This is a warm, cozy dessert to keep you satisfied all winter long.
It’s a delicious, warming, and sweet dessert (or breakfast) made with seasonal stone fruits, melted dark chocolate, and a crunchy surprise with sunflower seeds and oats. I think this pretty much sums up what will be your new favorite dessert to make in under 20 minutes (and makes days of leftovers if you’re not sharing it with many)! I’m using apples, pears, and plums today, but you can use whatever fruits you may have on hand since I know many of you are on the other side of the globe and are in the thick of summer. That’s the beauty of this recipe, it’s flexible and easy to switch around yet always yields a delicious result. Keep reading for more!
So what are stone fruits? Stone fruits are those with a pit in the middle, or “stone” if you will, like plums, peaches, apricots, cherries, and nectarines. They’re also called “drupes” for all my fellow nutrition nerds out there. The pit is always large and hard and is actually the seed of the fruit! They’re typically in season in late summer (peaches and cherries) to early fall. You may still be able to find some plums or nectarines in season, but you can actually use any fruit you wish in this fruit bake! I added pears and apples since they’re in peak season and so delicious right now. You can add whatever baked fruit you enjoy!
Some of you may be asking if a chocolate dessert can really be “healthy”. You might remember my post a couple of months ago about bitter foods. Bitter foods, for the most part, aren’t a huge part of the Standard American Diet and so many of us don’t experience the benefits that bitter foods can have on supporting our digestive system. One of the easiest (and most delicious) ways to incorporate bitters into your diet is with dark chocolate. And I’m not talking about a Hershey’s dark chocolate bar, I mean a dark chocolate bar with a really high percentage of cacao, like 80% and up. Those with high percentages of cacao also have lower sugar, i.e. will taste a bit more bitter than most chocolate, but will give you the benefits of cacao without the added sugar. Side note, if you really want to cut down on any added refined sugar, you could use my Raw Chocolate Sauce instead of melting dark chocolate (it’s just coconut oil + maple syrup + cocoa powder).
The chocolate fruit bake is topped with a crunchy sweet topping of oats and sunflower seeds that is friendly to all of my vegan and gluten free friends out there! Plus you get some added nutrients and plant based protein from the sunflower seeds and oats. Read more about the nutrition of both of these on the NS Kitchen here.
Overall this is a super simple dessert or snack to make that keeps really well in the fridge in an airtight glass container (my secret weapon to batch cooking, btw). In fact, this recipe is from the Fall edition of the Society and is designed to be meal prep friendly for you to snack on all week. All of the recipes in the Society meal plans are super simple and still delicious so that you can meal prep like a boss in under 3 hours. You’ll get healthy meal plans, grocery shopping lists and more with the Guide to Master Meal Planning.
- 2 medium pears, deseeded and chopped
- 3 medium apples (fuji or gala work great), deseeded and cubed
- 3 plums, pitted and chopped
- 1 heaping tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 5 tablespoons organic coconut oil (may use grass-fed or vegan butter), melted
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips (or a chopped dark chocolate bar)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients (except chocolate). Using your hands or a large wooden spoon gently toss everything together to coat.
- Pour the mixture into a coconut oil greased baking dish (9×9) and bake for 30-40 minutes, checking at 20 minutes or until the fruit is soft. Take out of the oven and stir in the chocolate chips (or chopped pieces). Set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve with [url href=”https://nutritionstripped.com/simply-coconut-milk-ice-cream/”]Simply Coconut Milk Ice Cream[/url] or plain. Store leftovers in an airtight glass container in the fridge.
Ingredients I used to make this recipe: oats, sunflower seeds, high-quality dark chocolate, and my trusty airtight glass container
Whaddya think?
Do you like this simple fall dessert? If you made it for yourself, let me know what you think in the comments or by rating the recipe so I can know what more to make! And if you make it at home, be sure to share on Instagram with #nutritionstripped so I can see!
xx McKel
