Raw Vegan Desserts--Gluten and Dairy-Free

In this video, I'll show you how to prepare a fabulous Tropical Fruit Tart with mango pudding, a chewy coconut crust, and fresh, ripe berries.

The raw crust is every chef's dream because it requires no rolling or baking. It has the rich taste you want in a crust because it contains raw nuts, rather than flour or butter. You'll also discover how adding dried coconut to a nut crust will lighten the texture. You'll also learn how to incorporate just enough sticky Medjool dates into the 'batter' to make it stick together and easy to form.

Next, I'll show you how to shape your tart crust in a pan with a removable bottom.

Then we'll tackle the easy filling. This tart filling is fat-free and has just one ingredient—mangoes. You'll learn the secret for making it thick and creamy (adding a few soaked dried mangoes).

Finally, I'll talk about the artistry of raw food desserts as I show you how simple it is to finish off the Tropical Fruit Tart with a handful of berries that you can arrange in a pattern or simply pour over your tart.

You won't believe how simple it is to create a raw food dessert that looks like it was prepared by a master pastry chef. And you won't believe how bright the flavor of the fruit is when it's not masked by refined sugar.

A raw blueberry pie may not be low-calorie, but unlike its traditional counterpart, it is loaded with nutrients. For example, the crust contains no processed white flour or butter. Instead, I'll show you to make wholesome almond flour to form the basis of the crust.

Not only is the crust healthful, it's easy to prepare...much easier than a traditional crust. As you'll discover, it's not necessary to roll out the dough.

Next, I'll show you my techniques for making a rich and flavorful fruit filling. My fruit of choice is antio-oxidant rich blueberries, but I'll talk about other filling alternatives, and explain the differences between using fresh and frozen fruits.

What comes next may surprise you. I'll share the secret for using soaked dates to sweeten and thicken your filling. Then come the finishing touches -- a little citrus, another handful of fresh berries -- and the filling is ready to meet its crust.

The hardest part of this recipe is the final step, which requires you to wait to eat it. You'll need to refrigerate your masterpiece for 2-4 hours to allow the filling to sit. (Be patient!)

This recipe will work for fruit pies made with cherries, peaches, or blackberries. It'll become one of your favorites that allows you to indulge in a healthy version of a beloved classic pie.

In this video, my no-guilt, all-goodness version of a decadent chocolate mousse filling introduces a surprise ingredient -- avocado -- as a replacement for traditional high cholesterol mousse ingredients such as eggs, butter, and cream. (Two tablespoons of avocado have just 50 calories and no cholesterol while the same measure of butter which packs a wholloping 204 calories and 61 milligrams of cholesterol.)

You'll see that I don't demonstrate the crust for this video--that's because you can use the exact same crust from either the Tropical Fruit Tart or Blueberry Pie that you learned in the previous videos.

Want your kids to fall in love with this raw food chocolate mousse recipe? Just tell them it's chocolate 'pudding.'

We'll be filling this tart with a smooth, thick raw food Pastry Cream, which you'll learn about in a video #8. When it's complete, Jennifer shows you how to use an offset spatula to layer it into your tart evenly.

Then it's time to get artistic. You'll discover how to peel and cut exotic kiwifruit into delicate half-moons that you can arrange in the center of your part. And I'll demonstrate how simple it is to finish your piece of edible art by adding other fruits and berries to achieve maximum visual impact along with incredible flavor.

Raw food tarts are wonderful to serve for dessert or with a cup of tea for a snack. A raw food tart is also a wonderful hostess gift to bring when you've been invited to dinner at a friend's home.

In this video, I'll show you how to open young coconuts so that you can have a plentiful supply of sweet, tender coconut meat.

'Young coconuts' also known as 'Thai young coconuts' have a taste and texture that is surprisingly similar to dairy cream. I'll show you a safe, effective way to open this seemingly impenetrable fruit.

The first step is selecting a good knife. My favorite tool is a cleaver. You'll learn how to lay the coconut on its side and use the cleaver to shave off the outer layer of the cone.

Next, I'll demonstrate a specific technique that will allow you to cut into the cone and then pry off the top. You'll learn how to safely embed the cleaver in the cone and then bang it on the counter to crack the coconut.

With the top of the coconut safely removed and the coconut water poured out, I'll address the task of getting to the coconut meat itself. You'll discover how to use a large spoon to scoop out the sweet meat leaving nothing but the shell behind.

Removing the flesh of a young coconut is not a precise science, so I'll offer an easy fix tip if some of the brown bits from the inner shell adhere to the meat.

The work may a little hard, but the reward is more than worth it. Each coconut provides about a half-cup of meat and I'll show you how you can store your sweet young coconut meat so that it will keep in the freezer for up to two months.

In this video, I'll show you how to prepare a versatile, dairy-free pastry cream made with coconut meat, coconut oil, and natural sweeteners and flavorings.

Pastry cream is a French-style custard, traditionally made with milk, cream, egg yolks, and sugar. But I'll replace all of that with Thai young coconut meat.

First I'll show you how to create the base of the cream by combining coconut meat, liquid, and flavorings in a blender.

Next, you'll get an important lesson on working with coconut oil, the next ingredient in the recipe and a staple in the world of raw food preparation. Jennifer demonstrates a safe easy way to melt this solid fat so that it can be blended.

The last ingredient is soy lecithin, an optional ingredient that makes desserts firmer and creamier. I'll explain why the powdered form is better to use and share a tip for making your own if you are only able to find the coarse, granulated version.

