I was delighted to meet Katherine de Watterville recently at the Vegan Life Show as I’m currently writing a vegan cookbook and she introduced me to a fantastic range of therapeutic-grade essential oils. The great thing about these oils is their purity. Not diluted in any way, the doTerra essential oil range can be used for cooking and add a distinct layer of flavour and exciting deliciousness.

Katherine was kind enough to send me some samples to experiment with – although raw recipes are best as heat can destroy some of the therapeutic qualities.

I decided to try them in my multi-coloured dessert toppings which are:

• coloured with vegetables (like carrots and beetroot)
• sweetened with 100% fruit jam of the same colour
• thickened with cashew
• and set with coconut oil.

The resulting brightly coloured purees set when chilled and make superb dessert toppings.

Keith’s tip: Always check with the manufacturer before you cook with essential oils.

The Yellow Topping

It is a very simple recipe with 80g of peeled chopped carrot, 80g orange 100% fruit marmalade, 80g cashews and 80g coconut oil.

Put all this into a strong blender like a Vitamix, Nutri-bullet or a Nutri-ninja. It works best if your kitchen is warm and the oil slightly melted so it can blend well.

To the resulting puree I added 2 drops of Wild Orange essential oil.

Then I placed it in a small rectagonal mould to set in the freezer for a few hours.

The Red Topping

It is a very similar recipe with 80g of peeled chopped beetroot, 80g raspberry 100% fruit jam, 80g cashews and 80g coconut oil.

To this I added a few drops of Ginger essential oil. Blended it until smooth and placed in a mould in the freezer.

The Green Topping

It’s the green leaves that give this its colour with 25g baby spinach leaves, 6 fresh mint leaves, 4 tbsp. agave syrup, 80g cashews and 80g coconut oil

To this I added 2 drops of Peppermint essential oil (filling the kitchen with a delicious scent of peppermint) blended it until smooth and placed in a mould in the freezer.

I also made a chocolate layer with 4 tbsp. agave syrup, 80g cashews, 2 tsp raw cacao and 80g coconut oil.

To this I added 1 drop of ‘On Guard’ blended oil which contains cloves, orange, cinnamon, eucalyptus and rosemary. Somehow this makes chocolate even more delicious.

Same again, I blended it and placed it in a mould in the freezer.

When solid, I placed them on a plate, coated the whole lot with some vegan white chocolate and dusted it with cocoa powder.

The result was fantastic! The oils added layers of flavour.

It’s hard to describe in words but it’s a bit like music. Cooking is like composing—you have the basic tune then you add more and more instruments for extra harmony. You may not hear the individual instruments but each adds more richness and depth.

The essential oils are like having a full orchestra woven into the taste. Somehow the oils don’t overpower the flavour they just add a depth to it.

This has turned my great dessert into a truly luxury dish. That can be savoured, contemplated upon and truly enjoyed.

To keep my blog free of annoying adverts and exclusively full of quality content, I’ve written a fantastic vegan recipe book which I hope to entice you to purchase.
And it’s only £4.99!