No-Bake Caramelized Apple Crumble with Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream // Vegan & GF

You are going to be so proud of me. It was so hard, and I had to hold myself back, but I officially made it to October before posting a pumpkin recipe!

It’s truly a feat. Usually I’m planning pumpkin recipes in August and ready to let them fly by the first week of September, but there’s so much backlash in the blogosphere when people start posting pumpkin recipes “too early” (come on, is it ever too early?), so I did my very best to wait, and here we are October 2nd, and my first pumpkin recipe of the year is now hitting the blog.

Oh and you guys and gals… it is so worth the wait. I’ve brought two delicious and healthy Fall ingredients together to make some seriously yummy magic. apples and of course, pumpkin.

I’ve actually never really brought these two together, rather just picked one or the other and made it the star ingredient of the recipe. However, this dish let’s both ingredients shine equally and they work together like peanut & jelly, like carrots and peas, like cookies and (almond) milk.

You get the point. It’s a stellar combo.

I had in mind that I wanted to make a crumble using the honey crisp apples I’d ordered in my weekly SPUD box, and because I’m just honestly not a huge baker, I figured I could easily make a “messy” stovetop crumble that would do the trick.

Using my simple stovetop method I was able to caramelize the fresh sliced apples by using coconut palm sugar, pumpkin pie spice, coconut oil and a little bit of tapioca. The apples turned out wonderfully soft and sweet, dripping with a caramel-like glaze.

For the no-bake crumble I used a simple combination of gluten-free rolled oats, almond meal, cinnamon, salt, coconut palm sugar, and coconut oil.

The rolled oats bring in a nice touch of fibre and complex carbohydrates, and the almond meal adds omega fatty acids as well as some protein. I love using coconut palm sugar as a white or brown sugar alternative because a) it’s unrefined (unlike white/brown sugar) so it releases much slower into the blood stream when consumed, and b) it has a fantastic flavour that I much prefer over any other granulated sweetener.

For the ice cream (to be totally honest) I kind of cheated. While I would have made my own homemade pumpkin pie ice cream (<- click here for the recipe) I was pressed for time and figured that you might also be pressed for time on occasion so I used a pre-made vanilla coconut ice cream (Coconut Bliss brand, which is vegan) and simply processed it in my food processor with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to create a fantastic “Pumpkin Pie” ice cream.

The creamy, cold, sweet pumpkin pie ice cream slowly melting over the spiced crumble mixture and sweet caramelized apples creates an explosion of fantastic Fall flavours.

While this is still a dessert, I’m happy to say that I used mostly whole-food ingredients (with the exception of the vanilla ice cream, but even that is a pretty natural product!) to create a dish that tastes so indulgent!

In need of a thanksgiving dessert recipe? Here it is people. You will love this dish and so will your guests, I guarantee it! 

No-Bake Caramelized Apple Crumble with Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• For the Apples:
• 2 large apples, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, divided
• ¼ tsp tapioca flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• For the Crumble:
• 2 tablespoons rolled oats
• 1½ tablespoons almond flour
• ½ tablespoon coconut sugar
• pinch of salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ tablespoon room temperature coconut oil (not melted)
• For the Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream:
• 1 cup vanilla flavoured coconut (or other kind of dairy free) ice cream (or use regular organic vanilla ice cream if you eat dairy)
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin puree
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

1. Begin by preparing the Pumpkin pie ice cream. Add the vanilla ice cream to a food processor and adding the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
2. Process until smooth and the pumpkin is completely mixed in.
3. Transfer the ice cream to a bowl or container and cover with saran wrap, directly pressing the wrap over the ice cream to prevent frost from forming.
4. Place the ice cream back in the freezer to harden.
5. Next, add the sliced apples, half of the coconut oil, the tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar, pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice to a large ziplock bag.
6. Close the bag and mix and mash the ingredients together until the apples are well coated.
7. Heat a large pan over medium heat and add in the remaining ½ tablespoon of coconut oil.
8. Once hot add in the apple mixture and saute for 7-10 minutes until apples are soft and the sauce is thick and sticky, coating the apples.
9. Transfer the apples to a container and cover to keep warm.
10. In a small bowl mix together the crumble ingredients and add in the coconut oil in small dollops then crumble together using your fingers until everything is well combined and the mixture is crumbly.
11. Add the crumble to the same pan you used for the apples and stir over medium heat until completely warmed through.
12. Prepare the dish by dividing the caramelized apples between two plates.
13. Divide the crumble mixture between the two plates topping the apples.
14. Remove the pumpkin pie ice cream from the freezer and using an ice cream scoop, divide the ice cream between the two plates to top the apple crumble.
15. Enjoy immediately!

3.5.3208

Christal

Nutritionist in the Kitch