Sweet NZ #35 Wrap-up

Earlier this month I posted that I was hosting Sweet NZ #35 this month. Sweet NZ is a monthly blogging link up which  is an opportunity for all Kiwi bloggers (whether you are living in New Zealand or overseas), as well as for non-Kiwi bloggers living in New Zealand, to connect and share some of the sweet treats from your kitchen.

In fitting with the tone of the blog I am pleased to announce that there are a number of these recipes which are relatively healthy given they use clean ingredients! There are also a few decadent deserts which would leave me in a self-induced sugar coma and I wouldn’t mind one bit as they look DELICIOUS!

I was going to do a bit of a collage of the photo’s so this post wouldn’t be so photo heavy but some of these sweet treats are just too damn pretty they need to be full sized. Please try to refrain from drooling on the device you are reading this from… 

First up we have a recipe for a french desert called Ile flottante a la framboise et aux amandes (Floating Island) from the lovely Carine at Sweet as Honey. This was the first recipe Carine learnt and she has posted the recipe in honour of her grandma. There is an option to use sugar and an option to use artificial sweetener so choose your poison 😉

Libby has provided us with a recipe for a lemon coconut cake which is both low carb and gluten free. Libby is an advocate of the low carb, high fat way of eating and has many yummy looking recipes on her website – Ditch the Carbs. Back to the cake – Lemon and coconut together? Sign me up!

Lou over at The Beauty Foodie has a recipe for a Mars Bar Baileys Cheesecake. I am the biggest sucker for any kind of cheesecake and Mars Bar and Baileys sounds like an amazing combination! Lou is more of a savoury rather than a sweet person however she loves this recipe for a sweet treat.

The next recipe comes out of the Move Love Eat kitchen and is near the top of the list of my favourite sweet treats to make. With only 5 ingredients these Chocolate Mint Bliss balls use only clean ingredients but will reward your taste buds with a chocolate mint taste explosion. I am not making any this week as the last batch disappeared far too quickly!

Alessandra Zecchini (the founder of Sweet NZ) has shared her recipe for home made marscapone with honey, pistachios and dried strawberries.  I’ve never tried marscapone before however Alessandra’s plating in this recipe as well as the addition of honey and pistachios has me questioning why not. Marscapone is used in many Italian desserts and cheese dishes. What are you waiting for?

Frances at Bake Club has a recipe for a pistachio cake inspired by Julie Le Clerc’s favourite cakes. I am loving the addition of pistachios in the recipes this month, I feel they are an under utilised nut as they are so tasty! The addition of the honey and pistachios drizzled over the top completes this delicious looking cake. I also love the cake mould used to make this cake!

Lou from The Beauty Foodie decided to share a second recipe with us this month. The second recipe is a fuss free Date Cake with Crunchy Caramel Coconut Topping. I personally use dates in my recipes all the time as they add a sweetness without added sugar. That crunchy topping sounds divine!

Sue from Couscous and Consciousness has shared her recipe for Pumpkin, Date and Chocolate Scones. I love it when bloggers change up traditional recipes by using non-traditional ingredients such as Pumpkin in Scones. These look like they would be perfect on a lazy sunday afternoon with a nice cup of tea and a great book.

Megs and Soph have shared one of their favourite clean treats with us, the Salted Raw Caramel Pie. Yep, take a second look that delicious looking pie is raw and uses only clean ingredients. Bet it tastes as amazing as it looks as well! You can swap and change our the nuts and seeds in the base as you like which is awesome. 

Mrs M from Sweet Mama M made a Tiramisu Log which conveniently uses marscapone (try making your own using Alessandra’s recipe above). The Tiramisu Log sounds like it would be difficult to make however Mrs M divulged that it only took her a little more than half an hour prep time! I also like the idea of spiking the log with Brandy as suggested in the blog post 😉

Christel from Make Upper has gone with a smoothie for her sweet treat this month. Her smoothie of choice is the Vital Greens Berry Smoothie, using Vital Greens is a convenient way of getting more greens into your diet without having to eat a plateful of them with each meal. Using Smoothies is a fantastic way to increase your vegetable consumption especially if your a fussy eater. 

I am a sucker for all things Caramel (ok who am I kidding, all things sweet but caramel is high on the list). Felicity from Life of Lekker (a kiwi with dutch tendencies living in San Fran) has shared her Cashew Caramel Tart  recipe which looks fantastic. Felicity suggests serving with some good vanilla icecream as a dessert.

Alessandra has provided us with a second recipe, another smoothie recipe! She has shared her spinach banana blueberry and apple smoothie recipe. Don’t be scared to try smoothies with spinach as you can’t taste it at all yet you get the added bonus of the vitamins and minerals from the spinach. 

Last but definitely not least Laura from Laura Laura Blog has shared with us a recipe for Wanganui Slice. This slice reminds me of my childhood, not just because I grew up in Wanganui (Like Laura) but also because my mum used to do a lot of home baking for us when we were younger, there is nothing better than coming home from school to some home baking! 
 

So there we have it, that concludes Sweet NZ #35, I have really enjoyed hosting this month and getting to check out some amazing recipes from some fantastic kiwi (and honorary kiwi) bloggers. There was such a large variety of recipes and they ALL look amazing!

I’d like to extend a thank you to Alessandra for creating Sweet NZ and let everyone know that next month we have the lovely Libby from Ditch the Carbs hosting so please do head on over to her site and share something sweet you have made with her (if you have a sweet low carb recipe now is the time to bring it out if you can). 

I’d love to know which recipe you are most wanting to try? Comment below and let me know as I don’t think I can choose!