Chocolate is a staple consumed throughout the whole year but associated with Valentine’s Day. You can’t escape the day without something chocolate-related. With that in mind, you may be wondering what you can do that incorporates the sweet treat into your dessert, in a healthier manner.

After all, we are about optimising our health and balancing our hormones, aren’t we? J

Here are some low-sugar healthy-fat chocolate desserts to keep in mind. These still give you the chocolate you love without the extra sugar you don’t need, and healthy fat to pair with them.

Fluffy One-Pan Apple-Chocolate Pancake {Vegan}

Chocolate crepes are easy to make, and they don’t pack the sugary punch that some other desserts do. What do you need for this dessert?

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp flaxseed meal
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• A pinch of bicarbonate of soda
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 250 ml gluten-free oat milk or other plant milk
• 100 g gluten-free oat flour
• 100 g buckwheat flour
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1-2 large eating (dessert) apples, peeled, cored and sliced into wedges
• 2-3 tablespoon of cocoa powder of your choice (raw cocoa for example, as it contains no added sugar)

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flaxseed meal and water and let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Add the peanut butter, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and vanilla paste and whisk everything together well. Add the plant milk and whisk again until well combined.
2. Next, add the oat and buckwheat flours, cocoa powder, stir until combined, then let the batter rest for 5 minutes. Alternatively, the batter can be prepped for the next day; sometimes, the pancakes become even tastier if they have rested in the fridge.
3. To cook the pancakes, preheat a small frying pan (skillet) so it is hot, but not so hot that the oil smokes when it makes contact with the surface pan. Add a little coconut oil to the pan, then gently lay the apple slices in the pan and fry for 5 minutes until lightly browned on each side. Arrange the apples beautifully in the pan.
4. Stir the batter, then pour in the pancake batter and cook for about 5 minutes until the surface bubbles, then flip the pancake over with a large slice and fry on the other side until cooked through. Serve with a dollop of jam or plant yoghurt.

Chocolate Espresso Mousse Shots

If you really want to cut the sugar, but still want your mousse and eat it too, consider making a shot out of the dessert. Chocolate espresso mousse is easy to make, and you can turn one serving into two shots.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp of espresso powder or ½ cup of espresso
• 1 tbsp of cocoa powder of your choice
• 250 ml of lactose-free cream or another vegan cream
• Some honey or maple syrup, to taste

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix the espresso powder with the cream, add some honey to taste.
2. Use an electric whisk until consistency is hard.
3. Split the serving into shot glasses that are just a slight bit larger than traditional slim glasses. You can find these in the dessert section of a culinary supplies store.
4. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Chocolate Covered Crisped Peanut Butter Bananas

This dessert may sound more than you are willing to take on for Valentine’s Day prep, but it is super easy to make.

Ingredients

• A bag of chocolate morsels or chips
• A can of lactose-free or another vegan cream
• Peanut butter
• Crisped rice cereal
• Bananas

Instructions

1. Melt the chocolate and peanut butter in separate bowls.
2. Place the crisped rice cereal in another bowl and set up a three-stop station for your bananas.
3. Slice the bananas and use a toothpick to move the banana slices through the different stations.
4. Start with the peanut butter and dip the banana in covering the slice.
5. Move to the chocolate bowl and repeat the dipping step.
6. Roll the dipped banana in crisped rice and set on a tray to cool.
7. You can also freeze between each layer to give a solid layer between each dip on the banana.

These are just three of the ideas you can use for low-sugar, healthy-fat chocolate desserts on Valentine’s Day. Keep in mind, dipped fruit choices are ideal, and you can make a full dessert platter from that alone.