Healthy Coffee Dessert Recipes

Inspired by a recipe developed by Chef Patrick Grangien at Cafe Shelburne in Shelburne, Vermont, this lightened version has less than half the calories and one-eighth the fat of a classic brulee.

This health-conscious makeover of a classic Tiramisu dessert uses silken tofu instead of mascarpone cheese, contains no alcohol, and is served in shot glasses for smaller portions. It's a lower-fat dessert that's simple to make, tastes delicious, and wins big points for presentation.

Instead of heading down to your local coffee shop to purchase an afternoon iced coffee, grab this summer treat right out of your freezer. All you need to make this 3-ingredient popsicle recipe is chilled coffee, half-and-half, chocolate syrup, and some popsicle molds--it will cool you off and give you a little pick-me-up at the same time.

After-dinner coffee anyone? This espresso-chocolate cake is brushed with a coffee liqueur flavored syrup and then rolled around a creamy, coffee liqueur filling. Sometimes you need a little pick-me-up and if so, this dessert is just the ticket.

Serve this chocolate angel food cake with low-fat frozen yogurt and fresh fruit.

Espresso coffee powder and bittersweet chocolate make this dense cake an extra-rich dessert.

If you're a fan of the classic Italian dessert tiramisù, try this quick, lower-calorie variation the next time you need a dessert in a hurry. Both types of ladyfingers--spongy and crunchy--work well.

This easy dessert recipe is Cuba's answer to sno-cones. Use freshly brewed strong coffee if possible, but morning leftovers work too--just heat 4 cups of coffee with the sugar until the sugar dissolves. If you prefer your coffee with a little cream, try the granita with a splash of evaporated milk on top.

This serve-from-the-pan cake is a winner at pot-luck suppers, classroom celebrations and picnics.

A dose of espresso coffee turns vanilla frozen yogurt into a frozen cappucino.

Panna cotta (“cooked cream” in Italian) is a silky-smooth dessert that works beautifully with the flavor of coffee. The sauce was inspired by café brûlot, the New Orleans classic coffee drink spiked with flamed brandy. Cooking for teetotalers? Use brandy extract in the panna ­cottas and omit brandy (and flambéing) from the sauce. Garnish with chocolate-covered espresso beans, if desired. Recipe by Joyce Hendley for EatingWell.

Creme anglaise is a luxurious French custard sauce that is thickened with lightly cooked egg yolks. This sauce requires vigilance, but the result is well worth the effort. With a kick from instant espresso powder and crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans, this version goes well with chocolate desserts. If you perfume the custard with vanilla extract instead of coffee, you'll have a lightened version of a classic creme anglaise--a delightful sauce for poached pears or just about any fruit.

Rich, chocolate waffles are the perfect breakfast for that special someone's birthday.

Sometimes we even stun ourselves. This ultra-rich and creamy chocolate cheesecake has less than 10 grams of fat per slice, making it one of our all-time best successes. We replaced the full-fat cream cheese in the original with pureed cottage cheese and reduced-fat cream cheese. To achieve a rich chocolate flavor, we used cocoa powder enhanced by a small amount of high-quality chocolate instead of 12 ounces chocolate chips.

Spelt flour's earthy flavor is a good companion to the warm spices and molasses in these cheerful cookies. Play around with the glaze and decorations to vary the look of the batch.

Our mousse reformation, with only 248 calories and 6 grams of fat per serving, as compared to 485 calories and 40 grams of fat in the original recipe, doesn't require a warning from the Surgeon General.

Coffee lovers will love the addition of Kahlua; Frangelico adds a lovely hazelnut note.

A bûche de Noël--a cake decorated like a yule log--is a traditional dessert served around Christmastime in France, Belgium, Canada and some other French-speaking countries. Our gluten-free recipe, which is just as tasty served cold as it is at room temperature, is lighter than air. The chocolate brown-butter génoise cake is easy to roll up and it's covered with a billowy espresso-spiked 7-minute frosting. We've substituted agave nectar for white sugar in the frosting. It's pretty garnished with meringue mushrooms and sugared rosemary.

Traditional versions of this elegant dessert--which translates as “half cold”--rely on lots of whipped cream for the light texture; here a fluffy cooked meringue does the job equally well.

The chocolate flavor in this rich and glossy cheesecake is deepened by the addition of coffee.

In this take on tiramisù, the Italian Christmas bread pandoro is used instead of ladyfingers to make this praiseworthy dessert. If you prefer ladyfingers, use 8 ounces in place of the pandoro.

These tasty frozen treats are perfect for a hot summer night.

You won't feel an ounce of guilt when you dig into this dense, chocolate bundt cake.

A bûche de Noël--a cake decorated like a yule log--is a traditional dessert served around Christmastime in France, Belgium, Canada and some other French-speaking countries. Our recipe, which is just as tasty served cold as it is at room temperature, is lighter than air. The chocolate brown-butter génoise cake made with whole-grain flour is easy to roll up and it's covered with a billowy espresso-spiked 7-minute frosting. We've substituted agave nectar for white sugar in the frosting. It's pretty garnished with meringue mushrooms and sugared rosemary.