An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away | Healthy & Mindful Baking

I hope you are keeping well and that (if you are in the position to), you’ve been able to soak up the sun and enjoy the glorious weather which has been bestowed upon the UK. I for one am certainly taking advantage of this time to exercise, go on long walks in nature and cook up a storm of nutritious meals. Since beginning my recent health kick, I’ve cut down considerably on the quantity of sugary food I consume. I’ve always been more of a savoury person anyways and will opt for cheese and oatcakes over a dessert any day of the week. Nevertheless, just like everyone else, I do fancy a sugary dessert every now and then. Therefore, on the rare occasions when I do divulge, I bake a ‘healthier’ treat which doesn’t leave me feeling extremely guilty afterwards.

One of my favourite desserts which I would always look forward to on any given school day was my school’s traditional apple crumble with cream. There’s just something about this heart-warming classic that beats every other dessert in the books for me. Perhaps it’s the textures- piping hot soft apples contrasting with the satisfying crunch of the crumble- topped off with cooling cream. Or maybe it’s because I can trick myself into thinking it’s healthy because technically it’s 1 of my 5-a-day! All in all, I’ve always been a number one fan of an apple crumble and it wasn’t until recently that I rediscovered a recipe for a healthier alternative which I used to follow years ago: Apple Bake with Walnut Topping.

This recipe is a winner because not only is it extremely versatile and can be made with a plethora of different fruits, but it leaves your house smelling incredible with the rich spices, cinnamon and nutmeg. I’ve always used apples in this recipe but decided to substitute half of them with sweeter pears today and it went down a treat. I adore this recipe because in the same way everyone makes banana bread when bananas are on the turn, this is a brilliant way to get rid of your other fruit (apples, pear, plums) before they start to go off. It’s also super healthy as it’s made with wholemeal flour, low amounts of sugar and there is a higher fruit to crumble ratio than traditional crumbles.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2020 was to cut refined sugar out of my diet to boost my energy and immune system, and to clear up my skin. This has led me to discover a myriad of alternatives to refined sugar, one of which is coconut sugar. Despite being on the slightly pricier side, it’s definitely worth the few extra pennies. Here are the top benefits of using coconut sugar as a replacement for caster or brown sugar:

·   It’s full of health fats which are known to help prevent high cholesterol and heart 

disease

·  While standard stable sugar is pure sucrose, coconut sugar only contains about 75%

·    Coconut sugar is filled with minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium which have many 

health benefits including stronger bones

·    It contains Vitamin C, which is best known for helping support your immune system 

and keeping you from getting sick, but it also supports healthy joints and skin

Coconut sugar can replace regular table sugar in a 1:1 ratio, which means it’s easy to make the transition. It is similar to brown sugar with regards to consistency so if you use it in other recipes, ensure you give it a little extra time to melt or combine with other ingredients when you cook or bake with it.

Without further ado, here is my fool proof recipe which I hope you’ll love as much as I do: 

Apple Bake with Walnut Topping 

INGREDIENTS

For the Filling

·      3 tbsp wholemeal spelt flour or wholemeal plain flour 

·       55g cane sugar or coconut sugar 

·       1 tsp ground cinnamon 

·       ¼ tsp ground nutmeg 

·       ½ tsp fine (Himalayan) sea salt 

·      600g sweet apples/pears/plums, cored and chopped (leave the skins on) 

·       1 tbsp lemon juice

For the Topping

·      50g wholemeal spelt flour or wholemeal plain flour 

·    35g buckwheat flakes (N.B. I had to improvise and use bran flakes as I didn’t have any)

·       15g walnuts, roughly chopped 

·       25g cane sugar or coconut sugar

·       1/8 tsp fine sea salt 

·      40g chilled, unsalted butter, diced, plus extra for greasing 

·       Natural yoghurt, to serve

INSTRUCTIONS

1.     Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 25cm pie dish with butter 

N.B. I used smaller pie dishes as they’re perfect for my family because each member gets a mini pot to themselves. It also avoids any arguments about someone getting a bigger portion than the rest!

2.   To make the filling, put the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix well

3.     Put the apples in a small bowl and sprinkle the lemon juice over them (this keeps the apples from browning and helps the dry mixture stick to it). Add to the flour mixture and mix well 

4.  To make the topping, put the flour, buckwheat flakes, walnuts, sugar and salt in a small bowl and mix well

5.     Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs 

6.     Put the apple mixture in the pie dish and spoon the topping mixture over the top 

7.   Bake for 50-60 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the topping has browned. Serve hot with yoghurt

There you have it- the most delicious, nutritious and simple apple bake recipe. Good luck if you decide to follow this recipe and comment down below how it turns out if you do! Thank you for reading- please keep well and I wish you a lovely end of the week.

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Until next week, Khadijah x