In this video, I'll demonstrate the techniques for creating a fruity and healthy raw Grape Sorbet that delights children’s taste buds, but is sophisticated enough for grown-ups.

The first step is to put your grapes in a blender to make a purée. Grapes are naturally filled with liquid, so there’s no need to add water.

You’ll be introduced to a food mill for the next step. I'll show you how this handy raw food kitchen tool works and explains why it is a superior choice to a fine-mesh strainer. The food mill creates a sorbet base that is medium-bodied, but completely free of seeds and pulp.

At this point, the recipe is almost complete. I'll add a little sweetener to the base and whisk it into the grape purée.

Once you start making sorbet, you'll wonder why you didn't discover this delightful dessert a long time ago. Every time you enjoy a spoonful, you’ll be reminded that a treat can be light and refreshing and still feel like a very satisfying indulgence

Raw ice creams have the decadent texture and great flavors ice cream lovers crave, but they contain no dairy products, eggs, or white sugar. The secret is nut milk, and I'll demonstrate just how to make this versatile raw ingredient using flavor-rich Brazil nuts.

Combined with raw cashews, Brazil nut milk turns into a thick, creamy base for frozen treat. You'll discover the easy 1-2-3 technique of soaking, processing, and straining nuts to create this rich liquid, using a simple mesh bag to squeeze every bit of goodness from your ingredients.

I'll demonstrate a useful technique for opening vanilla bean pods and removing the seeds to give your raw dessert a super-kick of natural flavor. You'll also learn about natural sweeteners that are a substitute for white sugar, and discover why a pinch of salt is useful in sweet recipes.

Once you've selected your ingredients, I'll show you how to bring them all together using an electric ice cream maker. With my trusty Cuisinart as her sous-chef, I'll show how to avoid hand-cranking and hard work that turn may people off to the idea of making homemade raw ice cream.

To get you even more excited about making this nutritious and wholesome raw dessert, I'll talk about the various toppings you can add to make your raw ice cream extra-special, including fruits, nuts, raw chocolate sauce, and mint leaves.

In this video, I'll introduce you to maca, raw food ingredient from the Andes, and show you how to create a creamy, frothy, chocolate-y shake.

Next, the "secret" ingredient in this recipe...bananas. When frozen, they add all the frosty creaminess the recipe needs, making dairy products unnecessary. You'll also learn the best way to freeze bananas so that they will keep for up to a month in your freezer and be ready for you whenever you're ready for a shake.

I'll show you how to get a little help from the market with store-bought hemp milk which you can also make at home in your own blender, if you prefer. Hemp milk, like almond milk, is creamy and delicious, but wonderfully cholesterol-free because it is made without any dairy.

Whether or not maca is a mood enhancer is still undecided, but chocolate definitely is.

I'll talk about different options for adding chocolate-y goodness, explaining the difference between cocoa and raw cacao.

The final step is to add maca, although the shake is positively delicious without it.

In this video, I'll show you how to make a Thanksgiving classic -- pumpkin pie -- and then top it with a luscious dairy-free cream made with cashews.

Pumpkin pie is the centerpiece of holiday tables throughout the country and in this how-to raw food video, I'll show you how to rethink this American favorite as a nutritious raw food dessert, made without cream, eggs, refined sugar, or processed flour.

Traditional pie crusts, made with butter, flour, and sugar, are difficult to make and are loaded with fat and calories. I'll demonstrate a raw pie crust that has a deep graham flavor thanks to the healthful sweetening provided by raisins.

At the center of this pie is a rich, custardy filling that tastes exactly like traditional pumpkin pie filling, but actually contains no pumpkin. You'll learn the surprise 'secret' ingredient, carrots, as I explain why she uses it instead of pumpkin in her raw pie and what she does to disguise the imposter.

As part of the raw pie filling, I work with a sea vegetable called agar. You'll learn how to soak it in water and heat it so that it can be used to thicken the filling in place of high-cholesterol eggs.

Mild-flavored avocado is also part of the mix, replacing the cream, butter, and eggs in a traditional filling. I'll show you how to combine avocado with the other ingredients to achieve a raw pie filling that is the precise shade of pumpkin.

To complete her the mock pumpkin pie recipe demonstration, I'll show you how to create Vanilla Cashew Cream, a dairy-free topping that replaces ice cream and whipped cream. And you'll learn a clever trick for creating a gorgeous lattice-work pie top.

Your next holiday meal just got a raw food makeover!

Do you love chocolate, but are trying to avoid traditional store-bought candies that are so often loaded with corn syrup, trans-fats, and preservatives? In this video, I demonstrate how to satisfy your sweet tooth with a chewy treat made with creamy chocolate, crunchy nuts, and chewy raisins.

To get you excited about raw candy, I start by explaining how much easier it is to make than traditional candy. Kids can get in on the fun since there's no scalding sugar that could burn little hands.

If you're unfamiliar with virgin coconut oil, I'll help you get comfortable using this useful ingredient as a substitute for butter in raw desserts. You'll learn a technique for melting this solid fat on the stovetop so that it will be easy for you to measure and work with. And you'll see how soaking sweet Medjool dates in the melted oil is the first step to transforming a delicious chocolate frosting or sauce into a soft, chewy candy.

Then the fun begins. You'll learn how to use foil baking cups as the mold for your chocolate mixture and how to 'embed' an assortment of dried fruits and nuts such as pistachios, sliced almonds, walnuts, and pecans.

Bursting with crunchy nuts, chewy raisins, and sweet, silken chocolate, these raw Chocolate Candy Cups stand toe-to-toe in taste with any candy bar you'd buy at the store...but with a lot more nutrition!