Coconut and Berries

Healthy, Vegan Recipes by Emma Potts

Little Lemon Pots

Little Lemon Pots

 I know I talk about the weather all the time but you’ll have to forgive me that. I’m British after all, it’s what we do. 

Besides, this weekend’s been rather exceptional so I can’t help but mention it. Glorious sunshine, blue skies and up to 16C! It’s been so lovely wandering around town seeing everyone with smiles on their faces and the park packed with people making the most of it. Bliss!

I’m done with weather talk now but this recipe really is just right for springtime… 

Little Lemon Pots

I was thinking about the desserts my Mum made when I was growing up and which my brothers and I liked best. We each had our favourites: There was the dark and sinful Chocolate “I Dare you”,  the gooey Honeycomb Pudding (my favourite), and the elegant Baked Lemon Tart. These were reserved for Sunday family lunches or special occasions. 

These little lemon pots weren’t one of our Sunday lunch desserts but something my Mum would make for dinner parties as a simple but always popular option.  There’d usually be a couple of desserts for these parties which meant occasionally the odd lemon pot or two was left over for my brothers and I to enjoy the next day! The original recipe wasn’t vegan in the slightest, calling for mascarpone and several eggs I seem to remember, but my vegan version has all the same appeal- light and lemony with just enough sweetness and richness. 

Little Lemon Pots

I used silken tofu for the base as it works wonderfully for light creams and mousses and is a nice alternative to heavier nut-based desserts. I played around to get, what I think, is just the right balance of sweet/tart, but feel free to adjust according to preference. 

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Little Lemon Pots

Yield: 4 Servings

Little Lemon Pots

Ingredients

  • 1 350g/12.3oz pkg Silken tofu, drained
  • 1/4 C Agave OR Coconut nectar
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 5 Tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 3-4 Tbsp Coconut butter
  • Pinch of turmeric (optional, for colour)

Instructions

  1. Add the tofu, sweetener, lemon zest and juice and vanilla to your blender jar and blend until perfectly smooth.
  2. Add the coconut butter and turmeric, if using, and blend again.
  3. Divide between 4 ramekins and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
  4. Serve with fresh berries.
http://www.coconutandberries.com/2014/03/08/little-lemon-pots/
 

Little Lemon Pots

What desserts were your childhood favourites? 

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Comments

  1. I totally agree with you about the weather - it has been lovely and I am home for the weekend so it has been extra lovely! This dessert look so light and mousse like and the perfect alternative to a lemon posset which I used to love. Now, my favourite childhood dessert was probably what we liked to call ‘Instant Whip’ which is actually Angel Delight. I do have a favourite dessert now though that is not vegan and I really would love a vegan and healthy version of it because I do miss it. I don’t know it you have ever had it but it is a raspberry waffle berry pudding which is made with layers of waffles, raspberries and white chocolate with a custard-like mix that is poured over the top made with eggs and creme fraiche. It is so good! Do you fancy a challenge? 😉

    • Oh gosh I used to love Angel Delight too- the butterscotch flavour! Yum yum.
      That waffle berry pudding sounds insane. So much yumminess going on. I’ll have to look it up…

  2. Dude, as a Canadian, I totally understand and completely relate to the need to constantly talk about the weather. That is a commonality Canadians and Brits share!

    These look so delicious and it’s been so long since I’ve made anything with silken tofu! I must go buy some now0 I forgot how luscious but light it was!

    • haha, I didn’t know that about the weather thing!

      I hadn’t had anything with silken tofu for ages either. I used to make tofu chocolate mousse all the time! I’ve been going crazy on the nuts lately so it was a nice change.

  3. My mum makes the same chocolate cake for all birthdays, every year (so for our family that was four cakes every year). It is the best thing, EVER. And my granny’s chocolate mousse. Shame I can’t have them anymore, but I have successfully veganised them, so it’s all gooooood!

    These look delightful! I am so ready for spring. I’m done eating potatoes, thank you very much, I want salads now, haha!

  5. OK, I’ll definitely be making these! Must set up my new computer printer now, so I can start printing!

    • Super! Look forward to hearing what you think. Go get your printer set up!

  6. Oh, I love this Emma! Indeed, silken tofu is such a fantastic base for light desserts! I made a chocolate mousse with it a while back! Very yummy! Hahha, and I hear you regarding the weather, I am Swiss and I grew up with the same mania about sunny weather, i.e. not to miss a second when it’s finally beautiful out, and seeing all people in a better mood and coming out of their houses! 😉 Now I live in Miami though and it’s probably 95% of the time sunny. Incredible I know, so I am now a bit more relaxed about the weather! Thanks again for this wonderful, light and fragrant dessert idea, I will try it sometimes. Yum 😉

    • I used to make tofu chocolate mousse all the time but I’d completely forgotten about it.
      Ah, lucky you with the all-year-round sunshine. Maybe I should relocate….!

  7. Your food is so amazing. I follow you on Instagram as well, and I’m seriously in love with your creations. I like that you use tofu in this, because like you said, nut-based recipes can be a bit heavy! I love them, but this sounds so nice and light.

    • Thanks so much for your sweet comment Jenni!
      Glad you approve of the tofu-based dessert. I’m crazy for raw nutty recipes as well but it’s nice to lighten things up every now and again.

  8. This weekend has been so nice! I mean Santa Cruz CA weather is pretty nice most of the time, but especially this weekend. These look fantastic! i will definitely be trying these out.

    • Fab. Hope you like them! It’s gone back to being grey today but on the plus side I don’t have the sun to distract me from studying!

  9. I have been thinking of lemon desserts lately - in the mood for lemon and pondering what to make to savour it. I think you have given me my answer! These look really lovely and the pots are a cute serving option too.

