baked vanilla yogurt with rhubarb & blueberries

This post is practically a public service announcement. I can't tell you how yummy this stuff is!! Really - you have to try it and then you'll understand. No words. Just yummy, creamy, mellow, smoothness with a touch of vanilla. Best thing ever at the end of a hot day. Even better than ice cream. We had ours with a spoonful of rhubarb compote and a sprinkle of blueberries but whatever fruit is in the garden or catches your eye at the market would absolutely have to be amazing.

You do have to turn the oven on (low) and there is real sugar and cream in this but on both counts it is worth it. Super simple this is just equal parts of heavy cream, plain yogurt (I used Greek) and sweetened condensed milk. How can this be anything but crazy good in your mouth when those are the parts? But trust me, as good as those parts are, the sum of them is even better.

I cannot give credit for the recipe because I read it quickly one day a couple of months ago and try as I might I could not find it again (one of the woes of all the info we have at our fingertips). I do apologize. To be honest I am not entirely certain the way I made it is the way I read it but whatever the case, it worked.

baked vanilla yogurt with rhubarb & blueberries

1 1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (this is the same as one can)

1 vanilla bean

Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the yogurt in a small bowl. Whisk together until there are no clumps of seeds. Add the heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk together. 

Pour the mixture into  six ramekins and set the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees F for 20 minutes. The yogurt will be set at this point. Turn the oven off, leave the yogurts in the oven to cool there. After an hour or two, remove them from the oven and refrigerate until cold. Serve with rhubarb and fresh blueberries - or whatever your heart desires.

rhubarb compote:

3 cups diced rhubarb

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup honey

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Put the rhubarb and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook until the rhubarb is tender - about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the honey and vanilla. 

(One of my very favourite treats is cold rhubarb compote with some greek yogurt and honey. Easy and fast. Just so you know.)

darkest chocolate ice cream

refined-sugar free

Yesterday was Thomas's 31st birthday. The heavy, dark sky looked so much like the sky the day Thomas was born - and neither in any way reflect the brightness of my middle son. He came with an intense, concentrated wonderfulness. An independence of spirit that has been nicely balanced with warmth and awareness of others. He has grown into a most interesting man with a multitude of talents and interests. I am always impressed. Honestly. Currently he is passionate about axes (of all things!) and wood - making the coolest (truly uber-coolest) tools, sculpture and even furniture. What a guy!

Usually we have a family birthday dinner for each family member here, at our house, but this year Thomas and Hannah invited us to their home for the celebration. All Thomas asked me to bring was some homemade dark chocolate ice cream. Easy and fun.

I have pinned a bunch of ice cream recipes that look so tempting but in the end I turned to my very favourite book of ice cream recipes jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer. Billed as "more than 100 addictively good artisanal recipes" I was hooked without a hope as soon as I saw the book - I mean 'addictive' and 'artisanal' and 'ice cream'?!! - I didn't have a chance. Having made a good start on testing the truth of the claim my advice is to buy the book. Anyway, I started with her recipe for The Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World. Totally promising and it delivered. Thomas declared it the best ice cream he has ever had. He may have just been polite but I thought it was pretty good too.

Of course, I had to tinker with the recipe somewhat so that Eden could indulge with the rest of the famille - all of us are better without refined-sugar and the ice cream was none-the-worse for the change. We are not coffee drinkers so I used a tiny bit of my precious store of "Postum" in place of the coffee called for. Sadly Postum is no longer available but if you can lay your hands on a bag of "Dandy Blend" (and don't want to use coffee for whatever reason) my bet is that it would be even better than the Postum substitute - the addition is subtle but important. I made a few other small changes because I felt like it. Use my adapted recipe or the original but you gotta try this - rich but not cloying - it is ice cream for adult palates.

Of course, it should go without saying but I'll point it out anyway, use the best cocoa and chocolate you can manage. It is worth it.

darkest chocolate ice cream
(adapted from jeni's splendid ice creams at home by Jeni Britton Bauer)

1/2 cup good quality cocoa (not dutch process)
1/2 cup water with 1 tsp Dandy Blend dissolved
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 10 oz can whole condensed milk
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup honey

Start by making a chocolate syrup: combine the cocoa, coconut palm sugar and the Dandy Blend/water mixture in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring and boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, add the chopped chocolate and let stand for a few minutes. Stir until smooth and set aside.

