My husband, Dan, sighs every time I use a long title. He thinks I should use shorter titles like ‘Mini Apple and Blackberry Crumbles’ and get rid of the ‘Grain, Dairy and Refined Sugar Free’ bit, but if I did that would not be fully explaining what today’s dessert is. And that would not be a good thing, because today’s desserts are not just regular apple and blackberry crumbles, they are so much more than that. They are Grain, Dairy and Refined Sugar Free Mini Apple and Blackberry Crumbles!
This is the first recipe I have posted that leans a little bit more towards ‘clean eating’. And that’s because I’ve got a medium-term health issue that I’m trying to get sorted by cutting out a few food groups. But don’t be concerned because I’ve worked hard to ensure that none of the taste in these crumbles is compromised. These mini crumbles are absolutely gorgeous and will be gone in a flash. What’s more, because they are healthier than your average crumble, they really are so much better for you!
In this recipe I’ve replaced the usual wheat and oats with ground nuts and I’ve gone for a combination of macadamias and almonds. I use macadamias because they are one of the healthiest nuts out there but feel free to replace them with another ½ cup of ground almonds if you wish. The recipe works just as well and it’s what I do when I’m out of macadamias which, to be honest, is quite often!
I am avoiding all dairy at the moment which I’m finding really hard. I’m missing cheese a lot but more than that, I’m longing for the day when I can have my morning milky coffee again! This avoiding all dairy thing also obviously means that I can’t have butter. If you are ok with butter then feel free to use it, it works brilliantly here. And if not then go for the coconut oil. I’ve tried a few and I’m sure I could gain a taste for the ones that actually taste of coconut, but coconut is not my favourite flavour and I certainly don’t want all my baking to taste of it. Thankfully I’ve managed to find a flavourless coconut oil by Biona. It genuinely tastes of absolutely nothing which is great as it means I can use it in regular cooking as well as baking. I even scramble my eggs in it!
To get rid of refined sugars I’ve used maple syrup here. To be honest I absolutely love maple syrup and am very happy to eat it in my crumble, on my pancakes or even straight off a spoon, but you can replace it with honey or even regular sugar if you wish.
But don’t let all this clean eating distract you. The simple fact is that these Grain, Dairy and Refined Sugar Free Mini Apple and Blackberry Crumbles are delicious for dessert or even breakfast and are absolutely perfect for this time of year. After all, who doesn’t love it when their house smells of warm apples and cinnamon?!
Here are some other desserts you might like to try – although they fit less into the ‘clean eating’ category and more into the ‘delicious decadence’ category!
Grain, Dairy and Refined Sugar Free Mini Apple and Blackberry Crumbles
Ingredients
- 3 eating apples (peeled and cut into 1cm dice)
- Small handful blackberries
- 65 g (½ cup) macadamias*
- 50 g (½ cup) ground almonds (almond flour)
- 20 g (¼ cup) flaked almonds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter, melted)
- 1½ tablespoons maple syrup
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350F.
- Divide the apples and blackberries between four small ramekins and place in the oven for ten minutes.
- Place the macadamias into a food processor and pulse four or five times until mostly finely ground but with some chunks remaining.
- Mix everything from the macadamias to the pinch of salt together.
- After 10 minutes, remove the apples from the oven and reduce the temperature to 140°C/280F.
- Sprinkle the crumble topping over the apples and return to the oven for a further 40 minutes until golden brown.
- Gorgeous served on its own or with yogurt or ice cream.
Its the long title that actually catches attention. Love crumble and this healthy one allows one to indulge in a dessert.Love maple syrup.
Thanks Mayuri, I’ll keep the long titles up;)
These look delicious. I love a crumble. I am happy drinking black coffee but if i gave up dairy I would miss custard. Thank you for sharing to #CookBlogShare
I agree. I love crumble at this time of year but it is definitely best with custard! x