Awesome Apple Pie

Autumn is here- time for apple picking and pumpkin carving!

We went to a farm down the road from us last week, and of course ended up with a generous haul of delicious apples, along with some gorgeous plump tomatoes, and a couple of sugar pumpkins.  What better way to use some of them up than in a pie?! This recipe uses a base similar to my tofu based vegan cheesecake recipe (which you can find here) but the topping is sure to bring on those warm and fuzzy autumn feels!

I used some lúcuma powder in the recipe below. Lúcuma is a fruit from South America- primarily found in and around Peru- which I first came across as a delicious flavour of ice cream! It is very sweet and tastes like caramel mixed with a slight earthiness similar to  sweet potato.  I found lúcuma powder on Amazon, and I'm sure it's stocked in some health food stores as it's considered a superfood due to it's properties as a fabulous antioxidant. It's also chock full of vitamins, and is said to have anti-aging properties! If you can't get your hands on lúcuma powder, you can add more date sugar in the recipe below to ensure the pie is lovely and sweet!

Ingredients
For the base
2 tsp hemp seeds
3tsp ground flax
3 tbsp date sugar
3 tsp lucuma powder (can be substitured with 6tsp more date sugar)
1 cup oats (old fashioned or rolled would work best here)
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup finely chopped mixed nuts
about 1 cup warm water to bring the ingredients together

For the caramel
3 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp date sugar
1/2 cup warm water

For the topping
3 apples sliced thinly
1 tsp hone/ syrup/ caramel (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 365°F/ 185°C
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the base, stir until they form a stiff dough, then using the back of a large spoon/ spatula, push and spread to cover the bottom and sides of a lined large pie/ flan tin.

Add the maple syrup, date sugar, and warm water in a bowl, stir until the ingredients come together, the mixture should be relatively thick and resemble a caramel. Spread evenly on top of the base of the pie.

Place the apple slices on top of the caramel to form the third layer of your pie.

Drizzle 1 tbsp honey, syrup, or caramel on top of the apples for extra sweetness (optional).

Bake at 365°F/ 185°C for 20-25 minutes. Serve with a coffee, tea, or dollop of ice cream!