Mix about 2 Tbsp of the condensed milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Whisk the cream cheese and salt into the chocolate syrup.

Combine the remaining condensed milk, the coconut milk, cream, and honey in a large saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Replace on heat and bring back to a boil, and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened - about 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in the chocolate mixture until smooth. Cool completely. Follow the directions particular to your ice cream maker. (I use a Cuisinart electric freezer and love it.) After churning, pack into a container and freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm. About 4 hours.

fresh berry birthday tarte

There is a long tradition of non-traditional birthday 'cakes' in our family. We like cake but some of us just aren't cake people. That is to say nobody turns a piece of cake away but when asked for a preference cake rarely wins the day. So when I asked David what he would like for his birthday cake this year I didn't even blink an eye when he suggested fresh strawberry pie. (Actually the strawberry pie came in second after a request for a rhubarb pie but the spring has been late in arriving and my rhubarb is not yet ready for harvesting.)

I was all set to make the regulation fresh strawberry pie but you know, sometimes you just have to follow the urge when it hits and change things up a bit. I put away the lard and rolling pin, pulled out the butter and made a yummy sugar-cookie crust instead of a pastry shell. Lined that with a schmear of cream cheese and topped it all off with a pretty mix of sweet-tart blueberries and fragrant strawberries. I have to say it was pretty good - just not a good bed for a bunch of birthday candles .... but David was only too happy to forgo that tradition as well :)

I went a little bit crazy with this dessert and threw caution to the winds - I used plain old white sugar and white flour (gasp!!) in the cookie crust and white sugar in the glaze for the berries. Call me irresponsible but I rationalized it with the thought that it was an exception not the rule. Nevertheless I wanted to include Eden in celebrating and enjoying the whole meal so for her portion (needing to be gluten-free and refined sugar free) I lined a pretty bowl with the cream cheese mixture, topped that with beautiful, clean berries, and topped the lot with a soft spoonful of whipped cream. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?!

fresh berry birthday tarte

For the crust:
10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

In a medium bowl combine the melted butter, salt, vanilla, and sugar. Whisk the flour and baking powder together and add to the butter mixture, mixing just until well blended. It will be really soft but don't worry, just dump the lot into a 10" tarte pan and press it evenly across the bottom with your fingers. As the butter cools it firms up nicely. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is a beautiful warm gold. Don't underbake or it will taste doughy instead of being deliciously crisp. Cool completely on a wire rack before assembling the tarte.

For the filling:
5 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 250 gm package of cream cheese
4 Tbsp honey

To make the glaze for the berries process 1 1/2 cups of the strawberries with the water in a blender until smooth. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan; stir in the strawberry mixture and cook, stirring, over medium heat until thickened. Cook and stir for another minute. Remove form heat and let cool without stirring for 15 minutes.

Beat the cream cheese and honey together until light and smooth.

To assemble the tarte:
Spread the cream cheese/honey mixture evenly over the cookie crust.

Gently fold the remaining strawberries and 2 cups of the blueberries into the cooled glaze. Top the cream cheese layer with the berry mixture. Sprinkle the remaining blueberries over the top. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Top with softly whipped fresh heavy cream.

six threes ice cream

At the start of this Mother's Day I had thought to write a post about the mothers in my life - my grandmothers, my mother, my mother-in-law. My daughters. To record some of the ways their influence has shaped my own choices as a mother, my life as a woman. The post was quite well formed in my mind this morning but just now the thing I want most to share is this ice cream. I want to share it today because like families the wonderfulness is much more than the sum of parts, the goodness is in fact multiplied. The recipe is an old one - I got it from my mother's cousin years and years ago. When she passed it on she told me it was an old pioneer recipe that had been in her husband's family forever. Like the best old recipes it is so simple that you don't need to write it down, the whole thing is right there in the name. Six threes - 6 sets of three ingredients. Nothing exotic just oranges, lemons, bananas,  milk, cream, and honey. Pure, simple, goodness. Just like family.

We had the whole crew here today - once again everyone but Jonathon (that distance thing sure gets in the way of his joining our Sunday/special day dinners) together to celebrate. It was a noisy, crazy, wonderful affair. The men pretty much took care of our Mother's Day dinner but I made the dessert. In an effort to make something that ALL the mothers around the table could eat I chose this ice cream and subbed honey for the sugar in the original recipe, totally forgetting that the bananas in the ice cream put it on the "no" list for Eden. So sad. Gluten-free, refined sugar free but not banana free.

