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The only healthy Plum Compote Recipe you’ll ever need

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Plum compote = Zwetschkenröster

Plum Compote – an austrian staple

If you are not from Austria and have never heard of plum compote or Zwetschkenröster I can understand that you may be confused about this. Zwetschkenröster is a compote made out of plums, which mostly is eaten with Curd Cheese Dumplings (Topfenknödel) or Kaiserschmarren. It is sweet and still have fruit chunks in it so it is not the same as jam.

Traditional plum compote & how it is made

There is more than just the country it comes from, that connects me to plum compote. I have always had a passion for cooking from an early age on, and apparently a very big one for plum compote. A few years ago my parents showed me pictures of me, when I was a little kid, 2 years old or so, sitting on the counter in the kitchen and making curd cheese dumplings and plum roaster with my uncle. So yes, this is a very traditional recipe.

In Austria you can find it in pretty much any house hold, which makes sense when you realise how easy it is to make. And how delicious it is to enjoy. Making this actually is pretty simple. It really just is cooking plums with sugar, lemon juice, spices and some cornstarch until the skin separates slightly from the fruit. Then you let it cool down and fill it into jars. That is it.

What it special about this dish?

The only really special thing here is that it is healthy. Regular plum compote comes with loaded sugar, which obviously is not healthy so we are making a healthier version of it. Besides this, not too much is fancy here because we want to keep it quite traditional.

How to make it healthy

The main ingredient, the plums, stays the same of course. But instead of regular, white, refined sugar, we are using a mixture between coconut sugar and dates. Both of these have a great sweetness but are packed with less actual sugar and come with fibre, which makes the sugar be digested better.

How to best have it:

As I already mentioned, you can have this really well with desserts such as Kaiserschmarren (which is like a destroyed dutch baby) or with dumplings. I also love to have it on top of yoghurt with some granola or with some ice cream. I am sure this would also work really well on top of a creamy porridge. It is a great addition to pretty much anything sweet!

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and that you will also have memories that are as great as mine!

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Healthy Plum Compote

A healthy version of the austrian classic. Perfectly sweet and juicy plums cookeed into a long lasting and super delicious compote!

Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine austrian
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 1 Stunde 15 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde 25 Minuten
Servings 2 jars à 3 servings
Calories 133 kcal

What you will need

  • 1 kg plums
  • 50 g dates
  • 50 g coconut sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • a sprinkle of sea salt
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 50 ml water

How to

  1. Cut all of the plums in half and remove the pit. Slice the dates very finely or cut them into amll pieces. Add them to a pot along with the coconut sugar, water, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about an hour at medium heat.

  2. After an hour you will see that the skins of the plums started to seperate from the fruit and are rolling in a littlw bit. Now combine the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water in a seperate bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour it in and stir through the compote very well so everything is combined.

  3. Take off the heat and let cool. Then fill into jars and stor ein the fridge! Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

The Crispiest Healthy Peach and Cherry Crumble you’ll make

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You know what I love about summer? There are so many fresh fruits and veggies!And there are just so many ways you can use them! Just like this one! Sweet and juicy fruits beneath a layer of Goey, sweet and crispy crumble. No, you can’t taste that it is healthy but you are going to want to have all of this at once!

Why crumble?

I need to say that I actually got the inspiration from a friend of mine. One night I forgot my keys at home and no-one was there so I stayed over at one of my friend´s houses and her mom had made this ultra tasty crumble. It was with apricots and not super healthy I think but it was amazing! So I thought I wanted to kind of recreate it and asked you guys on instagram what kind of recipes you’d like to see, and you answered crumble.

What is a crumble?

I think the name crumble comes from crumbs. I think you can already imagine what it is. So basically you can make this with any fruit you have on hand. They build the foundation. On top of the fruits are crumbs made out of butter, sugar and flour and then it is all baked in the oven. The fruits will loose some liquid but the flavour will intensify and the crumbles will crisper up. Imagine it as warm fruits with cookie on top.

Is crumble healthy?

