Apple Crumble

This is dessert is free of concentrated sweeteners and a great way to use up some excess apples. It also makes for a great breakfast!

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 5 apples, chopped  and cored (leave skin on)

• 1 bunch rhubard, chopped (discard green leaves)

• 2 star anise or 1 drop Young Living clove essential oil 

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder or 1 drop Young Living cinnamon bark oil

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or 1 drop Young Living nutmeg oil

• 4 tablespoon coconut oil or butter
  

Crumble topping:

• 7 medjool dates (approx 160g), seeds removed

• 3/4 cup (90g) desiccated coconut

• 100g frozen butter, roughly chopped

• 3/4 cup (130g) activated nuts of choice eg almonds, hazelnuts, macadamias

• 1/3 cup (65g) activated cinnamon buckwheat
  

Directions:

1. Melt coconut oil or butter in a large frying pan or cast iron pot. Add rest of filling ingredients and cook on low heat, covered, until fruit is soft, stirring occasionally. Remove star anise. Add cooked fruit mixture to a large rectangular oven proof dish. 

2. To make crumble, process or pulse ingredients in food processor until it resembles a coarse crumbly mixture (Thermomix speed 9, 5 seconds).

3. Spread crumble mixture on top of fruit mixture and bake at 120 degrees Celsius for approximately 30 minutes. 

4. Serve with cream, cream fraiche or home made vanilla or macadamia nut ice-cream. 
   

Variations:

• Add 2 teaspoons of raw cacao powder to filling ingredients for a hint of chocolate.

• Substitute or include pears in the fruit filling.

• Add 1 drop of Young Living lime and/or cardamom essential oils for a more exotic flavour.
  

Any left over crumble mixture can be made into biscuits by adding the mixture to a food processor together with 1 egg and processing until well combined. Roll  into small balls and pressed down on a baking tray and bake at 180C for 20 minutes or until golden brown. In fact I typically make double the amount of crumble so that I have enough leftover to make a good sized batch of biscuits. 

Vasilopita Recipe (Greek New Years Eve cake)

This classic Greek cake is traditionally served on New Years day. It contains a hidden gold coin in it and tradition has it that whoever finds the coin has a year of good luck ahead!

I put my wholefoods spin on this recipe by making it gluten free and refined sugar free. I hope you enjoy it…and good luck in finding the coin! 

Prep time for 1 cake: 15 minutes 

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Cake ingredients:

• 6 eggs

• 250g activated almonds

• ½ cup (160g) raw honey

• 125g extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

• Zest of one lemon

• Zest and flesh of one orange

• 10 drops of Young Living orange essential oil
  

Orange syrup:

• Juice of one orange

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 120 degrees fan forced. 

2. Line a cake tin with removeable base with baking paper (a long strip of baking paper around the sides of the tin and a circular piece on the base. I draw a circle around the tin on a sheet of baking paper (preferably unbleached) and cut it out. Use a little olive oil on the sides and base of the tin to stick the paper down).

3. Grind up the activated almonds in a nut/spice/coffee grinder or Theromix (speed 6 for 15 seconds) and put aside the almond meal into a bowl until ready to use.

4. Process eggs in food processor/Thermomix until colour changes to white (this will take approximately 3 minutes). If using a Thermomix use the butterfly setting for 3-5 minutes on speed 6 (although I’ve done it without the butterfly setting and it turns out just as fine). 

5. Add into the bowl of your food processor the rest of the cake ingredients and process until well combined.

6. Pour the cake mixture into a cake tin and throw into the mixture a gold coin wrapped in baking paper (baking paper is more natural/healthier than the aluminium foil that is typically used). 

7. Bake at 120 degrees Celsius for 1 hour or until such time as a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 

8. To make the orange syrup process the 2 syrup ingredients together until well combined (I do this just before the cake is cooked).