Isaac enjoyed it for her. He was absolutely focused on getting the ice cream in - no sacrifice of personal comfort was too great. When you are 18 months old getting most foods into your mouth on a spoon can be tricky, the quick-melting properties of homemade ice cream is a downright challenge. He tried using his spoon, his fingers, and in the end resorted to drinking the melted dregs straight from the bowl. And then, dripping ice cream, howled when it was gone. An adorable, sticky, mess.

This recipe is written for the old-fashioned hand crank ice cream freezers that can churn out a 4 litre batch. A Cuisinart freezer will nicely handle about half the batch. I tried to figure the best way to make a half batch but decided my best advice is to make the whole thing and freeze twice. Really, it is so good that it is well worth doing. It is incredibly good.

I replaced the original 3 cups sugar with 2 cups honey  - I know that upsets the beautiful symmetry but 3 cups of honey is way too much.

six threes ice cream

(a pioneer recipe)

3 cups heavy cream

3 cups milk

2 cups honey 

the juice of 3 oranges

the juice of 3 lemons

3 bananas, mashed

Whisk together the cream, milk and honey. Freeze until slushy then add the orange juice, lemon juice, and mashed bananas. Continue freezing according to the directions for your freezer.

honey lemon tart

gluten-free, refined sugar free

This is the tart that consumed me. The one I shelved in favour of a cherub with a braided crown. It is simple, simple, simple. Straight up fresh Meyer lemon fragrant wonderfulness.  The sunshine we crave at (what we hope is) the tail-end of winter ... although that is serious wishful thinking considering this is Calgary and it is still February. It has happened. Maybe once. I think.... 

But back to the tart. I adjusted the recipe to be refined sugar-free for the first try - we loved it with our whole hearts! I determined that I needed to make a gluten-free version so that Eden could share the delight. Turns out a good gluten-free tart shell is not as easy as one would hope. Part of the problem was that the first not-gluten-free tart shell was so very, very good - the bar was pretty high. Eden requested that I try a grain-free tart shell. That was try #2 and was super yummy but a bit .... ahhhmmm, not crisp. I used almond flour and coconut flour and those flours combined with the lemon made for tropical heaven. But not quite what I was hoping for in terms of bite. Nevertheless it was so good that I offer a coconut tart shell option in case you want to go that direction. The whole grain gluten-free tart shell is better in terms of texture and allows the lemon to really shine. Choose whichever you think you will prefer but seriously choose to make one. You will not regret the teeny, tiny bit of time and effort it takes. This is a really good return on investment.

I used coconut palm sugar along with the honey to sweeten the lemon filling. The only downside to that choice is it darkens the filling so it is not the bright, sunny yellow one expects. I also tried using only honey - delicious but the texture was not as smooth as I wanted so for the next and last try I went back to using a bit of coconut palm sugar. You will want to make absolutely certain that you have chased down every single lemon seed - one rogue seed will ruin this (bitter, bitter - in every sense).

honey lemon tart

(inspired by the Lazy Mary's Lemon tart from Food52)

1 large Meyer lemon (peel included), cut into eight pieces (check carefully for seeds)

1/2 cup coconut palm sugar

2/3 cup honey

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1/8 tsp sea salt

Put all ingredients into a blender and process on high until smooth. Pour into prepared tart shell. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.

gluten-free tart shell

1 cup whole grain gluten-free

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 large egg

2 Tbsp ice water

In a food processor pulse flour, salt and butter until mixture resembles fine meal. Whisk egg and water to combine and add to mixture in the food processor, then pulse until mixture holds together. If necessary add more water 1/2 tbsp at a time.

Press dough into greased tart shell.

coconut-almond flour tart shell

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup almond flour

2 Tbsp coconut oil

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 tsp coconut palm sugar

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 egg

1 Tbsp ice water

In a food processor pulse flours, salt, and coconut palm sugar a few times to combine. Add the unsalted butter and coconut oil pulsing until mixture is rough and pieces are irregular pea-sized clumps. Stir egg and water together. Add to mixture in food processor and pulse just until mixture holds together.

