Healthy Pumpkin Honey Greek Yogurt Pie

Healthy Pumpkin Honey Greek Yogurt Pie

Crust:
135g / 1 1/2 cup oats, ground into flour
20g / 2 tbsp ground flax
2/3 tsp cinnamon
20g / 1 tbsp honey
15g / 1 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
2 tbsp / 30ml cold water

Filling:
1kg raw pumpkin (you will get 500g after you cook and puree it*)
285g / 1 cup Greek yogurt
pinch of salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
170g / 1/2 cup honey, melted
1 tbsp / 12g spelt flour

*To make the pumpkin puree, bring a large pot filled with water to boil. Cut the raw pumpkin into chunks (about 5cm/2inch) and cook in water until soft. Let cool. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel. Wrap the pumpkin up into the towel, twist up the ends and squeeze the water out until you have half of the weight you had in the beginning.

1) Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and line the bottom of a 21 cm / 8 inch springform pan with parchment paper.

2) To make the crust, Mix together ground oats, flax, cinnamon and honey in a medium bowl. Add coconut oil and mix, using your fingers, until the mixture looks crumbly. Add water and mix until it forms a ball. If the dough looks too crumbly and doesn't hold, add more water. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan and place in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

3) To make the filling, mix together all the ingredients until very well combined. Pour onto the crust and bake for about 30 minutes or the pie is set and the center looks firm.

4) Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Transfer to the fridge and let sit overnight (if you have patience). It's much better cold! Serve plain or drizzle some honey/agave/maple syrup or anything you like.

Recipe by collecting memories

Apple Crisp Pie

I think I've never told you before how much I like warm desserts served with ice cream. And if it has a crunchy topping, a fruity filling and if it is an apple pie, it's a perfection. This one's packed with juicy apples, cinnamon and tastes very similar to an apple crisp. If you like apple crisp - you're going to like this pie too. Just don't forget to drizzle the topping with some maple syrup, agave syrup or caramel sauce. I used agave syrup but, I must confess, I prefer caramel sauce. Guilty!

Apple Crisp Pie

Crust:
1 1/4 cup (155g) flour
1 tbsp (15g) sugar
1/2 stick (56g) butter, cold
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp ice water

Topping:
3/4 cup (95g) flour
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick (56g) butter, cold

Filling:
625g apples
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest

Maple syrup, Agave syrup, caramel sauce, to serve
Vanilla ice cream, to serve

1) To make the crust, combine together flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the cold butter and mix with your fingertips until crumbs form. Add ice water (add 2 at first, you might not need the third one) and knead just until the dough forms into a ball. Roll out the dough into a circle and press into the bottom of a 18cm greased baking dish. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling and the crumb topping.

2) To make the crumb topping, combine together all the ingredients and mix using your fingertips until crumbly. Place in a refrigerator.

3) To make the filling, peel and cut the apples into thin slices. Add into a large bowl and squeeze in the lemon juice. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to coat the apples.

4) Add the apples into the pie shell. Press down a little bit. Top with the crumbs.

5) Bake in a 200C (400F) preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180C (350F) and continue baking for another 20 minutes.

6) Serve warm with some vanilla ice cream and maple syrup, agave syrup or caramel sauce. I used agave but caramel sauce sounds even better, doesn't it?

Recipe by collecting memories

Salted Pumpkin Crumb Pie

Pumpkin craziness continues! The possibilities of incorporating pumpkin into every dish are endless. But this time - nothing super surprising. It's actually a ridiculously easy and simple pumpkin pie made using just a few basic ingredients. Personally, I've never made a pumpkin pie with a crumb topping before so this was kind of new to me. The crumbs and the crust are super soft. Although the crumbs have some nice crunch especially around the edges. The filling, of course, is creamy dreamy, and, what I found truly amazing, was the salt added to the crumbs & the crust. Don't try to omit salt here!!
This is not overly sweet but it's sweet enough. I think the flavors are balanced perfectly so I kept it simple but if you like making things a little bit more complicated, drizzling it with some caramel sauce or dusting with some powdered sugar sounds like a good idea.

