TOBIE

Ask me to write one hundred low-carb savoury recipes without refined sugar or gluten, and I can make it happen with some trial and error, but desserts are a bit more complicated. I wanted to use ingredients that are natural and easy to find, and discovered that quinoa flakes are an excellent option. I hadn’t tried using them in desserts before, but now I’m a convert. Thanks to everyone at Prahran Health Foods for the advice.

GEORGIA

Dessert isn’t really part of my diet plan, but look at this crumble! The refined sugar and butter are gone, yet it still tastes divine. Since this isn’t an everyday sort of thing, I might even add a small bit of cream on top (for added calcium, of course!).

Ask me to write one hundred low-carb savoury recipes without refined sugar or gluten, and I can make it happen with some trial and error, but desserts are a bit more complicated. I wanted to use ingredients that are natural and easy to find, and discovered that quinoa flakes are an excellent option. I hadn’t tried using them in desserts before, but now I’m a convert. Thanks to everyone at Prahran Health Foods for the advice.

 

Ingredients

FILLING
6 pink lady apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges each
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup (80 g) sultanas

CRUMBLE
1½ cups (165 g) quinoa flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
½ cup (50 g) walnuts

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Pop the apple wedges, 1 cup (250 ml) water, orange zest, vanilla seeds and pod, cinnamon, nutmeg and sultanas into a large heavy-based saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the apple wedges are tender. Meanwhile, to make the crumble, put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Spread the apple mixture evenly over the base of a round or square baking dish, about 5 cm deep. Scatter the crumble over the top, making sure it’s an even thickness, then bake for 30 minutes or until the crumble is golden. Serve