Press dough into greased tart shell.

mini pumpkin cheesecakes

In some families pumpkin pie is reserved, with love, for the Thanksgiving meal dessert. On the other end of the spectrum you have those who eat pumpkin pie nightly - or would - as long as long as it is 'in season'. My dad abominated pumpkin pie (I don't know!?) so I grew up in a family that absolutely never ate it. I married into a family that adores pumpkin pie. I guess my household falls somewhere in what I like to think of as a healthy middle ground. We enjoy a slice of the pie - or the many offspring and relatives of it - over much of the fall and winter, paying special attention at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This sweet little dessert is not a pumpkin pie. But it is undeniably related. Served in mini portions it is just perfect for filling up that empty spot that begs to be filled after a good meal leaving you comfortable but not tipped over into too full. You can feel reasonably noble as well - if you ignore the cream cheese and whipped cream - eating pumpkin and the healthy spices that dress it up. And it is just a little bite.

To make these gluten-free use a gluten-free ginger cookie for the crumb 'crust'. When I make it for our family I make some portions gf and the rest not. To distinguish one from the other I sprinkle a bit of the reserved crumbs on the top of the gf servings. This trick was born after I had made these and thought I would be able to tell the difference from the look of the crumbs. Couldn't really. 

mini pumpkin cheesecakes

16 ginger thins, crushed (I use Anna's)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin 
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
scant 1/8 tsp nutmeg
pinch of sea salt
1 cup whipping cream 

In a small bowl combine the melted butter with the crushed ginger thins. Divide the crumbs into the bottom of whatever you are using as serving 'dishes'. (I used tiny glasses this time and have used the 4 oz canning jars also - both look really sweet.) Set aside.

In another bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, honey and spices. Beat until creamy and smooth. Drop the mixture carefully on top of the crumbs, dividing evenly among the glasses.

Whip the cream and dress your little cheesecakes with a dollop of it. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (at least) before serving.

chocolate raspberry clafouti

I am taking a moment away from my Christmas making (back in my atelier and having a blast) because you need this pure and simple, fast and easy road to chocolate bliss. Add raspberries and freshly whipped cream. Sigh and eye-roll. Purrfect. 

This is easily made gluten-free by subbing gluten-free flour. It works equally well. Because I try to stay away from refined sugars I used demerara and muscovado sugars in place of granulated white and dark brown sugars. If raspberries are hard to find (or looking sad at the market) cranberries are an easy, yummy, seasonal substitution.

chocolate raspberry clafouti
(adapted from Gourmet)

3 cups fresh raspberries
1 Tbsp demerara sugar
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1/2 cup muscovado sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Toss the washed berries with demerara sugar and let stand for 15 minutes.

Combine the milk, melted butter, eggs, muscovado sugar, flour, cocoa powder, sea salt, and vanilla extract in a blender and process until smooth. Scatter the berries evenly in the buttered baking dish and pour the batter over top.

Bake until slightly puffed and firm to the touch - about 35 minutes. Immediately after removing from the oven sprinkle with chopped chocolate. Cool to warm and serve with a generous dollop of freshly whipped heavy cream.

chocolate pots

a la Meinhardt's

I have obsessed over the chocolate pots from Meinhardt's in Vancouver for a couple of years. When I am in Vancouver I always, always plan a visit (quick though it may be) to Meinhardt's and rarely leave the shop without a little chocolate pot in my bag. I have tried a number of times to make my own chocolate pots but although I have made some yummy chocolate stuff nothing has been quite right. Not, that is, until a couple of weeks ago. And having cracked the code it is crazy easy. I laugh at myself for all the involved and chocolate-rich options I tried. (To be honest I haven't compared the original to the reinvention, bite side-by bite but I am happy with this.)

A few good eggs, a touch of sweet, some good bittersweet chocolate - but not a lot - a dash of cream plus a little bit of time. mmmmmmmmmm

I have made this a number of times. It is equally good made with honey or sugar for sweetening. The honey is recognizable as such in the finished pudding but that's not a bad thing. Try it either way or both.

Since Jonathon first introduced me to the seduction of Meinhardt's little chocolate pots and then pushed me to try to "make it at home", this one is for him.

chocolate pots

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar (or 2 Tbsp honey)

a pinch of sea salt

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped very fine

1/2 cup heavy cream,whipped

Combine the egg yolks, sugar (or honey), and pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Whisk together over very low heat. VERY low heat because you don't want to cook the eggs, just warm things up enough to melt the chocolate that you have chopped very fine so that it will melt without requiring a lot of heat. Check the temp frequently to make sure that you are not, in fact, cooking anything and when it is just warm remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature - which won't take very long since it was never all that warm to begin with.

