanilla beans, quartered and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
5. Four 1 1/2-inch-long cinnamon sticks, broken into shards

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water and simmer over moderate heat until a rich brown caramel forms, about 6 minutes. Add the hazelnuts and pistachios and stir to coat. Using a fork or slotted spoon, working quickly, transfer a few nuts at a time to the parchment paper and separate them. Let cool completely, about 25 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, boil the water with the sugar until reduced by one-fourth, about 12 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the ras el hanout. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°. Arrange the bananas on 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Using a skewer or paring knife, poke the bananas all over, about 1 inch deep and 1 inch apart. Stud the bananas with the coffee beans, candied orange peel, vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks. Roast the bananas for about 20 minutes, until very tender.
4. Cut 6 of the bananas in half crosswise. Spoon the spiced syrup onto plates. Arrange a whole and halved banana on each plate. Garnish with the candied nuts and serve.

NotesRas el hanout, a Moroccan spice mixture containing up to 50 spices (including ginger and anise), is available from Middle Eastern markets and kalustyans.com.

Suggested Pairing

Spain's Jerez region produces great sweet wines from the Pedro Ximénez grape.

• FromPairing of the Day: March 2010, Dinner with a Deity: Master Chef Michel Bras
• PublishedFebruary 2009

Minted Watermelon Popsicles

© Hallie Burton

Contributed byJoy Manning

• ACTIVE:
• TOTAL TIME:10 MIN Plus 3 hr freezing
• SERVINGS:8

• •HEALTHY
• •MAKE-AHEAD
• •VEGETARIAN

These popsicles are a great fat-free snack, made with lots of naturally sweet watermelon and only a little sugar. They can be frozen in special popsicle molds or in standard ice cube trays (three cubes equals one serving). Joy Manning has them whenever she feels the temptation to visit the new gelato shop aroundcorner from her apartment.

1. 1 1/2 pounds seedless watermelon without the rind, cut into 1-inch dice (about 4 cups)
2. 2 tablespoons sugar
3. 1/4 cup mint leaves, minced
4. 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
5. Pinch of salt

1. In a blender, puree the watermelon with the sugar until smooth. Stir in the mint, lemon zest and salt. Pour the puree into 8 popsicle molds or 2 standard ice cube trays (insert popsicle sticks halfway through freezing) and freeze until hard, about 3 hours.

Make AheadThe watermelon popsicles can be frozen for up to 1 week.NotesOne Serving 31 cal, 0 gm fat, 0 gm sat fat, 8 gm carb, 0.4 gm fiber.

• FromEat Like a Food Critic and Stay Slim
• PublishedAugust 2009

Michel Bras, Deanie Fox, Joy Manning, and Quick From Scratch Herbs & Spices Manning. "Healthy Fruit Desserts." Food & Wine. American Express Publishing Corporation, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2013.