Raw Apple Pie
My dear brother-in-law celebrated his 30th birthday this month and this got me thinking to prepare something special for him. Knowing him and his love for apple desserts, the obvious choice for me was to create a healthy alternative for the typical confectionery Apple Pie. Like me, he enjoys eating clean, unprocessed and organic food so this dessert was greatly appreciated.
Creating a #raw dessert often means discarding most of the original ingredients. The first step in creating a healthy alternative is to identify the key ingredient and then build up an accompanying vessel. In this recipe the key component is of course the apples. Spices and natural sweeteners such as dates and raisins will do the trick to create a sweet and satisfying dessert without adding any processed sugars. Presenting a raw dessert was also a great idea to cool off in the humid Maltese weather brought by September.
The ingredients and process are rather simple, so this recipe is great for those willing to start experimenting with raw desserts.
- 250g dates
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 apple
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 peeled apples
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Cover an 8 inch pan with grease proof paper (use a loose base one if you have).
- Place crust ingredients in the food processor and process until well combined and sticky.
- Using your hands press the mixture at the bottom of the dish to create an even, solid base. Store in the fridge.
- Next, process sauce ingredients in liquidizer until puree is formed.
- Cut the apples in half then into thin slices. Add lemon juice drops to prevent from browning.
- The final step is to assemble the pie. Take out the base from the fridge and layer with thinly sliced apples. Top this with a thin layer of sauce and then again another layer of sliced apples, and so on until you’ve used up all the apples. Use any remaining sauce to cover the top then sprinkle additional sunflower seeds if desired.
- Refrigerate until thoroughly cold before serving (approx 2 hours).
- Best enjoyed on the same day of preparation.