    As for talking about the weather…I was rejoicing in our weather this weekend because our maximum temperatures finally dipped below 30’C and our minimums got as low as your maximum did!!

    • We can rejoice together for our respective weather conditions then!
      Hope you give the lemon pots a go.

  10. Ooh I love citrusy desserts. How beautiful!

    It seems so funny for you to be talking about how the weather is reaching all the way to 16C. It’s 32C here today, and 34 tomorrow…not as hot as it has been in the past few weeks (we had a whole week of 40-45C!!) but still warm. I’m actually looking forward to the cooler months at this stage!

    Some of my favourite childhood desserts were lemon sago, self-saucing puddings, anything custard related and carrot or banana cake with cream cheese icing. My mum also used to make a delicious sticky date pudding. Mmmm…

    • 45C! Yikes! I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere that hot but I think that might be a little much even for me!
      Self-saucing pudding were a favourite of mine too. Ooh and date and walnut cake…I’d forgotten about that one.

  12. I am fascinated that these smooth and creamy looking pots are made of tofu and agave nectar! I’m a huge lemon fan in sweet dishes and now I need to try this! X

    • You haven’t made a tofu dessert before then? Definitely worth trying. I love how creamy and light it is in these.

  13. I love using tofu in pudding-like desserts like this! It adds so much nutrition and such a great texture…you barely even know it’s there!

    • It works wonderfully doesn’t it. I’ve always done chocolate tofu mousse in the past but lemon was lovely.

    • You honestly can’t tell the tofu’s there-it just lends a nice creamy, light texture. Hope you give these a go!

  15. Ooooh I love lemon pudding! These are so adorable-everything looks cuter in little pots or jars or whatever. It’s tofu, so it’s healthy enough for breakfast, right? 😛

    • I din’t think of that but yes definitely! They’re fairly light so you could probably eat two!

  16. this really does look sooo light and creamy! the only lemon dessert i had growing up were lemon bars, but i hated them. i also hated lemon meringue pie. it probably had to do with the fake rubbery lemon filling. but these look absolutely perfect for spring.

    ps- so happy for your warmer days! i am SO EXCITED for spring.

  17. I hear your need to talk about the weather, being from Canada I feel like the weather is how 95% of conversations are started, haha! It was 20 here this weekend in Belgium and it was so nice to be able to enjoy the wonderful weather! Hoping this beautiful weather stays!
    This dish looks like springtime! Pinned and very excited to try it!

    • I didn’t know that Canadians and Brits were alike in that!
      Hope you love the little lemon pots :)

    • I’d forgotten all about it but I really love it in desserts. Lemon was a natural choice for spring :)

    • Oh gosh me too! We used to have this instant pudding mix I was mad about…especially in butterscotch flavour 😀

  20. The weather here has been terrible, storms and rain. it might be sunny tomorrow :)
    i love these simple desserts. easily adjustable to taste and easily portion controlled too 😉

    • Oh boo! Sorry to hear about your rain and storms. Fingers crossed for sunshine for you.
      You’re sort of right on portion controlled…I sometimes just eat two!

  22. Hi Emma,

    Ah, yes the weather talk! I remember that from my days living in London :) I thought it was great to see that Canadians are not the only ones who are obsessed with the weather!

    These lemon pots look divine, and I really want to try them but I am on an anti-candida diet at the moment. Any suggestions on how to substitute the agave/coconut nectar? Would yacon syrup and a bit of stevia work?

    Thanks!
    Geneviève

    • Hi Geneviève,
      Glad you like the look of the lemon pots. It should be pretty easy to make these suitable for a candida diet- If using all stevia I’d probably use 40-50 drops but start at the bottom end and add more to taste as needed. Yacon is only a little less sweet than agave/coconut nectar so you could probably sub one to one. It’s expensive though so maybe try a combination of the two? Let me know how you like them!

    • I guess it’s us from countries with terrible weather who have to moan about it all the time!
      Glad the lemon pots appeal :)

    • hahahaha! I don’t blame you. They’re very light so I could probably eat the whole batch!….maybe not 1400 portions though 😉

  25. I recall loving a lemon dessert as a child, it was Swedish and I don’t know what the translation would be! I have always preferred lemon desserts over chocolate ones. I loved lemon meringue pie before I was vegan.

    • I love both lemon and chocolate 😀 I don’t think I ever tried lemon meringue though.
      Do you remember any more about the Swedish lemon dessert? I’m curious now!

    • I love both lemon and chocolate 😀 I don’t think I ever tried lemon meringue pie though.
      Do you remember anything else about the Swedish dessert? I’m curious now!

    • Hi Carrie! Glad you like the look of these 😀 Coconut butter is a little different from coconut oil in that it contains the meat of the coconut. It’s still solid at room temp but when melted it’s more like nut butter. I love the stuff and drizzle it on pancakes and fruit, use it in smoothies and raw desserts and eat it straight off the spoon! Where are you based? Here in the UK it’s sometimes called coconut manna.

  27. I had been looking for a healthy lemon dessert recipe for a while. So glad I found your recipe. I just made the lemon pots and they are so delicious. I used honey because it’s what I had and it’s divine. I’m going to try halving the coconut butter next time just because I’m watching my weight, but you’ve hit on the right combination for yumminess. Thank you!

Trackbacks

  3. […] Tofu is pretty scary looking at first. But it’s also versatile, and it can be a dairy substitute as well as a meat substitute. Silken tofu, which is softer and milder than firm tofu, can be used to make puddings or added to smoothies. I am all about some lemon mousse, such as these Little Lemon Pots. […]

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