Meanwhile, whip the heavy to soft peaks. When the chocolate mixture has cooled sufficiently, add about half of the whipped cream and whisk to combine. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spoon into 4 small cups or bowls. Refrigerate until firm.

apple lunchbox yummies

I have almost worked my way through the apples from our apple tree. The basketful was a bit of a double-edged sword - lots of delicious little apples to use in yummy, yummy ways but keeping is a bit of an issue, so we have auditioned plenty of apple recipes in the last few weeks. This easy option is a keeper that keeps well. 

Most apple desserts don't travel particularly well so they are not great options for a lunchbox treat. This one works at home with a scoop of superior vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of the leftover salted caramel sauce (if you haven't eaten it by the spoonful or used it all as an apple dip) and is honestly equally delicious all by it's naked self, freshly unwrapped from a square of waxed paper straight out of a brown paper bag. This really tastes like apples, not caramel, not cinnamon, but apple. The crust is nice and crispy-crunchy, the inside moist and perfect. That's my take anyway.

This a twist on a recipe from my grandma Ina Merrill. She called it 'apple crunch' and we love it exactly the way she always made it. The only reason I played with the recipe was just to see if it could be made into something that travelled well and didn't need to be eaten with a spoon. A simple matter of increasing a bit of this and that (principally more butter and flour), and voila! a happy success. Once again, I don't peel the apples because I just don't - why throw away all that goodness? But if you are a person that dislikes apple peel in their desserts, peel away. The apple pieces should be fairly chunky - about 1/2" 'cubes' (but don't get bent out of shape making them terribly cubic)

apple lunchbox yummies

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup chopped pecans

5 small apples, cored and chopped (roughly 3 cups)

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a separate bowl beat together the brown sugar, melted butter, and egg until well-mixed and pale. Toss the apples with the dry ingredients, add the butter/sugar/egg mixture and stir gently until combined.

Spread the batter in a buttered 9x9-inch baking pan. Bake at 425 degrees F  for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

apple dumplings

My dad loved apple desserts and my mom enjoyed making them for him. The rest of us were grateful for that arrangement for obvious reasons. A few years ago my mom gave me the recipe card that my dad had written out for her with the recipe for apple dumplings. I treasure this card (and keep it on the bulletin board in my kitchen) because it so reminds me of him - his unique handwriting, the small joke, and of course the apple dumplings. The joke was on me when I made these dumplings the other day because in the course of shredding the apples I remodelled my thumb quite significantly and had the dickens of a time keeping my own red blood out of the filling! (I know, gross but true - maybe some day I will learn that rushing in the kitchen while trying to do three things at once is not terribly wise.) One of the things that I love about the recipe on the card is the abbreviated method - this is a simple dessert but not quite that intuitive! Old recipes are often written like though, with the assumption that all one needs is a reminder of what ingredients are required and everything is a go.

In the original recipe a whole peeled apple is wrapped in each square of dough, my mom's version uses grated or shredded apples liberally laced with cinnamon. We love it that way and I follow the family tradition. I know that the apples in the photo look like they have been sitting out far too long but really, under all the cinnamon they are wearing they are still fresh. My aunt once told my mom that if it isn't brown (re the cinnamon) it isn't Merrill. I added a little oil of cinnamon to the sauce and omitted the blood but other than that this is the recipe my dad copied for my mom. The red food coloring is optional but pretty.

After the encounter with a sharp blade I finished the apple shredding with my much-loved Kitchenaid food processor. I recommend using a food processor if you have one but if you don't, grate carefully. Digits are precious and I prefer mine as integers.

apple dumplings
(from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook circa 1955)

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 drops oil of cinnamon
2 drops red food coloring
3 Tbsp butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk

filling:
5 medium apples, cored and shredded
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar (or to taste)


Mix the sugar, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, oil of cinnamon, and red food coloring in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add butter. Set aside.

Shred the apples and mix with the cinnamon and sugar.

Sift the dry ingredients together; cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk all at once, stirring just until moistened. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a large rectangle - about 1/4" thick. Cut the dough into 5-inch squares.
(I got 11 'squares' - some of them weren't exactly straight on the sides but that doesn't really matter in the end and I prefer not to work the dough too much by re-rolling it.) Place  about 1/4 cup of apple filling on each square. Bring corners to center and pinch edges together.

