As Christmas approaches, I find myself craving the traditional holiday flavors: apple cider, eggnog, and gingerbread. To satisfy the first two cravings, my husband and I make cider almost nightly with our Keurig, and we buy vegan eggnog and keep it in the fridge. But the gingerbread flavor is more difficult to come by if you’re trying to avoid refined flours and sugars.
The gingerbread flavor that we enjoy is a combination of molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, so the flour, butter, and brown sugar shouldn’t be necessary, right? I decided to make mini desserts in the form of pots de crème (which I’m pretty sure is French for “dessert shots”), so they are simple, elegant, and won’t ruin your diet.
I used tiny appetizer bowls for mine, but these desserts would also present well in double-shot glasses or tiny ramekins. Start by putting about one teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs (I used gluten-free) in the bottom of each dish, then blend all of your gingerbread crème ingredients up in a blender, pour the crème over the graham cracker crumbs, then put the desserts in the fridge to set at least one hour (the hardest part). Before serving, sprinkle some ground cinnamon and dark chocolate shavings on top. Voila!
This dessert is easy, pretty, and so tasty! It would be great for a holiday party or as a dessert at a family meal. You don’t even have to tell people that it’s nutritious, dairy-free, and made without refined sugar!
Gingerbread Pots de Crème
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked 2+ hours, drained
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk, mostly the cream from the top half of the can, if possible
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or agave
- 1 T. + 1 t. blackstrap molasses
- 1/2 t. vanilla
- Pinch sea salt
- 1 1/4 t. ground ginger
- 3/4 t. (1/2 + 1/4 t.) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 t. ground cloves
- 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (can be GF)
- ~2 T. dark chocolate shavings (I used a sharp knife to shave the side of a chocolate bar.)
Directions:
- Combine cashews, coconut oil, coconut milk, maple syrup, molasses, vanilla, and seasonings in a high-speed blender until smooth. Set aside.
- Add about 1 teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs to the bottom of each serving dish, and shake to even out. Pour gingerbread mixture over the crumbs until you have about 2 ounces in each container. Move desserts to refrigerator to set at least one hour.
- Before serving, sprinkle some ground cinnamon and a generous pinch of dark chocolate shavings on top of each dessert.
Happy holidays, everyone!
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