Meyer Lemon, Lime & “Graham Cracker” Gluten-free Parfaits
January 9, 2014
in Desserts · Gluten-Free · Pudding
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Meyer Lemon, Lime, & Graham Cracker Parfait An Unrefined VeganI had no idea what I was going to do with the two bags of Meyer lemons I picked up on a recent grocery run – but I couldn’t resist them.  Bright yellow and shiny, I’d never tried one, never even seen them before.  Meyer lemon is a citrus fruit that is a cross between mandarin orange and lemon.  They’re smaller and rounder than regular lemons and have a wonderful spicy smell.

Right after my purchase I heard about the So Delicious 3 Course Recipe Contest and an idea was born: a creamy, tart-sweet, crunchy parfait with Meyer lemon juice as the star – and a bit of lime as character actor.  

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Meyer Lemon, Lime & “Graham Cracker” Parfaits

  • Author: Annie
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Description

A creamy, tart-sweet, crunchy vegan, gluten-free parfait with Meyer lemon juice as the star – and a bit of lime as character actor.

Ingredients

Scale

Pudding

  • 2 cups raw cashew pieces, soaked for 8 hours or overnight, rinsed and drained
  • 7 Medjool dates, soaked for a few hours, drained
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk (I used So Delicious brand)
  • 1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 cup plain coconut yogurt (I used So Delicious brand)
  • 1/4 cup firm tofu* (not silken), optional
  • 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
  • zest of 2 Meyer lemons
  • zest of 1 lime

Graham Crackers

  • 2 cups pecans
  • 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
  • 3 Medjool dates
  • 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Instructions

  1. In a blender, combine the cashews, dates, coconut milk, lemon & lime juice, yogurt, tofu (if using), maple syrup and zest. Process until very smooth.
  2. In a food processor, combine the pecans, sesame seeds, dates, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Process until crumbly and of uniform size.
  3. Put 1 heaping tablespoon of pecan mixture at the bottom of each of 6 bowls or glasses. Top with about 3 tablespoons of lemon mixture. Continue alternating layers of pecan mixture with the lemon mixture until you’ve used up both. Top with fresh fruit and additional zest, if desired.

Notes

  • *the tofu will make for a thicker consistency

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 6
  • Calories: 694
  • Sugar: 35
  • Sodium: 23
  • Fat: 51
  • Saturated Fat: 10
  • Unsaturated Fat: 38
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 59
  • Protein: 14
  • Cholesterol: 1

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Meyer Lemon, Lime, & Graham Cracker Parfaits An Unrefined Vegan

Meyer Lemon, Lime, & Graham Cracker Parfaits An Unrefined Vegan

 

50 thoughts on “Meyer Lemon, Lime & “Graham Cracker” Gluten-free Parfaits”

  1. The Vegan 8

    Looks so delicious and colorful Annie! I love that you used pecans (my favorite nut) and love all the citrus flavors… Oh man that sounds good. I can’t remember which blog I was reading recently, but they were talking about how amazing Meyer lemons were too, I need to get my hands on some!!

    Reply ↓
  2. Heather B.

    I’m a HUGE fan of Meyer lemons, but I’m lucky to live in California where they are a very common backyard lemon tree (though I can’t say I’ve ever seen them in a supermarket). My grandmother had a big Meyer lemon tree in her back yard, and when we’d go to visit her, we would always go out and pick lemons… in their climate, it produced lemons year round! To this day I always think of her when I use a Meyer lemon—they have a lovely and unique lemon flavor and fragrance! Thanks for the great inspiration to make a parfait! We still have limes on our tree, and I’ll see if I can track down some lemons from a friend. 🙂 Thanks!

    Reply ↓
  3. tearoomdelights

    That looks fearsomely tempting and my mouth’s watering looking at those lemons.You quite often use pre-soaked cashews and dates, do you always have some on the go so that they’re ready to use when you need them?

    The last unusual or exotic fruit I ate was a banana. Not unusual perhaps, but I’d say they’re exotic since we can’t grow them here and it’s not that long ago that they were completely unknown to Brits.

    Reply ↓
    1. An Unrefined Vegan

      Can you tell I’m a big fan of puddings?? I always have bags of cashew pieces and loads of dates. A few hours soak is about all they need so as long as I get them going in the morning, I’m good for a little dessert after lunch ;-).

      Interesting about bananas – I was thinking about that the other day, actually. They are ubiquitous here, but it must have been quite something when the first ones started appearing. They certainly look exotic and unusual.

      Reply ↓
      1. biggsis

        Crunch is important – but frankly this sounds yummier to me than graham cracker anyway, but I am a total sucker for pecans.

  6. Heather @ The Soulful Spoon

    What a great recipe! I adore Meyer lemons! I love them because they’re so rare and only available in winter. Something about winter, especially Jan and Feb, always make me crave citrus like a mad woman! What a great way to use them<3

    Reply ↓
  10. narf77

    Ground cherries but that was before my chooks discovered how tasty they were (and how helpless and defensless they are on the shrub) and ate them all 🙁 Before that I had mangoes that I pureed with very ripe pears, mixed with canned coconut cream, added non-dairy kefir to and made homemade yoghurt which was AMAZING (note to self “make more!”). I was moving my edibles up to my now fully enclosed vegetable fortress (no possum or wallaby shall breach my fort! Still cant stop the insects but I am working on it!) and noticed that a tiny Meyer lemon I purchased last year had a tiny fruit on it 🙂 I had best tuck this recipe away for when my 1ft Myer Lemon grows to be a monster 😉

    Reply ↓
      1. narf77

        They grow easily in hot conditions and are easy to grow. They look like little tomatillos in husks but are sweeter. I just noticed that “something” ate my tiny Myer lemon whilst scoffing most of another fruit tree so I reckon something has “breached my defences!”

  11. coconutandberries

    Drooling here! We don’t get Meyer Lemons here sadly and England isn’t exactly tropical so I try not to treat myself to too much imported exotic fruit. I’ve been wanting to try coconut yogurt for ages and a lovely parfait like this would be the perfect way to use it.

    Reply ↓
  13. Steve

    Whereas the internet is a great and wonderful invention yada yada yada, I dream of the day I can savour these scrumptious looking desserts of yours “online”. Sort of an internet/3Dprinter/virtual-reality-5-sense-version kind of hybrid… Oh well, to be teased again 😉

    Reply ↓
  15. A Tablespoon of Liz

    These look amazing… no grocery store near me carries meyer lemons… but I wonder if I used a cross between mandarin orange and lemon juice/zest if it would be similar? I’ll have to try it.

    Reply ↓
  18. Somer

    I tried Meyer lemons for the first time last year and absolutely adored them! I love the thought of making the parfaits with them and the “faux” graham crackers crumbles. It all sounds incredible!

    Reply ↓
  19. Gabby @ the veggie nook

    Oh yum! I have never tried Meyer lemons. I always see them in the grocery store but always end up being to intimidated to try them. The pecan mixture looks awesome- I love doing things like that for a quick granola 🙂 Good luck in the contest lady!

    Reply ↓
    1. An Unrefined Vegan Post author

      Hi Katie – thank you! I used big ol’ Medjool dates – but I think any type would work.

      Reply ↓

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