9 easy vegan desserts you can make at home

Made with sunflower seeds, muskmelon seeds, dates, raw cacao powder, orange rind and cinnamon powder, chocolate bliss balls can be quite delicious. (Representational image: American heritage via Unsplash)

Dairy has such a strong presence in the world of desserts that unless you research it, it may seem like there are very limited options for vegans with a sweet tooth.

Try to think of an Indian dessert without ghee, chenna (fresh crumbled cottage cheese), buttermilk, rabri (condensed milk), and you'll quickly run out of ideas.

Similarly, think of western desserts without butter, cream, cheese, milk, normal gelatin, and you'll find the options shrinking fast.

Vegan health coach Bhavna Kapoor has been thinking about this for sometime, and has come up with 9 recipes that one can make at home:

Date/raisin paste (glutenfree/nutfree/raw): This is a basic sweetener made with dates that can sweeten your almond milk/rice milk smoothies, beverages and many of your desserts too.

Ingredients

1 cup dates (deseeded) or 1 cup green/light brown raisins

Method

Soak the dates/raisins in water for 2-4 hours, till they are completely tender. Remove the water and blend them into a paste. Store in a glass container. Refrigerate (stays for up to a week).

Chocolate bliss balls (glutenfree/nutfree/raw): This is easy to make, versatile and unbelievably delicious.

Ingredients

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup muskmelon seeds

1 cup dates, deseeded and chopped

¼ cup raw cacao powder

1 tsp orange rind (or to taste)

1 tsp cinnamon powder (or to taste)

A pinch of black salt

Method

Grind all the ingredients in a food processor till you get a smooth and even mixture. Shape into small chocolate balls. Sprinkle some orange rind on top and enjoy.

Cacao orange millet pudding (glutenfree/nutfree): This recipe contains cacao which in its raw form is rich in magnesium, iron and calcium, and a great mood enhancer. This recipe also contains foxtail millet (also known as kauni in Uttarakhand or kangni in South), which is gluten-free and rich in iron and calcium.

Ingredients

1/2 cup foxtail millet

2 cups almond/coconut milk

1/2 cup unsweetened cacao powder

1/2 cup date paste

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp orange rind

A pinch pink/rock salt

Method

Soak the millet in water overnight. Drain. Using fresh water, cook the millet in 2.5 cups of water. Set aside to cool. Once it is cooled, grind the millet along with all other ingredients till smooth. Adjust for sweetness. Pour into small bowls or glasses and refrigerate for 3 -4 hours, till set like a pudding. Garnish with cacao, orange rind or almond slivers. Serve cold.

Raw brownie (glutenfree/raw): The ingredients of this brownie contain some good fats including Omega 3 and natural fibre.

Ingredients

1 cup soft dates, pitted

1/4 cup powdered flaxseed

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup powdered almonds

2-3 tbsp cacao powder

1 tsp vanilla powder/extract

1/4 tsp salt

For the glaze

1 tbsp peanut/almond butter

1-2 tbsp cacao powder

1/2 tsp vanilla powder/extract

2-3 tbsp date paste

Coconut milk, if needed to make it thinner

Method

Blend all the ingredients for the brownie in a food processor till they are grainy. Knead this mixture and set it in a tray. Refrigerate.

Combine the glaze ingredients. Pour and spread on top of the brownie.

Garnish on top with walnuts or almonds, if you wish. Cut and serve. (Serves 4. Keep refrigerated. They will stay fresh for 4 -5 days.)

Peanut butter ice-cream (gluten-free/nut-free/raw): This recipe replaces dairy cream with thick coconut milk/bananas.

Ingredients

2 cups coconut milk (if not available, substitute with 2 ripe bananas)

1/2 cup date paste (use less if adding bananas)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup smooth/creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

Method

In a medium bowl, combine the coconut milk, date paste, vanilla, peanut butter, and salt. Freeze the mixture for 4-6 hours. Remove from the freezer, let it thaw a little and then grind to decrystallize. Add the roasted peanuts, and pulse once. Sprinkle some peanuts on top for garnish as well. Freeze again for 4 hours. Ice cream is ready.

No-bake mango cheese cake (gluten-free/raw): This cake is sweetened with fruit and dry fruit.

Ingredients

Filling:

1/5 cups cashew nuts (soaked for 4 hours)

1 cup coconut meat

4 tbsp dates paste

1 cup chopped mango

A pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Base:

1 cup dates

¼ cup raisins + cranberries (optional)

1.25 cups walnuts, almonds, pumpkin, sunflower seeds (soaked for 4 hours)

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

Top layer:

Chopped mangoes, mint springs, edible flowers

Method

Base: Grind the dates, raisins and cranberries into a paste. Once done, add the soaked nuts, seeds, salt and vanilla and grind till you get a coarse gooey mixture. Spread this layer evenly on a cheesecake tin. Freeze for 4 hours.

Filling: Grind all ingredients together into a smooth creamy paste. Spread this on top of the base layer. Freeze for 2 hours.

Top layer: Garnish the cake with chopped mangoes, mint sprigs and edible flowers. Release the cheesecake side mould. Cut into pieces and serve quickly as it tends to melt.

Store leftovers in the fridge. And finish them within a day or 2. (Serves 8 -10.)

Baklava barfi (gluten-free/raw): This is a simple 5-minute recipe with six ingredients.

Ingredients

1/2 cup pistachio, powdered

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/4 cup dried dates powder

12 -15 saffron strands

1.5 tbsp cashew cream

1 pinch salt

Add extra broken pistachios and saffron strands for garnish

Method

Add 1 tbsp hot water to the cashew cream, mix well and soak the saffron in it. Mix all the other ingredients thoroughly. Once the saffron is infused in the cream, add this to the powder mixture and mix well to make a soft (but not sticky) dough. Add more water if needed. Roll this dough out to half inch thickness. Sprinkle the broken pistachio and saffron strands on top and press down such that they are flattened on the surface. Cut into squares or diamonds.

5-minute no sugar coconut barfi (gluten-free/raw): If you love coconut, this one's for you.

Ingredients

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup powdered nuts (cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios)

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Date paste or jaggery syrup (for binding)

Method

Mix everything together to form a gooey dough. Shape into balls (for laddoos) or flatten and cut (for barfi). Sprinkle shaved nuts on top.

Makhana kheer (gluten-free): Here’s something that's simple enough to make, delicious and nutritious.

Ingredients

1⁄4 cup almonds soaked and ground into a fine paste

1 cup foxnut (makhana)

1⁄4 cup date paste, or more if required

1⁄2 tsp cinnamon powder

A few pistachios, sliced, toasted

A few strands saffron, optional

Method

Dry roast the Makhanas. Once they cool down, coarsely grind them in a mixer. Add 2 cups of water to the almond paste. In a pan, heat this till it comes to a boil. Mix in the makhanas, date paste and cinnamon powder; cook on medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add saffron, if using. You can replace makhana with popped amaranth, brown rice or millets.