MOST OF THE better known Mexican desserts are, unfortunately, filled with fat and sugar, except, of course, fresh fruits, which are very popular for everyday use. For this section I found some much healthier but still delicious alternatives.
DAIRY-FREE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
About 10 quarter-cup servings
Chocolate is one of Mexico’s gifts to the world, and history records that the Emperor Montezuma often took his chocolate drink flavored with chile. When serving the following recipe, I often ask people to guess at the ingredients other than chocolate. Heavy cream is invariably at the top of everyone’s list. Then I watch their jaws drop when I tell them that it is made largely from tofu. Try it and you will understand their surprise. I know it’s hard to believe, but this is simply one of the best chocolate dishes I have ever had, and it is certainly the best for you and easiest to prepare.
One of the things that makes it so good is that, while its taste and consistency are light compared, for example, to ice cream, it is actually dense with chocolate. And that is good because nutrition experts now extol the virtues of high-cacao-content chocolate. Therefore, I have set the serving size at 1/4 cup. For me, this amount, which includes the equivalent of one-sixth of a chocolate bar, is sufficient, especially when served topped with the Fruit Compote (page 228). If you do not want to use a liqueur, replace it with orange juice. It will still be good, just not quite as exotic. It is also terrific scooped into ice cream cones. Please note that the percentage of cacao in the chocolate you use is very important. For example, if you use only 40 percent cacao content, you will need to nearly double the amount you use to get the same consistency and flavor balance.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound silken or soft tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon pure ancho chile powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 heaping teaspoon cinnamon, preferably canela
5-1/4 ounces (about 1 cup) 70% cocoa dark chocolate cut into very small pieces
3 tablespoons Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or triple sec, or substitute orange juice
DIRECTIONS
Put the tofu, vanilla, honey, chile powder, salt, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Place a stainless steel bowl over a small to medium-sized pot of simmering water. Add the chocolate and liqueur or orange juice to the pot and stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has completely melted, 1–2 minutes. Add the chocolate mixture to the food processor and process with the other ingredients for 1 minute, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Pour the mixture into a large bowl or into separate small serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours.
PER SERVING
130 calories | 4 g protein | 11 g carbohydrates | 7 g total fat (3.5 g saturated) | 0 mg cholesterol | 2 g fiber | 8 g sugar | 45 mg sodium
FRUIT COMPOTE
4 servings
This dessert is a favorite for its exotic flavor and ease of preparation. Although it is delicious by itself, it is superb spooned over the Chocolate Mousse (page 227). It can be made with just about any kind of berry or other fruit, but my favorite combination is dried cherries and fresh blackberries. It keeps well for about a week, refrigerated.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 cup crème de cassis
DIRECTIONS
Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
PER SERVING
160 calories | 2 g protein | 27 g carbohydrates | 0 g total fat (0 g saturated) | 0 mg cholesterol | 3 g fiber | 21 g sugar | 0 mg sodium
Bananas and Mandarin Oranges with Vanilla Sauce
4 quarter-cup servings
This delightful dessert introduces a delicious vanilla sauce made with soy milk that has many uses.
INGREDIENTS
For the custard sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably canela
2 cups vanilla-flavored soy milk
1 tablespoon butter substitute
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
To finish
3 cups diced bananas
1 cup drained canned mandarin oranges
DIRECTIONS
Make the custard sauce. Put the cornstarch and cinnamon in a small saucepan and stir in the soy milk a tablespoon or 2 at a time until well combined. Stir in the rest of the milk in a thin stream and add the butter substitute. Bring to a boil and simmer until it thickens to the consistency of light custard, about 10 minutes.
Finish the dessert. Allow the sauce to cook slightly and pour it over the cut-up fruit.
