Rose apple, often called local or African apple, is more delicate in taste and texture than it's cousin the common apple.
It has nice crisp skin and holds a lot of water. Very refreshing when eaten chilled on a hot summers day!
When sliced thinly, rose apple can rolled to make pretty shapes like this flower. The flower is set in a coconut caramel sauce, which tastes sooo good! Best of all, the base of this cake contains no flour or eggs so requires no baking!
The base ingredients are added to a blender and turn into a clumps when mixed. These clumps are pressed together in the tin of your choice and form a firm base that keeps its shape and holds the warm caramel and apple.
I use baking tins with push out bottoms to give my cake bases nice clean edges. This isn't strictly necessary though. The mixture if firm enough to be shaped by hand.
The base of these cakes can be made in advance and stored in either the fridge (2-3 days) or the freezer (up to 1 month) until you are ready to use them.
The caramel filling can also be made a few hours in advance and warmed just before you are ready to pour it into the base. It thickens upon cooling so keeps the rose 'petals' in place.
If you decide to give this recipe a go, please share your thoughts, pictures and recipe tweaks. Good luck!
Notes before we get cooking!
FODMAP red, amber green rating reflects the total amount of Fructose (FTS), Lactose (L), Mannitol (M), Sorbitol (S), Galactooligosaccharide (GOS) and Oligos Fructans (FTA) in the TOTAL volume/weight of the ingredients used in the recipe.
This recipe makes approximately 8 servings of cake. How many pieces of this cake you eat is totally up to you!
I'm a big fan of simple recipes that don't need fancy equipment. For this recipe it does help to have a good blender, a shallow pan for making the caramel and an 8 inch spring form cake pan (or any pan/cake mold with a push out base).
Ingredients:
Method
Step 1.
Soak the 150 g of Macadamia nuts in water for at least 20 minutes.
Step 2.
Soak the desiccated coconut in the 30 ml of orange juice for at least 20 minutes.
Step 3.
Use a blender to mix together all ingredients for the base. The mixture should be quite fine, moist and sticking together when molded with the hands.
Step 4.
You can shape the cake base by hand. If you are using a tin or a mold press the mixture firmly into the base, taking care to build up the sides (so they can hold the rose and the caramel). Release from your spring form tin or tin with a push up base. Set aside.
Step 5.
Put the sugar in a pan. Be careful to ensure that no sugar granules are stuck to the sides of the pan. Add the water and leave the mixture to cook undisturbed on a medium heat for 10 mins.
Step 6.
When the sugar-water mixture begins to turn brown and give off a nutty aroma, turn the heat down to low and add the coconut cream, stir for 3-5 mins. The mixture may begin to foam, this is fine.
Step 7.
Add the butter, stirring gently until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the vanilla essence. Set aside.
Step 8.
Cut one rose apple into quarters. Slice as thinly as possible. Thinner slices roll best, without splitting.
Step 9.
Take the smallest sized apple slice that you have and roll tightly. Working your way outwards, roll each slice around the last until you have formed an apple roll 3/4 diameter of your chosen tin.
Step 10.
Pour the slightly warm caramel mixture into your cake base. If the caramel has cooled completely, warm it very gently, just enough to restore the liquid consistency of the caramel to pour.
Step 11.
Add the rolled apple to the centre of the cake base, already filled with caramel. Take care to ensure the caramel is not too hot when you place the apple roll in the centre. Hot caramel 'cooks' the thinly sliced apple which then releases its water, which could make your cake soggy.
Step 12.
working from the outside inwards, take a knife and use the blade to gently loosen or 'unfurl' the tightly wrapped rolled apple slices. Loosen until you are happy with the shape of the flower.
Step 13.
You can serve immediately, slightly warm... or let the cake cool further. These rose apple cakes are best consumed on the day they are assembled.
Step 14.
Enjoy!!
Disclaimer
I'm very passionate about the management of autoimmune conditions in a healthy way.
I speak with medical professionals, read journals, try and test new recipes to share with you and diligently undertake research online. That being said, as you know, each autoimmune disease, as well as any set of symptoms you may be experiencing are unique.
All information provided is in no way intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or healthcare provider to ensure the appropriateness of any information in relation to your own situation.
And finally, please comment and share so we as a community better cope with our conditions by through growth and learning.
Comments