9. Immediately after cake is cooked and while still in the tin, prick top of cake with a fork or skewer multiple times and pour over the cake the orange syrup to allow syrup to absorb into cake. Take the cake out of the tin when cooled. Remove the ring then carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter with a large metal spatula.  

10. Decorate with a sprinkling of desiccated coconut.

11. Cut cake into a cross then cut each of the quarters into half to serve 8.
    

NOTES:

Only 1 batch will fit into food processor at a time. If making 2 cakes, don’t put 2 batches into food processor. Process each batch separately and pour into 2 separate tins. Put the first cake on a plate until the second cake is made in case there is any seepage from the cake tin onto your bench. Add an extra 15 minutes of cooking time.  If wanting to make a double cake in one tin (for double height), process each batch separately in food processor and pour into 1 cake tin (this will take more time – approx. 15 minutes- to cook). 

This cake keeps for 1-2 days outside the fridge depending on the weather (and 3-4 days in the fridge).

Salted Caramel Tart

This is my original grain-free/gluten-free recipe made with truckloads of dairy (butter and cream) so apologies to my dairy-free friends. Those lucky enough to enjoy and tolerate butter and cream can revel in that perfect balance of cream, butter and maple syrup that makes for a divine caramel – one of the most tantalising taste sensations on the planet. Making this recipe to just lick the spatula is worth it alone. The gelatin powder holds the mixture together. Only a few ingredients go into making the filling but because they are so nutrient-dense (assuming quality ingredients are used) a teeny slice of this tart goes a very long way. It is extremely satiating! So pace yourself as you will live to regret it later! I prefer to make this with just the filling without the crust base (it’s so much quicker and easier, and for me the filling is where all the glamour is anyway). But I include the ingredients and directions for a gluten-free crust base if you want to consume as (or impress someone with) a complete tart - base and all. 

Crust Base Ingredients:

180g flaked, shredded or desiccated coconut
180g dried figs (rehydrate for several hours or overnight in water to bring them back to wholefoods, then snip off hard ends)
OR 180g medjool dates (approx 8-9 dates. Weigh with seeds in, then remove)
4 egg whites (reserve the egg yolks for scrambled eggs, omelettes or mayo)
pinch of unrefined salt
1 tablespoon (20g) coconut oil or butter

Filling Ingredients:

½ tsp unrefined salt (e.g. Himalayan salt, sea salt, Murray River lake salt)
500g organic butter
400ml organic cream
¾ cup (240g) maple syrup (or other natural sweetener of choice)
1 tablespoon grass fed beef gelatin (I use GelPro gelatin powder sold at Broth Bar & Larder) 

Decorating Ingredients (optional):

A swirl of quality melted raw dark chocolate or a scattering of raw cacao nibs

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Directions to make the crust base:

1. Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius fan forced.

2. Grease a round 25cm pie dish with olive oil, coconut oil or butter. 

3. Process the ingredients together in a food processor until they reach a crumbly consistency.

4. Press the shell mixture into the pie dish to evenly cover the base and the sides.

5. Bake in oven at 120 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes if using dates, or 60 minutes if using figs, or until golden brown and slightly crispy.

6. Store in fridge until ready to pour in the filling.

Hot Tip! When taking the shell out of the oven be careful not to touch the shell as it may crumble and break. Grab the pie dish not the shell!

Directions to make the filling:

1. Gently heat all of the ingredients except gelatin powder in a saucepan until warm. Slowly add in the gelatin powder whisking constantly until all of the gelatin is fully dissolved. Do not allow to boil. 

2. Pour into round tart dish either directly or into the crust base. Remove any surface bubbles with a spatula. 

3. Refrigerate until set.

4. Decorate as desired. 

5. Keeps for a few days in fridge. 
   

Serves 12. 

CHOCOLATE SALTED CARAMEL VERSION

For a chocolate version, increase the gelatin powder to 2 tablespoons and add 80g of raw cacao powder into the saucepan