PER SERVING
230 calories | 5 g protein | 47 g carbohydrates | 4 g total fat (1 g saturated) | 0 mg cholesterol | 4 g fiber | 29 g sugar | 210 mg sodium
HIBISCUS PETAL SORBET
5 half-cup servings
Called jamaica in Spanish, the petals of the hibiscus flower are dried and made into a tea that is sweetened to produce a popular soft drink throughout Mexico. Hibiscus tea also makes a refreshing sorbet. You can omit the limoncello, but that or another liqueur is important because it helps keep the sorbet from freezing into a solid block of ice.
INGREDIENTS
2-1/2 cups dried jamaica leaves (available at Hispanic groceries)
1 quart water
1/2 ounce fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons limoncello
DIRECTIONS
Make the tea. Place the jamaica leaves in a pot or bowl, bring the water to a boil, and pour it over the leaves. Cover and steep for 15 minutes. Strain the tea and discard the jamaica.
Make the sorbet base. Put the ginger in a blender, add 1 cup of the tea, and blend until completely puréed, 1–2 minutes. Add another 1-1/2 cups of tea and blend again.
Pour the sorbet base into a pot, add the sugar, and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pot from the heat as soon as the sorbet base comes to a boil. Stir in the lime juice and cool. Refrigerate the base until it reaches 60°F.
Freeze the sorbet. Add the limoncello to the chilled base and pour it into an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions until it is frozen but still slushy, 20–30 minutes.
PER SERVING
180 calories | 0 g protein | 43 g carbohydrates | 0 g total fat (0 g saturated) | 0 mg cholesterol | 0 g fiber | 42 g sugar | 0 mg sodium
4 servings
The idea for this casual but terrific desert came from Bobby Flay, whose San Antonio show was filmed in my outdoor kitchen. Mangoes are grilled briefly to create grill marks, which provide a very nice contrast in flavor, texture, and temperature. A ridged grill pan does a wonderful job. Best of all, the fruits do not have to be peeled!
INGREDIENTS
4 ripe mangoes
3 teaspoons agave nectar, or substitute sugar
Cooking spray
Lime wedges
DIRECTIONS
Heat a grill to high, or heat a grill pan over high heat.
Slice the mangoes. It is always difficult to know exactly where the seeds of mangoes are, so trial and error is the best solution. The goal is to slice the mango into pieces as large as possible that do not include the seed. Place a mango on its side and slice it in half, off center, to miss the seed. Cut the other three sides of the mango in the same way. Next, crosshatch the fruit into squares of about 1/2 inch. By cutting through the fruit just to the skin but not through it. Make the cuts a half inch apart going one way then do the same the other way to create the crosshatched design.
Prepare the sliced mangoes. Brush a little agave nectar on the cut surfaces of each mango then spray with a little cooking spray. Grill the mangoes, flesh side down, for a minute or 2, or just until they are seared with grill marks, but do not cook them until they are soft and completely heated through. Keeping the firm texture and the contrast between the hot surface and the cooler interior is important. Serve the mangos with the lime wedges.
PER SERVING
130 calories | 2 g protein | 34 g carbohydrates | 0 g total fat (0 g saturated) | 0 mg cholesterol | 3 g fiber | 31 g sugar | 0 mg sodium
4 servings
This creamy dessert is actually a cross between a sorbet and a smoothie. Whatever you call it, it produces a symphony of creamy tropical flavors and is very easy to prepare. It can be made with any soft fruit, such as strawberries or peaches, and it leaves a great deal of room for creativity in terms of ingredients and garnishes, such as mint, nuts, or grated coconut. The only constant is the frozen bananas, which provide both body and flavor. It can be made in a blender or food processor, but I think the processor works best because it is better suited to chopping without added liquid, and it makes it easier to remove all the dessert from the bowl.
2 bananas, peeled, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds, and frozen on a sheet of aluminum foil
3 cups peeled and chopped mango, or another fruit
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons agave nectar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Mint leaves
DIRECTIONS
Put all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in a blender and process until just liquefied, smooth, and creamy. Garnish with the mint.