Salted Pumpkin Crumb Pie

Crust:
125g (1 cup) flour
1/4 tsp salt
50g (1/4 cup) white sugar
56g (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1 egg

Crumb topping:
60g (1/2 cup) flour
55g (1/4 cup) white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
56g (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature

Filling:
425g (15oz) pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
150g (3/4 cup) white sugar
120ml (1/2 cup) milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1) Make the crust: In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and mix to combine. Add salt & flour and mix just until smooth. Press into a 18cm round baking pan and refrigerate while you make the topping and the filling.

2) To make the crumb topping, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and using your fingertips, knead to make large crumbs. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

3) For the filling, mix together pumpkin puree, cinnamon and sugar. Add eggs and milk. Pour the mixture onto the pie crust and top with crumbs. Do not press.

4) Bake in a 180C/350F preheated oven for 1 hour. Cool before slicing.

Recipe by collecting memories

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chickpea Cheesecake

I had this idea of making chickpea cheesecake for a long time. I've seen many bloggers using cashews, macadamias instead of cream cheese but I've never seen anyone making it with chickpeas. So, I decided to give it a try! It was so hard to decide what flavors to add. First, I wanted to make it all-chocolate, then I wanted to make it lemon-flavored. But finally, after many days (yes, many days. You see, I wanted it perfect) of considering which flavor would taste best, I decided to make it peanut butter-chocolate flavored (probably the best decision in my life). You probably wonder how it tasted. Well, it actually tasted AMAZING. Honestly, that's probably the best recipe I've created in a long time. Maybe even the best I've EVER created. Yup, I'm proud of myself! I wouldn't be if it was an ordinary pie, but it's completely healthy. That's the thing. I know, chickpeas in a pie sounds weird. But trust me, you can't taste them. AT ALL. It's smooth, creamy and doesn't taste healthy. You are not going to believe until you try it yourself. 
I am super super happy to share this recipe with you and hope you'll love it!! Now, stop reading and head yourself to the kitchen. Fast!!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chickpea Cheesecake

Filling:
200g dry chickpeas, cooked and drained (or 2 cans of chickpeas)
125g peanut butter*
170g (1/2 cup) honey, melted 
50g coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp cocoa powder

*I made my own by using 125 grams of peanuts. Roast them in a skillet until lightly brown. Cool and process in a food processor until smooth.

Crust:
2 cups (180g) quick-cooking oats, ground 
10g (1 1/2T) unsweetened cocoa powder
5 tbsp coconut oil
7 tbsp honey

1) To make the crust, mix together oats and cocoa. Melt coconut oil and honey, and mix into the oat/cocoa mixture. Press to the bottom of a pan with removable sides. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

2) To make the filling, place chickpeas in a food processor and process until completely smooth. Scrape sides of the food processor as needed. You need a very smooth mixture. Add peanut butter, honey, coconut oil, salt and vanilla extract. Process until smooth.

3) Pour approximately 2/3 of the mixture onto the crust. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

4) Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of honey to the reserved filling mixture. Spread over the first layer. Refrigerate overnight. (I prefer keeping it in refrigerator all the time. Yum!)

Recipe by collecting memories

Coconut Cashew Cheesecake

No, I'm not vegan and I'm not going to become vegan. But the more vegan desserts I make, the more I fall in love with this kind of food. It feels so good when you know that what you eat is good for you and every ingredient has important nutrients. I LOVED this cashew cheesecake! It doesn't taste like a traditional cheesecake, I'd say it tastes like a coconut ice-cream pie. Doesn't that sound good?? 
Just use unrefined coconut oil. Trust me, don't use refined stuff here.
It's best to serve it frozen. Keep it in the freezer and let thaw at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving. If you keep it in the fridge, it will have a mousse-like texture which is yummy too, but I prefer it frozen. Then it really tastes like ice cream. It Melts in your mouth! 

