Grain Free Apple Nutmeg Custard Cake

With autumn upon us here in our corner of Ontario, it is only fitting that my first post of the season would showcase the delightful fall apple.

As much as I love the alluring pairing of apples and cinnamon, I was going for something different here, using freshly grated nutmeg as the showcased spice. It lends a warming flavor that marries beautifully with the custardy texture of this cake. I always keep a few nutmegs in a jar with my spices, and use my kitchen rasp to grate them. Fresh nutmeg has a stronger flavor and aroma than its pre-ground counterpart, and with the help of the rasp, just as convenient. Kept in an airtight container, it will store indefinitely, giving you aromatic fresh nutmeg in a few quick slides on a rasp.  

This cake bakes up moist and lovely, and is the perfect dessert for your thanksgiving feast or any cool fall evening where a slice of comfort is in order. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a warm cup of chai J

Grain Free Apple Nutmeg Custard Cake

7 cups peeled and sliced apples (mine were not large, I used 9 altogether, a combo of Sunrise and Galas…but any cooking apple would do)

Softened Butter for greasing pan

4 eggs

¼ cup coconut flour

½ cup almond flour

¼ cup arrowroot

1/3 cup coconut sugar

½ cup milk or alternative of choice

¼ cup softened coconut oil

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar

½ tsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

¾ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Grease a 9” spring-form pan and fill with peeled and sliced apples. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Measure all other ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and mix well with an immersion blender. Scrape sides as necessary to incorporate all ingredients. Batter should be just a tiny bit thinner than a pancake batter.

Pour batter evenly over prepared apples in pan. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until cake feels firm to the touch in the center and it is nice and evenly browned.

Remove from oven, run a knife around the edge and release the spring-form outer pan. Let cool on wire rack until room temperature. Serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Mini Grain Free Apple Cobbler

I whipped these delicious little yummies together for dessert tonight, and I am quite pleased with how they turned out. A bit more like a cobbler than the mini-pies I was originally aiming for, the results were still scrumptious, and worthy of a share.  They are gluten and grain free, and could be dairy free as well if you sub out the butter for an equal amount of coconut oil. Serve with a scoop of your favourite vanilla ice cream and they are the perfect serving of comfort in a dish.

Mini Grain Free Apple Cobblers

Filling:

6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced  (I used Gala’s)

2 Tbsp Coconut sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

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Batter:

2 eggs

1/3 cup coconut sugar

½ cup almond flour (JK Gourmet brand is nice and fine)

2 tbsp coconut flour

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

¼ cup butter, softened (or sub coconut oil to keep dairy free!)

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375F

Toss apple slices with the first amounts of coconut sugar and cinnamon. Fill 8 ramekins (mine hold 2/3 of a cup when right full) Set aside.

Measure all batter ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl until you have a nice smooth batter. 

Divide evenly between the 8 ramekins, and smooth with a spatula.

Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until apples are nicely softened. The batter should be firm to the touch and starting to brown around the edges.

Serve warm, with a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream if desired.

Grain Free Apple Butter Walnut Cake

I realized today that it has been close to forever since I have posted a new recipe! This seems to happen a lot when I am planning new cooking classes for work. All of my energy and creativity goes into the new recipes for the class, and you, my poor loyal blog fans, are left so deprived!  It is also the beginning of gardening season in southern Ontario where we live, and being an avid gardener, my priorities have definitely been focused elsewhere for the last month or so. Enough with the excuses though, however good they are! I am fixing it here and now, before another minute goes by! 

I made this cake this afternoon, while doing another test run of a new grain free bread recipe that is very (very!)  promising. (I did have some gardening to do but mother nature was not cooperating, so I opted to stay inside!) Both recipes turned out well, but the bread has a few minor issues that I still want to tweak before I post it. (I have to tell you, though, that it stays soft, it slices thin, and lasts for a few days wonderfully as the recipe stands right now…but I will save the rest for another post! It will be worth waiting for, trust me!)

Now, back to the cake! I was initially aiming for something close to a cinnamon bun flavored cake (because grain free dough does not like to roll up!)  But, when I was getting the eggs out of the fridge, the jar of apple butter was staring at me with such aplomb that I knew it wanted to be a part of the cake. Apple butter, in my humble opinion, is such an under-utilized ingredient in the kitchen. It has a much more concentrated apple flavour than applesauce, and lends itself to many different uses in the kitchen. I have made a killer salad dressing, a marinade, and now this lovely cake, all with fantastic results.   Be sure to buy one that has no added sugars, the apples are sweet enough on their own. (Eden makes a lovely one, I highly recommend it!) It would also be divine on a slice of my new grain free bread, toasted, with a slathering of butter…just sayin…

Grain Free Apple Butter Walnut Cake

Batter:

5 eggs

½ cup coconut flour

1/3 cup arrowroot starch/flour

¼ cup chickpea flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar

½ tsp salt

1/3 cup coconut sugar

1/3 cup kefir, yogurt or non dairy alternative like cultured coconut yogurt

¼ cup melted coconut oil

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Topping ingredients:

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup apple butter

2 Tbsp coconut oil

2 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup coconut sugar

Preheat oven to 350F

Line an 8x8 glass baking pan with parchment or grease well.  Set aside.

Measure all of the batter ingredients into a medium to large mixing bowl. Using an immersion blender, (or a whisk and lots of elbow grease) mix until very well combined and smooth.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and set aside.

Using  the same bowl, measure the topping ingredients and mix well to combine. Drop spoonfuls of topping evenly around the top of the batter, giving a swirl with a knife to distribute it slightly.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out just clean.

Remove from oven and cool before cutting and serving. 

Apple Nachos

I made this  to take to one of my nephews birthday gathering. Tasty, quick, and even (kind of) healthy! Recipe inspiration came from here:  http://www.greenplaterule.com/recipes/apple-nachos-enjoy-life-seed-and-fruit-review/. The Enjoy Life Not Nuts Seed And Fruit Mix (Mountain Mambo) suggested in the recipe was the perfect topping, because my nephew has a nut allergy, and these are nut free! One 46 g package was the ideal amount, and I happened to have some of them in my kitchen. If you cannot find this mix, it would be easy to throw together a similar mix of your own…I have listed some suggestions below.

Apple Nachos

6 apples (I used 4 Granny Smith and 2 Galas)

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

½ cup water

1/3 cup chocolate chips

3 Tbsp cream (or enough to make your chocolate chip mixture able to drizzle)

1 -46 g pkg Enjoy Life not nuts seed and fruit mix (Mountain Mambo)

OR:

1/3 cup total of your choice of a mixture of any of these ingredients you choose: chopped walnuts, pecans, peanuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, dried apples, dried apricots, coconut flakes etc)

Core the apples and slice into wedges, depending on your apple size you should get 16-20 slices per apple.

Mix together the lemon juice and water in a bowl, and dip all of the apple slices in the lemon juice.(this will stop the apple slices from browning) Let drain for a minute or two, and then lay out on a paper towel or tea towel, in a single layer, and blot with another towel, to remove any excess moisture. You want the slices dry so that your toppings will adhere, and not just run all over your plate!

Arrange 1/2 of the apples in a fairly thin layer on a serving tray and set aside.

In a heat proof bowl over boiling water, melt the chocolate chips and the cream until they make a smooth sauce, thin enough to drizzle, but not too thin.

Drizzle 1/2 of the sauce over apples and top with 1/2 of the Nut/Fruit mix or the mix of your choice.

Repeat with remaining apples, sauce and toppings.

Let cool in the fridge for approx 1 hr to let the chocolate set.

Serve chilled!