Not really. I mean it is healthier than other desserts such as chocolate cake because it is mainly made of fruit but the crumble part is not healthy. Why? It has a lot of sugar and fat in it. Basically no vitamins or nutrients. So yes, it is better and lighter than most desserts but you can’t say that it is healthy.

How to make crumble healthy

This actually is super easy. Easier than expected. We leave the base as it is. So the fruit part is the same. But we change up the crumbles part. Instead of flour we are using rolled oats. But before using them we need to process them in a food processor until they have reached a really fine consistency, much like flour. Oats are super high in vitamins and fibre and are therefore way healthier than white flour is.

Instead of butter we use margarine. Margarine is made out of plants and oils and really high in unsaturated fat. It still is high in calories but it by far does not have such a high content of saturated fat. And instead of white sugar we are using coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is way less processed and actually has a bunch of nutrients and fibre.

Substitutes:

If you do not have peaches or cherries on hand, you could make it with berries, apricots or whichever fruit you have. It works best wit softer fruits though. Instead of rolled oats you could use any type of flour such as almond and wholewheat. If you do not have coconut sugar, you can also use brown sugar.

How to best serve it:

When you take it out of the oven let it sit for a few minutes to cool a little bit and let it crispen. Then I love to serve this with ice cream or some kind of yoghurt. Greek yoghurt, oat yoghurt or just normal one. Whatever you have one hand!

I hope that you will like this recipe (I am obsessed with it) and make it on repeat such as I do!

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Peach and Cherry Crumble

The best way to use all of the good summer fruits. Sweet and juice peaches and cherries beneath a layer of perfectly crispy crumble. Just a dream.

Course Dessert, Snack
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 6 servings
Calories 208 kcal

What you will need

  • 2 large peaches
  • 200 g cherries
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup or any other liquid sweetener such as honey
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 100 g rolled oats
  • 50 g coconut sugar
  • 50 g margarine

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    Remove the pit from the peaches and cherries. Half the cherries and cut the peaches into small slices. Toss them first in the maple syrup and then in the cornstarch. Add them into a baking dish.

  2. In a food processor, process the oats until they have reached a very fine, flour-like consistency. Add the coconut sugar and margarine and pulse again until everything is combined.

  3. Crumble this mixture on top of the fruit and bake it in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

  4. Take it out and let cool a little bit. Then serve it with ice cream or yoghurt.

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Healthy Rhubarb Crumble Cake

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A nice, fluffy and juice layer of cake underneath a fresh and sweet layer of rhubarb topped with a healthy and crispy almond oat crumble. Is there anything else you want? Maybe having this healthy rhubarb crumble cake with a nice cup of coffee? you better don’t say no!

Why crumble cake?

Crumble cakes are one of my favourites. I love the different tastes and textures in each layer and the combination of them melting together in my mouth. Also, I think they are very fun to make and they always have something fresh in them with the fruits. I already have one crumble cake on my blog, an apple crumble cake, and it is so good! In this recipe I just added a spring twist on it instead of a fall one! Imagine this cake as a mix between my healthy apple crumble cake and my rhubarb compote!

I had my first crumble cake about 2 years ago. It actually also was a rhubarb one, and it was amazing! I can remember it very well because it was at a small café in Dublin where they had soo many different cakes! I shared one piece with my friends and let me tell you, it was amazing! So when I saw all the fresh rhubarb at the farmers market the other day, I decided to try to recreate it, but make it healthier. And let me tell you, I did not expect it to turn out THAT GOOD. I thought it would be fine but when I tried the first slice, I just wanted to eat the whole tray before photographing it. It is insane!! And really, it does not taste healthy or boring at all.

The layers:

The first layer is kind of a biscuit layer but a little healthier. It essentially comes down to only 5 ingredients! Who thought that you could make a cake with 4 ingredients only? Eggs, maple syrup, apple sauce (Apfelmuß in German, because so many asked me what this was), wholegrain flour, baking powder. That is it. The egg whites are separated from the yolks and whipped up until super fluffy and stiff. This makes the cake really airy. The applesauce makes it really juicy and the maple syrup makes it sweet. Both are combined with the egg yolk. Afterwards, the flour and baking powder as well as the egg whites are folded in. This need to be pre-baked a little.

