You know when sometimes you get those cravings when you know you want to eat something really good, but you’re not sure what to go for? Yeah, I get those quite often (especially on the weekends). So yesterday we went food shopping for the week and while my shopping list had items like spinach, oranges, celery and kale written on it, I kept thinking about something else. In my mind, I went something like this: “hmmm… I think I want some chocolate….. no..not chocolate….cookies? No… ice cream? Maybe we should get some pretzels? Naaah… how about caramel popcorn?” You can only imagine Mark’s frustration when I said to him -“I really want something sweet or salty.” Mark-“So get yourself something.” My response: “But, but….. I really don’t know what I waaaaaannntt”.
We did end up buying some gelato, but that wasn’t good enough for me. I decided to try to make something that will be a bit of a guilt-free treat. As a kid I used to love all sorts of apple desserts and cakes, but the apple crisp cake was always my favorite. I decided to make something that will be similar in taste, but a bit more healthy. Instead of all-purpose flour I used almond meal and I also used coconut oil in place of butter/margarine.
Almond Meal Apple Crisp
5 small apples, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
6 tablespoons of brown sugar (divided into two 3 tbsp portions)
2 cups of almond meal (ground almonds)
4 tablespoons of chilled coconut oil
Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Mix the apple slices, cinnamon, nutmeg and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar until evenly coated and place in an oven-proof dish or few small ramekin dishes. Mix the remaining ingredients until the texture becomes crumbly and top the apples with the mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the topping turns golden-brown. Let it cool for a minute or two before serving.
I topped mine off with some Talenti Raspberry & Cream gelato-only the best gelato, like, ever, made with super fresh ingredients.
Just in case you were wondering, yes, that did hit the spot :) .