Everybody's just desserts: now there's no reason to leave anyone off your holiday baking list - includes recipes

Vegetarian Times, Dec, 1995 by Mani Niali

ENJOYING SPECIAL HOMEMADE DESSERTS during the holiday season is a long-standing tradition, yet it can be frustrating at times. How can one possibly bake for everyone from a vegan friend to an aunt with food allergies? After all, healthful means different things to different people, and when it comes to dessert, most people still want rich and delicious.

I always considered my baking, like my own diet, to be nutritionally sound. Yet when I founded Mani's Bakery, my first customers had very different ideas about what was healthful. What they did or did not want m their diet varied they all agreed on using whole grains, fruit juice, barley malt or maple syrup as sweeteners, minimal canned or frozen ingredients, and fillings, frostings and pastry made from scratch.

One concern everybody seems to have the is dietary fat. And though I applaud the trend toward fat reduction, I also care about taste. Fat is, after all, one of the essentials of baking. Without it, flavors either fall flat or take on unexpected sharpness, while textures can turn unappetizingly dry or rubbery. For these reasons, I do not try to reduce the fat in all my recipes. When I do, I don't always aim for fat-free status--if, when I'm done tinkering with it, a recipe has no more than 25 percent to 30 percent of calories from fat, I'm content. There is only one rule--my desserts have to taste good!

Don't try to be everything to everyone in a single dessert. If you try to turn your favorite recipes into wheat-free, dairyfree, sugar-free, nonfat surprises, you may just end up with a mess. Instead, make one sinful treat, like my

Almond Crescents or the Individual Soft-Center Chocolate Cakes, and amaze everyone by using organically grown flour and no sugar. Complement it with some lighter offerings, like the vegan Holiday Jewel Cookies or the low-fat Cranberry-Orange Mousse. With this inclusive outlook on health, you'll not only accommodate all your friends and family, you'll leave them asking for more.

Individual Soft-Center Chocolate Cakes

These warm, wonderful, gooey-in-the-center chocolate cakes are meant to be served within 20 minutes of baking. 2 cups malt-sweetened chocolate

chips or semi-sweet chocolate

chips 10 oz. soft silken tofu 3/4 cup honey 3 eggs 1 1/2 Tbs. vanilla 1 cup unbleached flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking powder 8 3- to 4-inch diameter individual

baking or souffle cups Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place oven rack m center of oven.

Melt chocolate chips over hot (not boiling) water in a double boiler. (If temperature is too high, the chocolate will burn and loose its smoothness. While chocolate melts, puree tofu in food processor bowl. Blend 3 to 4 minutes, or until smooth, scraping sides when necessary.

When chocolate has melted, remove from heat. Stir well and add honey. Stir until honey is incorporated; add tofu, eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder in a separate mixing bowl; fold into chocolate mixture.

Spray baking cups with nonstick cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among cups. (Batter may be stored in refrigerator, if desired, for up to 4 hours.

Place cups on baking sheet. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until cakes are mostly firm yet still pudding-like in center. (Center should remain soft and somewhat underdone, and top crust should start to crack. Serve within 20 minutes. Makes 8 cakes. PER SERVING: 418 CAL.; 8G PROT.; 15G FAT; 66G CARB.; 90MG CHOL.; 287MG SODIUM; 2G FIBER. OVO-LACTO

Christmas Coffee Cake

This crunch of the streusel in this cake is much more pronounced when the cake has been cooled. Cut into rectangles to serve. Butter and flour, or nonstick cooking

spray 3 cups unbleached flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 3 eggs 3/4 cup buttermilk 1 2/3 cups white grape or apple fruit-juice

concentrate (see note) 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt 1 cup cranberries 1/3 cup golden raisins Streusel: 1/2 cup granulated maple syrup (see

glossary) or brown sugar 1/3 cup rolled oats 1/3 cup chopped nuts, such as

walnuts or pecans 3 Tbs. softened butter Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place oven rack in center of oven. Lightly butter and flour an 11- by 17-inch jelly roll pan, tapping out excess flour, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger into a medium bowl; make a well in center. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk and juice concentrate together. Pour into well; whisk until barely combined. Fold in yogurt (do not overbeat). Stir in cranberries and raisins. Transfer to pan; smooth top.

Streusel: In a small bowl, work maple granules or brown sugar, oats, nuts and butter with fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over top of batter just before baking. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan. Makes 12 servings.

Note: Concentrated frozen fruit juices can be used as a sugar substitute. When using concentrates, pick a mild flavor, such as white grape or apple, so other flavors in the dish are not overwhelmed. When replacing sugar with juice concentrate, you may need to reduce other liquids. PER SERVING: 289 CAL.; 7G PROT.; 7G FAT; 52G CARB.; 61MG CHOL.; 329MG SOD.; 2G FIBER. OVO-LACTO