PER SERVING
140 calories | 2 g protein | 35 g carbohydrates | 0 g total fat (0 g saturated) | 0 mg cholesterol | 4 g fiber | 27 g sugar | 75 mg sodium
About 8 half-cup servings
This tasty frozen dessert can be made with most fruits, including raspberries, blackberries, and mango. The recipe calls for Splenda instead of sugar, which does leave a slight artificial-sugar aftertaste. But for those who cannot have sugar, it is still a treat. Using part Splenda and part sugar will make it even better, and even when made with all sugar, you still have a low-fat dessert. Because of the small amount of fat and sugar, this freezes very hard, so soften it in a microwave oven before serving. Nutrition calculations are based on 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup Splenda, which lowers the calories and minimizes the artificial-sugar taste.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups frozen blueberries, not quite thawed
1 cup Splenda or sugar, or a combination
2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
DIRECTIONS
Put all the ingredients for the base into a blender and purée. Pour the base in an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. It usually takes between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on how cold the base is.
PER SERVING
120 calories | 3 g protein | 30 g carbohydrates | 0 g total fat (0 g saturated) | 0 mg cholesterol | 1 g fiber | 26 g sugar | 35 mg sodium
Grilled Bananas in Coconut Sauce
4 servings
This dessert is perfect to follow a meal of grilled foods. It can be made on an outdoor grill or in a grill pan on the stove.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup lite coconut milk
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
4 bananas, peeled
DIRECTIONS
Make the coconut sauce. Bring the coconut milk and agave nectar to a simmer in a small saucepan. While it is heating, combine the cornstarch and water. When the liquid begins to simmer, stir in the cornstarch and water and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens to sauce consistency.
Grill the bananas and serve. Heat a grill or grill pan on high. Brush the bananas with some of the Coconut Sauce, reserving the remainder, and grill on both sides until they have grill marks and are just beginning to soften. Do not overcook them or they will fall apart. Serve the bananas topped with a little more of the sauce.
PER SERVING
170 calories | 1 g protein | 39 g carbohydrates | 2 g total fat (1.5 g saturated) | 0 mg cholesterol | 3 g fiber | 23 g sugar | 10 mg sodium
8 third-cup servings
This sorbet has less than 1 teaspoon sugar per serving.
INGREDIENTS
2-1/2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped mango
3-1/2 tablespoons sugar
Scant 2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably canela
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon limoncello
DIRECTIONS
Blend all of the ingredients until puréed. Pour the purée into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. It usually takes between 15 and 20 minutes.
PER SERVING
60 calories | 0 g protein | 14 g carbohydrates | 0 g total fat (0 g saturated) | 0 mg cholesterol | 1 g fiber | 13 g sugar | 0 mg sodium
6 four-ounce servings
This is the best low-fat, low-sugar recipe for Mexico’s most famous dessert I have found, and it is very good, especially compared to most of the flans found in Mexican restaurants. It is especially noteworthy when you consider that each serving has only 140 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, compared with a serving of regular flan, which has about 310 calories and 9 grams of fat. To make chocolate flan, simply blend unsweetened cocoa powder into the other ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup nonfat evaporated milk
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup nonfat condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
4 egg whites from large eggs
2-1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
Cooking spray
6 teaspoons agave nectar
DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 325°F.
Make the flan base. Combine the ingredients, except for the cooking spray and agave nectar, in a blender and blend until completely combined, about 1 minute.
Prepare the flan for baking. Spray six 4-ounce oven-safe ramekins with a little cooking spray and place them in a baking dish into which they fit fairly tightly. Fill the ramekins to within 1/4-inch of the top with the flan base. Pour enough very hot tap water into the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake the flan. Put the baking dish with the filled ramekins in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the flans are set and just firm. Remove the baking dish from the oven and the ramekins from the dish. Allow the flans to cool, then cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Serve each flan topped with 1 teaspoon agave nectar.
PER SERVING
140 calories | 10 g protein | 20 g carbohydrates | 2.5 g total fat (1 g saturated) | 70 mg cholesterol | 0 g fiber | 20 g sugar | 140 mg sodium