Decadent chocolate cake is normally the kind of dessert that dietitians urge you to stay away from, especially if you’re someone with diabetes.

But the latest Bermuda Diabetes Association recipe calender looks to show people they can still indulge their sweet tooth within moderation.

A delicious chocolate cake with almonds, lemon raspberry bars and a dessert pizza topped with cream cheese, yoghurt and fresh fruit are all recipes on offer in this year’s calendar, currently available at locations Island-wide.

Dietitian Courtney Minors, from the Bermuda Diabetes Centre, said they received a lot of positive feedback from the public after last year’s calendar.

“The people we heard from had really good success with the calendar and some people had mentioned about having some additional dessert recipes in there, so we tried to incorporate some more sweet things along with the savoury.”

The Decadent Chocolate Almond Cake uses agave nectar, which happens to keep the dessert sweet, while drastically reducing the amount of sugar needed.

It also features orange zest and sliced almonds on top, which adds different textures and flavours so the palate is still intrigued.

“With agave you can pretty much use 1/3 of the requirement compared to the amount of sugar you would normally use,” Ms Minors said. “So if the recipe calls for a cup of sugar you can substitute that for 1/3 a cup of agave nectar.

“The agave is also a low glycemic food product which means for someone with diabetes or anyone it doesn’t spike your sugar as quickly as something like brown sugar or white sugar would.”

Ms Minors said people, especially diabetics, needed to limit the amount of sugar they consumed to avoid a spike in the blood sugar and remain in a normal blood sugar range.

But she stressed that the recipe still included flour, which is a starch and will convert to sugar once someone eats it.

“The most important thing about the recipes in the calendar is to pay attention to the portion guide we suggest, which is still a generous slice,” she said. “But this cake recipe is a lot healthier than if you had a regular chocolate cake with icing — that would have a lot more sugar compared to this one per serving.”

The calendar also features healthy dinner recipes and a few traditional Island favourites.

There’s a recipe for a fish curry, a spicy tofu and three pepper stir fry and kale soup.

There are also a couple of salad options, a recipe for a chicken mushroom burger and a “really healthy” spaghetti and meat sauce.

Bermudian dishes like codfish cakes and an “untraditional [meatless] Farine pie with a Farine pie taste” are also on offer.

Ms Minors said the recipes proved that it’s possible for food to taste good without using too much sugar and salt.

“These are all healthy, yummy, delicious recipes. They are heart healthy and also diabetes friendly but just really good and clean food,” she said.

“They have been tested and analysed by myself and Jessica Wade, we are both dietitians here at the Diabetes Centre.”

The calendar, $15, is available at both the Diabetes Resource Centre on Dundonald Street in Hamilton and the Bermuda Diabetes Centre, located on the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute compound.

For details on other locations where the calendar is being sold visit www.diabetes.bm; people can also check out the Bermuda Diabetes Association Facebook page as well.