I love the harvest that autumn brings to us. It's an invigorating time of renewal and bounty in nature and with Rosh Hashanah on our heels, it's a time for setting intentions for a sweet, bountiful year. My whole family including the gluttons for gluten look forward to eating my gluten free adaptations. I hope to make your year a little sweeter with a couple of fresh ideas for those baskets of harvested apples.
Rosh Hashanah otherwise known as Jewish New Year is on October 3rd this year. Tradition has us eating apples and honey as these symbolize sweetness, blessings, and abundance. Here is an unusually delicious new way to ring in Rosh Hashanah with this recipe of two variations, depending on your entertaining style.
This recipe is 100% allergen free! It's vegan, has no eggs, no dairy, no soy, no nuts, no peanuts, none of the top allergens!!!! There is nothing in this recipe that anyone around your table shouldn't be able to eat -- unless of course they just don't like apples! It's my passion to develop recipes that everyone can eat and this one is sure to be a winner at the supper table.
Here is one recipe with 2 different presentations -- Try either one or both...they will surely please all!
A miniature tart for an elegant and rustic presentation, and pizza for the whole family.
Apple tarts and Pizza are on the menu today!
Crust:
Makes enough for 2 x 9" pizzas or 12 muffin tin mini tarts
Ingredients:
•2/3 cup (125 g) shortening, frozen, cut into cubes
•2 cups (350 g) all purpose gluten-free flour (with xanthan gum already added in)
•1/2 cup (40 g) icing sugar
•1 tsp salt
•½ cup orange juice
This is my own recipe for all-purpose flour blend by the kilo just in case you don't already have one you love to use:
•427 g white rice flour
•245 g potato starch
•211 g tapioca starch
•100 g potato flour
•17 g xanthan gum
Directions for crust:
Place shortening, flour mixture, icing sugar, salt in food processor with a blade on high speed, pulsing a bit. Process until it resembles crumbles. Add orange juice while machine is running on low and keep it going until a ball forms. You may need to scape the bottom a bit in between, but it will eventually form a ball and will gather into one piece. There is no such thing as "too much processing" here because there is no gluten, so go for it!
Remove the dough from the processor and divide into 2 equal parts. This will make 2 x 9" pizza crusts or 12 tarts.
PIZZA: Roll out one of the balls of dough for a 9" pizza pan and leave a thicker border. The dough may crack, but hang in there, it is forgiving. You can patch it up! A technique I often use to avoid adding more flour and getting more cracking: place dough between 2 parchment papers and roll out dough. Easy, no mess and no stick. Remove paper on one side and place pizza pan on top of the dough and turn over!
TART: Roll out dough in a circle bigger than the tart. I used the edge of a soup container. Place dough circle into the muffin tin. Don't worry if the dough tears as you can patch it up without a problem.
Filling for 2 pizzas: (can be halved)
•2/3 cup of sugar
•6 tbsp of all purpose flour
•2 tsp cinnamon
•6 medium apples peeled, cored and diced (approximately 8 cups)
Add dry ingredients together and pour over apples. Mix and place half into both pizza shells
Topping for 2 pizzas: (can be halved)
•1 cup all purpose flour (170 g)
•2/3 cup brown sugar (140 g)
•1 cup gluten-free rolled oats (110 g)*
*Can be substituted by rice or corn cereal crushed, or buckwheat, quinoa or rice flakes if you cannot tolerate oats
• 1/2 cup salted stick margarine (110 g) or unsalted margarine plus 1 tsp salt, room temperature
Directions: Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add cut up margarine and incorporate. Make sure all the dry is mixed in well with margarine until it resembles crumbles.
Lemon drizzle topping:
➢1 cup icing sugar
➢1 tablespoon lemon juice
➢drops of water
Directions: Place icing sugar in a bowl and add the lemon juice. Add water drop by drop and whisk the mixture until loose enough to drizzle. Place in a piping bag with a #3 or #4 tip or place in a squeeze bottle to decorate.
Salted Caramel Sauce Topping:
➢¾ cup sugar
➢½ cup water
➢½ cup coconut cream
➢2 tbsp margarine, melted
➢1 ½ tsp fleur de sel
Directions:
Place ¾ cup of sugar and ½ cup of water in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 9 minutes. When the liquid starts to turn amber color, add the coconut cream and margarine. It will bubble a lot. Keep it boiling for 2-3 minutes. It will thicken. Turn off heat and add fleur de sel and mix.
Bring in the New Year with gratitude for all we have....Enjoy the harvest that Mother Nature has provided for us and enjoy and celebrate it!
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