Coconut Cashew Cheesecake

Base:
50g dried coconut flakes
50g ground cashews
90g raisins

Filling:
2 1/2 cup (350g) cashews, soaked for 6-8 hours, drained
1/4 cup (60ml) unrefined coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup (150g) agave nectar
3/4 cup (180ml) coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) To make the base, grind coconut, cashews and raisins in your food processor until the mixture looks sticky and comes into a ball. Press it into the bottom of a round baking pan (I used a 23cm pan with a removable bottom).

2) To make the filling, grind cashews in your food processor until you get a smooth creamy paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour onto the crust and freeze overnight.

3) Thaw at room temperature for 5-10 minutes and slice!

Recipe by collecting memories

Crustless Carrot Pie

I've been posting new recipes quite rarely recently. I just wish there were more hours in a day because now my life is like a hurricane. I must forget about those idyllic days when I could wake up and spend the whole day in the kitchen realizing my cupcake visions. This is a temporal period though, soon I'll come back to this. 
And here is the new and a little bit unusual dessert (but surprisingly simple). I made this as an alternative to my favourite crustless pumpkin pie. I basically replaced pumpkin puree for the carrot puree and used milk instead of sour cream (just because I didn't have any. Sour cream might work just as well as milk). So this recipe is definitely going to be another keeper. The only problem with this was that I finished it too quickly. Seriously. 
One important note: make sure you keep this in refrigerator before slicing. The center needs time to set completely, otherwise, it will be too runny. 
Go ahead and try this, enjoy!

Crustless Carrot pie

500g carrots, cooked, drained and pureed in a blender (about 2 cups)

3 large eggs

120ml/1/2 cup milk

150g/3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ginger

35g flour

1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 18cm baking pan.

2) In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add sugar, milk and carrot puree. Whisk until incorporated. Add cinnamon, ginger and flour. Mix to combine.

3) Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set in the middle. Let cool completely and transfer to refrigerator. Let sit for at least 4 hours or overnight before cutting.

Recipe by collecting memories 

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (low-fat)

I'm always super excited when it comes to creating something healthy. It is always a challenge to make a dessert guilt-free and delicious. I like omitting oil and butter when I make something healthy so another challenge is to make a dessert moist. That's why pumpkin puree and honey are my favourite ingredients, they always create perfectly chewy and moist texture and you could never guess there is no butter or oil in it. 
And now about this chocolate pumpkin pie: the result was unexpected. It didn't rise much and had a dense, chewy, fudge-like texture. You almost can't taste pumpkin in it, I added some lemon zest so the pumpkin layer is more like a lemon layer which matches perfectly with the cocoa layer. This recipe is definitely a keeper. It's quite unusual, but that's why I like experimenting!

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (low-fat)

125g quick oats, ground
125g all purpose flour
65g light brown sugar
100g white granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder

400g pumpkin puree
2 eggs, lightly beaten
65g honey, melted
20g sour cream
Zest from 1 lemon

20g dark unsweetened cocoa powder
30g white granulated sugar
50ml + 50ml boiling water (separated)

1) In a large bowl, combine together ground oats, all purpose flour, light brown sugar, white sugar and baking powder. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine together pumpkin puree, eggs, honey, sour cream and lemon zest. Set aside.

3) Add pumpkin puree mixture into the flour mixture and mix just until smooth.

4) In a medium bowl, combine together cocoa powder and white sugar. Mix in 50ml of boiling water and stir. Let sit for 2 minutes.

5) Add half of the pumpkin puree/flour mixture into the cocoa/water mixture, spoon by spoon. Mix until you get a smooth batter. Set aside.

6) Add another 50ml of boiling water into the remaining pumpkin puree/flour mixture and stir until you get a smooth batter.

7) Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Ligtly grease a 23cm round springform pan.

8) Spread 1/2 of pumpkin batter into the pan. Top with 1/2 of cocoa batter. Spread the remaining pumpkin batter on top and top with the remaining cocoa batter.

9) Bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool completely (preferably leave it overnight) and slice.

Recipe by collecting memories