The second, and middle layer is a fruit layer. This is even easier than the first one. You do not even need to peel the rhubarb (if you buy organic one preferably), just cut it into smaller pieces. Add it to a pot with some lemon juice and a date to sweeten it up (could use sugar or honey as well) and a splash of water. The heating up helps it to get a little softer and absorb the flavour of the lemon and date. Then this is added on top of the biscuit layer.

The last but definitely not least layer is the crumble. Contrary to conventional crumbles it is not based of sugar, butter and flour. NO. The base are oats and almonds. I like to use sliced ones but you could also just chop the up a little. Together with some chia seeds (optional) and coconut sugar (again, another sweetener works fine too, just a liquid one will not have the same crunch effect, so I would recommend substituting it out for white or brown sugar), and a little coconut oil it creates a sticky consistency. This on top of the fruit just tastes bomb. It is kind of like granola just on top of a cake. So good.

When to enjoy best?

So honestly, you are going to want to eat this at every time of the day. And basically you could. It would even work as a nice breakfast. It has about than 2.6g fibre, 3.3g of protein, and 14.2g of carbohydrates per slice. So having two slices for breakfast with some yoghurt on top wouldn’t be unhealthy. But this also makes a great snack or dessert. Even when having guests over this will be amazing! Or take it to a picnic?

Substitutions

If you do not like rhubarb at all, but still want a crumble cake, you can also substitute them out for berries, such as strawberries. It really is versatile but I believe that the little sour taste of the rhubarb just goes really well with the sweetness of the cake. Instead of whole grain flour, you could use plain one, and instead of the maple syrup you can totally go for honey, agave of coconut sugar. If you do not have almonds on hand, you can use any other nuts as well!

I hope that you like this recipe and it gives you some inspiration for cooking healthy! Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisiniere

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Healthy Rhubarb Crumble Cake

The best cake you´ll ever have! Fluffly and juice biscuit, topped with fresh and tangy rhubarb and a healthy and crispy crumble! SO good.

Course brunch, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine austrian
Prep Time 20 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 12 slices
Calories 113 kcal

What you will need

For the first layer:

  • 2 eggs
  • 100 g unsweetend apple sauce (Apfelmuß in Deutsch)
  • 60 g Maple syrup agave, honey or sugar work too!
  • 125 g wholegrain flour normal flour is fine as well
  • 1 tsp baking powder

For the second layer:

  • 250 g Rhubarb
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1 large date (or 2 small ones, about 30g)
  • a splash of water

For the thrid layer:

  • 50 g oats
  • 25 g sliced almonds or any nuts
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar (or any other sweetener of choice)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    For the first layer seperate the egg yolks from the whites. Whip the whites until fluffy and stiff. In the meantime combine the yolks with the apple sauce and maple syrup. Combine flour and baking powder.

    Once the egg whites are stiff gently fold them under the yolk mixture, along with the flour, one at a time. When combined pour it onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8 minutes.

  2. In the meantime cut the ends of the rhubarb and wash it gently. Cut it into about 3cm (1 inch) sized pieces. Take the pit out of the date and chop it finely. Add both to a pot along with the lemon juice and a splash of water (about 2 tbsp). Bring it to a boil and simmer until the first layer is done baking.

  3. While the rhubarb is simmering, combine the oats, nuts and seeds in a bowl. Melt the coconut oil and combine with the sugar and vanilla. Pour it over the mixture and combine everything well. It should all stick together a bit.

  4. When the frist layer is done baking take it out of the oven. Add the rhubarb evenly on top and sprinkle with the crumble. Bake for another 7-10 minutes.

  5. Take out of the oven and let cool. Serve with some ice cream, whipped cream or a dollop of yoghurt and enjoy!

3 Ingredient Strawberry Chia Jam (healthy & vegan)

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It is the perfect combination of sweet, creamy and tangy. But instead of a lot of white sugar we are using whole food sweeteners, fresh fruits and seeds to achieve the best taste, texture and color. An essential staple in my household. It pairs perfectly with literally anything from yoghurt bowls, to bread and rice cakes.

