Following the success of her debut cookbook, Susan Jane White is back with The Virtuous Tart, a brand new collection of guilt-free recipes, ranging from saintly treats to born-again truffles. There is also advice on wholesome alternatives to refined white sugar – such as coconut sugar, date and maple syrup, and raw honey – as well as how to use superfood flours like quinoa and teff.

“I eat sweet treats every day,” says Susan Jane. “I’m not interested in denial – that’s never worked for me. I prefer to embrace my pesky sugar cravings and turn them into a nutritional hit. Think of it as alchemy.”

Banoffee mess

Serves six

Sleep deprivation is the latest tax to hit us. Quite apart from nights lost to insatiable Visa bills and episodes of The Killing, everyone seems to be having babies. Look out for dazed brethren roaming our office corridors and streets. Should you spot one, approach with caution and slip them a copy of this recipe.

The key to optimising your chances of a smooth trip to Slumberville is replenishing your reserves of zinc and vitamin B6 in your diet. So who would have thought that a twist on the classic banoffee pie could help? Bananas contain vitamin B6 and the mineral zinc can be sourced from the pecans in this recipe. I recommend investing in some quality time with these foods before booking into a fancy hypnosis centre or resorting to Celine Dion’s greatest hits.

1 1/2 cups (210g) regular pitted dates

1/2 cup (140g) cashew nut butter

3 tablespoons lúcuma powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon unscented coconut oil

Good pinch of sea salt flakes

1 cup (250g) regular or coconut milk yoghurt

3 bananas, sliced

4 squares of dark chocolate

Toasted pecans

1 Cover the dates with a little water in a small saucepan and boil for 10 minutes. Whip in a food processor with the cashew nut butter, lúcuma or vanilla, coconut oil and a good pinch of sea salt until seriously smooth. Allow to cool down before you judge. At this stage, it won’t taste or smell like caramel.

2 Scoop some yoghurt into six little pots. Add a few slices of fresh banana, followed by a glossy kiss of the caramel. Top with optional shavings of dark chocolate if you have some. No biggie if not. Toasted pecans scattered on top give a great crunch.

3 Serve to unsuspecting guests and see if they notice the difference.

Brainiac Brownies

Makes 24 brownies

When you need to supercharge your poker skills, try chia. These seeds have finally become mainstream in Ireland, having enjoyed some spectacular adulation across the Atlantic. Everyone is tapping into chia mania. Seems like a much more seductive way to get those brain-pumping omega-3s than having to neck fish oil.

2/3 cup (160ml) almond or other milk

3 tablespoons milled chia seeds

1 block (200g) creamed coconut

225g 70–85% dark chocolate

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups (210g) coconut sugar

1 cup (100g) ground almonds

2 teaspoons baking powder

Good pinch of sea salt flakes

1 First up, make a chia egg by mixing together the almond milk and milled chia seeds in a small bowl. It needs to soak for about 20 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F. Line a 20cm x 25cm tin with If You Care brand baking parchment to avoid mess and disappointment.

3 In the meantime, slowly melt the solid block of coconut cream (including the oil on top of the block) with 200g of the dark chocolate in a small saucepan.

4 In a large bowl, beat the eggs and coconut sugar together until frothy. Stir through the ground almonds and baking powder. Chop up the remaining 25g of chocolate and add it in. Now let the chocolate coconut ganache party with the batter.

5 Finally, drop in your chia egg and a pinch of sea salt flakes. Spoon this glossy gorgeousness into the lined tin. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until you see cracks along the top. Allow to cool in the tin. Best served chilled, when they’ve had a chance to get fudgy.

Poached pears with star anise

Serves four to eight

Promises to leave an indelible dance on your tongue.

Just over 1 3/4 cups (450ml) red wine

Juice of 1 orange

3 tablespoons maple or brown rice syrup

2 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

4 firm, ripe pears

Coconut milk yoghurt or Greek yoghurt, to serve

1 Bring the red wine, orange juice and your chosen syrup to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Add the cloves, cinnamon stick and star anise. Let it simmer for five minutes while you peel the pears. I like to leave the stem intact and slice the bottom of the pears to create a flat bottom. Gently place the peeled pears in your poaching liquid, cover the pan and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender. It’s useful to turn the pears every so often to ensure they poach evenly.

2 Remove the saucepan from the heat, uncover and delicately take the pears out. Now reduce the poaching liquid over a medium-high heat for 25 minutes, until the liquid is more viscous and slightly syrupy.

3 Chill in the fridge for a few days or serve the pears straight away on individual plates, drizzled with the licky-sticky poaching liquid. (You could cut large pears in half to serve eight.) A dollop of coconut milk yoghurt takes the dish up an octave.