Easy Citrus Fruit Desserts for Everyday

You can have dessert everyday if you eat a healthy dessert that is not packed with sugar, fat, and calories. Using citrus juice to sweeten desserts is one way to boost the nutritional content and cut the sugar of your favorite desserts. Making great citrus desserts does not have to involve a lot of complicated recipes. Citrus fruits are fabulous desserts when the fruit is combined with a few common ingredients. Refreshing, healthy citrus desserts like these can become part of your daily menu and help you and your family stay healthy.

Florida Orange Cream Parfait – Parfaits are fabulous desserts that satisfy sweet cravings without packing on calories. These parfaits are easy and quick to make at a moment’s notice and use ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen. To make these delicious parfaits make up two or three packets of unflavored or citrus flavored gelatin with juice from fresh Florida oranges instead of water. Stir in some orange and lemon zest. Add some sugar to make the mixture sweet. Once you have boiled the sugar and gelatin together for a few minutes, pour the gelatin into a sheet pan or a mold and let it cool. Refrigerate it until it is solid and has a good consistency. Cut it into squares. Alternate layers of gelatin with layers of whipped cream in a parfait glass. Garnish the glass with more orange zest, orange segments, or candied orange peel.

Grapefruit Cupcakes – These cupcakes are a great way to get your family to eat some super healthy grapefruit if they normally do not like the taste of grapefruits. Mix up a plain or vanilla cake batter, using grapefruit juice instead of water in the batter. Add in a few tablespoons of grapefruit zest and bake as normal. When the cupcakes are cool top with grapefruit frosting made from confection sugar, grapefruit juice, grated grapefruit peel, grated lemon peel, and cream cheese. Use red food coloring to color the frosting pink if you like. Top each cupcake with a peeled grapefruit slice or segment.

Orange Cake – This is a perfect dessert for summer parties, or as a birthday cake for someone that loves citrus. Blend a cake mix using fresh juice from Florida oranges, add half and half or milk instead of water and a few tablespoons of orange zest and lemon zest. When the cake is cool frost it with a frosting made from confection sugar, white chocolate, fresh Florida orange juice and lemon zest. Top the cake with candied orange segments or candied orange and lemon peel to add color and sweetness.

Taste the Sunshine with Hale Groves

At Hale Groves, we believe the best gifts come from the land, not a factory. For generations, our fruit has been grown slowly under the Florida sun, picked at its peak, and delivered fresh to your door. From sweet Navel Oranges to rare Honeybells, every gift shares the simple joy of real flavor—perfect for holidays, milestones, or everyday moments worth celebrating.

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