No-sugar vegan tarte tartin

 

No-sugar vegan tarte tartin
 
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Apple desserts are my favorite. This one is so super sweet, you won't miss the sugar for a moment.
Ingredients
  • 6 small apples, cored, peeled and cut into 16 pieces each
  • ¼ cup of cold-pressed corn, safflower or sunflower oil (corn oil will give a sweeter result)
  • ½ cup of brown rice malt
  • ⅛ cup of apple juice concentrate
  • a pinch each of sea salt and ground cinnamon
  • 1 tblsp vanilla essence
  • 350 gram packet of ready-rolled puff pastry (look for a vegan and sugar-free brand)
Preparation
  1. Preheat the oven to 190.
  2. Combine the oil, rice malt, apple juice concentrate, sea salt and cinnamon in an ovenproof pan, and put over a low heat. After around 5-10 minutes, the mixture will start to thicken and bubble, taking the consistency of toffee. Stir the apples in and cook until they just start to soften. Stir the vanilla in, and take off the heat.
  3. Arrange the apple pieces in the pan so they lie flat (use a wooden spoon to avoid burning your fingers), and lay the pastry over the top of the apples, tucking in the sides.
  5. Put into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the crust is golden.
  6. While still hot (before the sauce cools down), place your serving dish on top of your pan, cover both forearms with tea towels (for protection, in case of spillage), and then quickly turn the pan upside down and onto the serving dish. Gently tap the bottom of the pan and voilà! your tarte tatin is served.
  7. Serve with coconut milk or cream.

 

Mini filo apple pies

 
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I created these to fulfil the only McDonald's craving I ever get: apple pies. These pies are all about the luscious apple filling. So healthy, you're forgiven for eating three before they've cooled down!
Ingredients
  • 10 small apple pies
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp apple juice concentrate
  • Small handful of sultanas
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • ½ cup water
  • 300 grams filo pastry (if you search, you can find filo without sugar)
Preparation
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees.
  2. Combine all ingredients (except the filo) in a large pot on the stove and cook over a low heat until the apples are just tender. Don't worry if the mixture seems dry, the juice from the apples will come out as they cook. Strain the mixture and set aside.
  3. Lay the filo sheets out flat and keep inside a towel to stop the pastry drying out.
  4. Set up your pie-making station: put an oiled, non-stick surface for making your pies in the centre, a shallow dish of olive oil to the side, drained pie filling to the other, and the towel-covered pastry on top.
  5. To make each pie: make a double-layered strip of pastry around 4 inches wide and oil both sides (dip your fingers in the oil and transfer to the pastry), then place a tablespoon of the mixture in a corner of the pastry strip and fold over into a triangle shape (see picture below). Dip your fingers in the oil again and smooth some oil over the pastry, and fold the pastry over again - and again, until you're left with a neat triangle shaped pastry. As you fold the pastry, stuff some extra apple pieces into the mixture if there is space. Put onto a tray covered in grease-proof baking paper and coat the pastry with more oil; the more oil, the crispier the pastry (I like mine less oily for everyday, but if I'm making these as a dessert then I'll use more oil throughout the process and add another layer or so of pastry). You'll end up with around 12 pastries.
  7. Bake at 160 degrees until golden, turning over half-way through baking. Cool on racks and enjoy hot or cold.

 

Lazy vegan scones with balsamic strawberries

 

Lazy vegan scones with balsamic strawberries
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 cups of wholemeal spelt flour
  • 3 tsps of baking powder
  • 1 pinch of sea salt
  • 3½ tblsps of cold pressed oil (I like safflower or sunflower for the bonus nutrients, but olive oil is fine too)
  • 5 tblsps of brown rice malt (add more if you have a sweet tooth, but then reduce the volume of milk)
  • 100 mls of rice milk (I prefer rice milk for its sweetness, but soy works too)
  • 1 large punt of strawberries
  • A drizzle each of balsamic vinegar and brown rice malt.
  • 1 can soya spray cream
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 220 C
  2. In a large mixing bowl, use your fingers to break up the baking powder and sea salt, and add to the flour. Then, rather than sifting (these are lazy scones after all), gently whisk the dry ingredients to combine.
  3. In a small pan, add the oil and rice malt, stirring with a fork, and gently heat. The aim is to melt the malt into the oil for easier mixing, so be sure to take the pan off the heat well before the rice malt bubbles.
  4. Using a fork, stir the oil and rice malt mixture into the dry ingredients, adding the milk as you go, until the dough is pliable but not too sticky. You might need to add a little extra flour or reserve some of the milk.
  5. Turn the dough onto a sheet of grease-proof paper and lightly knead. Put another piece of grease-proof paper on top and roll the dough out to approximately 2 cms thick. Cut into 4-5 cm wide circles and place on a baking sheet.
  6. Bake for approximately 9 minutes or until golden.
  7. While the scones are baking, prepare your strawberries: simply slice your berries into a bowl, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and rice malt, lightly stir and let sit.
  8. Serve your scones with the balsamic strawberries and soya spray cream (raspberries and other berries optional).