An Austrian Tradition

In Austria, where I am from, it is very common to eat jam. And lots of jam with bread and butter. It is an Austrian tradition I guess, and both of my grandmothers have taught me how to make the classic. You will find it on every single typical Austrian breakfast table or in any breakfast restaurant. We love it. Most of the time it is paired with a Semmel (a white bread) and some butter. The go-to breakfast.

Why is jam not healthy?

And because it is so typical and popular I decided to make it a little healthier. But what actually is not healthy in it? I mean there is fruit in it! – That is right. There is fruit in it. But because we cook it, a lot of vitamins get to loss. Not all of them but many. Additionally, when we add lots of sugar and gelatine this is not healthy either. We all know that sugar is not the best friend of a healthy diet, especially not white and refined one. To make it healthier I recommend using a healthy sweetener such as raw honey, pure maple syrup or coconut sugar. These still contain sugar but also other nutrients, such as antioxidants and fibre which helps control the sugar rush in your blood.

Is jam vegan or vegetarian?

The answer might surprise or shock you: no it is not. At least most you can find in a supermarket are not. The reason for this is that they contain gelatine in some form. Either pure gelatine or mixed into the sugar. And gelatine is made from animal bones. This means that it is neither vegetarian nor vegan. When you want to buy one that is vegetarian or vegan you have to carefully study the labels and check that it doesn’t contain any gelatine. What is used in most places is called agar-agar or agartine.

How to make homemade jam:

This actually is really simple. Probably easier than you think. And it does not differ much from regular jam. As a first step you add your raspberries to a pot. They can be fresh or frozen, whatever you have on hand. Depending on ho sweet your berries are and how sweet you like your jam to be, you add as much or as little sweetener as you like. If you want, and it makes it really tasty, you can now add a squeeze of lemon juice. It adds some freshness and brings out the flavours even more. Then we let everything simmer for a little while until the strawberries have softened up a lot. Now it is time to transfer it to a blender. If you really do not like the texture of chia seeds in your jam, add them now but adding them later really adds a nice texture to it! So we are blending it up, adding it back to the pot and bringing it to a boil again. Then we let it cool a bit and you will immediately see how it starts to thicken up. After cooling, transfer it to a jar and store in the fridge for a few weeks.

Does it only work with strawberries?

NO! Definitely not. You can make this jam with any fruit of your preference. I also find it to be super tasty with raspberries, apricots, pineapple or orange. Do it with whatever sounds good to you!

How to best eat it:

So, this really is up to an individual! I personally like it most with a rice cracker and some cream cheese. This combination is just out of this world and makes a great snack or dessert. But in a yoghurt bowl, on a toasted slice of sourdough bread or with some brownies it tastes amazing too! Even with cake it works well! Just use it for whatever you would use normal jam too.

I hope that you like this recipe and that you will try it out soon!
Stay healthy & have fun cooking!
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Strawberry Chia Jam (healthy & vegan)

A healthy version of the classic. Quick, simple and so good! Crazily addicting, perfect addition to any sweet meal!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 15 servings à 2 tablespoons
Calories 83 kcal

What you will need

  • 750 g strawberries
  • 150 g chia seeds
  • 100-200 g pure maple syrup or honey or cocnut sugar (a healthy sweetener of choice)
  • juice of 1 lemon (optional)

How to

  1. Remove the green leaves from the strawberries and then cut them in half or in quarters. Add them to a pot along with the maple syrup and the lemon juice.

  2. Bring to a boil and let them boil until they are soft and mushy, for about 5 to 10 minutes. If you have one that is heat safe, transfer it to a blender or a food processor, otherwise purée it with a hand blender.*

  3. Pour it back into the pot and add the chia seeds. Bring to a boil again and then take it off the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes. You will immediately see how it starts to thicken.

    Transfer to jars and store in the fridge for up to 5 weeks.

Notes

* you can add the chia seeds before blending if you want a smoother consistency. But adding them after makes it really interesting!