Place 1 inch apart in ungreased 9x11" baking pan. Pour syrup over the dumplings. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 35 minutes. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

almond-apple cake with salted caramel sauce

Prepare to be amazed!! Recipes for apple cake are ubiquitous but this is really good. Super simple and quick to whip up, it is a good recipe to have tucked away for those times when you just need a little something. The salted caramel sauce is also very simple and although it is not absolutely necessary it takes the cake from delicious to heavenly. Maybe you will want to add it to the list of lovely things to make with apples.

My great-grandfather was apprenticed as a nursery-man in his native Wales before he came to Canada. When he arrived here he carried on planting trees and among those trees he planted an apple tree on his own farm. A generation later my grandmother used apples that grew on that tree to make her crisps, pies, and other desserts  - I used apples from the tree in my garden. My apples (like hers) are small-ish, crisp, and on the tart side; you will want to judge the number of apples you need based on the size you choose. I wanted chunks rather than slices of apple and cut the pieces accordingly. 

almond-apple cake with salted caramel sauce

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp good quality cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp almond extract
6 small apples, cored and cut into eighths

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon). Make a well in the center and add the eggs, milk, almond extract, and melted butter. Mix by hand until all ingredients are combined.

Spoon the batter into a buttered 10" springform pan. Arrange the apple pieces on top of the batter. Sprinkle with 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 Tbsp of sugar.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is golden and a tester comes out clean.

salted caramel sauce

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup salted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
large pinch sea salt

Melt the sugar in a 1 quart saucepan, stirring constantly so as not to burn. When the sugar is melted and golden in colour remove the pan from the heat and add the butter. It will foam up. Add the salt and stir well. Finally add the cream, stirring until the foaming subsides. Done!

raw cinnamon apple pie

I am a confirmed Apple Eater. It is a rare day that passes without an apple moment or two. I like them tart and green or sweet and red. Juicy, crisp, and fragrant, there is nothing better than a walk in the fresh fall air, apple in hand.... unless it is snuggled up in a comfy big chair with a book and an apple. I add apples to my bowl of breakfast oats and seeds. And then there is apple pie. I think I must have been 6 or 7 before I realized that pie didn't mean apple pie. My mom made a unique apple pie - made the way my dad's mom did - with shredded apples and a ton of cinnamon. Enough cinnamon that the apples looked brown. But oh my! it was so good. 

This raw apple pie is more or less a combination of the loaded-to-the-gills-with-cinnamon pie my mom made and a fresh, crisp, juicy apple. With the added bonus of a crust made with coconut, dates, and hemp seeds. If you (like me) need to be excused to wipe your chin and perhaps your shirt-front - you may. It is totally justifiable. This is just plain good. And healthy. There is enough cinnamon to make the apples every bit as brown as I remember my mom's pies were - which means that there is enough cinnamon to reduce inflammation and balance blood sugars. Refined sugar and gluten-free as well.

This is fantastic 'raw' but is equally good slightly warmed. David sometimes gets a sore tongue from fresh fruit and this was one of those times. I heated a second serving (in the microwave - gasp - for one minute) and no more sore tongue issues. Although it removes the whole 'raw' aura, a slight warming - just enough to leave the apples tender-crisp - can't destroy all that goodness. Adding some vanilla gelato really made David smile.

I used apples freshly picked from one of our apple trees. Sadly I have no idea what the variety is. I can only say that the apples are crisp and on the tart side of sweet. If you prefer sweet apples, I would try Gala. (Maybe that would be Aubrie's choice too.)

raw cinnamon apple pie

(adapted from Alive magazine)

(filling)

6 medium sized apples, finely sliced

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

(pie crust)

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1 cup hemp seed

6 large Medjool dates (pitted)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

(crumble topping)

2/3 cup reserved pie crust

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 tsp red sea salt

In a mixing bowl combine the cinnamon, lemon juice, honey, ginger, and nutmeg. Add the apple slices, tossing to coat. Set aside.

Put pie crust ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the texture is fine and sticks together. Reserve 2/3 cup. Press the remaining crust mixture onto the bottom and sides of a 9" pie plate.

Put the reserved crust mixture back into the food processor along with the rolled oats, cranberries and sea salt. Pulse.

Using a slotted spoon transfer the apples into the pie shell, reserving the liquid. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the top.

Serve cold, drizzled with reserved cinnamon sauce.... or warm, with a scoop of ice cream.