Lemon-y desserts are something I’ve only recently developed an appreciation for. For the best part of my life, anything dessert-like had to involve chocolate.
No arguments.
No compromises.
I remember getting ice cream for a treat as a child, and then as an adult, and drooling over the delicious chocolate flavours, contemplating if it would be too indulgent to get three or four flavours in my cone, as there was no way I could settle on two. And being incredible skeptical of the motives of anyone who ever opted for the lemon sorbet flavour… What a waste of an icecream!
I’m not sure if it’s my taste buds developing with age, but I’m slowly starting to appreciate other flavours. Don’t get he wrong – chocolate will always be my one true love. But I now realise that there is room for other flavours, and lemon is definitely making a strong case for itself.
These little lovelies were originally intended to be mini lemon cheesecakes. Until I made my Chocolate Zucchini Pudding for breakfast a few days earlier and remembered how well zucchini lends itself to pudding/mousse creations, without effecting the flavour.
And because I’m somewhat obsessed with including vegetables in nearly everything I eat, I arrived at the conclusion that zucchini would be a great addition to my little lemony tarts. I was right – it blends in beautifully and adds to the creamy texture.
Also – I’ve tried not to use too many sweeteners here – I don’t think they need it, and it’s always a good idea to cut sugar wherever it’s not neccessary. In the whole recipe there are only 3 dates and 2 Tbsp honey which works out to be around 7g sugar per cup. This is about the same as per two small squares of Cadbury chocolate. But you get a whole delicious, lemony cream cup instead, winning!
- Base
- ½ cup almonds
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
- 3 medjool dates
- 1.5 Tbsp coconut oil
- ½ tsp lemon rind
- Pinch salt
- Filling
- ⅔ C chilled coconut cream
- ½ cup chopped, peeled zucchini
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp raw honey
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
- Grated lemon zest, to serve
- To make the base, place all ingredients for the base in a food processor, and process until combined and sticking together when squeezed between two fingers.
- Place one tablespoon at a time of the mixture into a muffin tin and press firmly around the edge.
- Place in the freezer to set whilst you make the filling
- To make the filling, place the zucchini, lemon, honey and coconut oil in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
- Measure out ⅔ cup of the thickened coconut cream (do not use any of the liquid, only the solids), and add to a bowl with the zucchini mixture, and use an electric beater to whip until firm, like whipped whipped cream (you can do this whole process in the food processor, though note it will be more of a softer, pudding-like texture as opposed to a thicker cream).
- Scoop the cream into the cups and top with the grated lemon zest.
- Place in the freezer for half an hour before serving.
- Store in the fridge.
this is a really lovely, healthy dessert!
Thanks Dina :)
The crust on this sounds extra delicious! Honestly, I like how it utilizes dates, but not a few cups worth… Those things can be so dang expensive! Definitely going to give this a try.
Hi Emily! You’re right – the common date/nut combo can make some of those healthy desserts quite expensive! There arent too many nuts of dates in these so it works out to be pretty cost effective, not to mention healthy and tasty!
This looks delicious, and I love that there are no nuts in the filling. Thanks for the recipe! :)
Thanks Lauren! Yup, no nuts – the filling is a lot lighter than your normal clean “cheesecake” filling – the zucchini helps a lot here too :)
Yummo! I am a fan of lemon anything. Growing up my grandmother would make a lemon pie for special occasions and this lemon cream filling reminds me of it, in a much cleaner and whole form that is. Love that you added zucchini in this too!
We never really had lemon-y sweets when I was younger, maybe thats why I was always a little skeptical? Your grandmothers lemon pie sounds great though – no doubt it was incredibly delicious, though perhaps not so healthy if it was anything like my grandmothers! ;)
Hihi, I love how you often add vegetables to sweets. I really like doing that as well, but I’ve actually never thought that it’d be good in “cheese cake”. I can tell from these lovely pictures that it definitely can :D Looks amazing!!
And when it comes to chocolate – I always go for the chocolate desserts first as well ;) But lemon is definitely one of my favourites too!
Hidden veggies in sweets is such a great idea isn’t it! Chocolate is always a winner too – i definitely dont think we are alone there! ;)
Fun fact: lemon sorbet is my absolute ice-cream favorite! ;) So I’m loving these darling cups indeed. They look delicious and I think it’s brilliant how you added zucchini to the filling. Seriously, you’re a genius!
Enjoy your weekend xxx
These are so elegant and dainty! I seriously want to try them! Beautiful photos too :)
I’d love to make these, but I’m a little lost on the “coconut cream” ingredient. Can I just use a can of full fat coconut milk that has been chilled? Or do I really need to find a product labeled “coconut cream”? Thanks!
Hi Claire – yes if you can’t find coconut cream you can definitely use coconut milk, which is really just watered down coconut cream anyway :) Just make sure to only use the firmer creamy bits at the top of the cooled can and not the coconut water at the bottom, otherwise the fillings will be a little too runny. Hope you like them :)