WIth love, from Vermont

So the kids went to Vermont and brought back all the things.  Among which was about 80 pounds of apples. And when life (or the kids) gives you apples, make apple pie. It’s a no-brainer.  When the request includes “sugar free”, therein lies the challenge.  So, we go mostly sugar free.  It’s Nana’s crust. You just don’t mess with Nana’s recipes.  But it’s a minimal amount of sugar. Shhhh! No one will know.  I could have taken the easy way out and used frozen crust. However, knowing this crew, I would never have lived it down. Being a baker and all. Nana  AND my brother  would have come back to haunt me. That, I don’t need, thanks. Bad enough my mother’s words slip out of my mouth on occasion and my father whispers in my ear.

It’s a basic crust recipe. The secret is, the butter has to be cold, and it has to be ICE water.  And forget the pastry blender, the knives, just use your damn hands, it’s easier.  Once the crust is in the fridge chilling, get to paring and slicing apples. 8+ cups worth (+ because deep dish).  It takes a while, but hey, the deer will eat good tonight.
So, the recipe*
Sugar Free Apple Pie
1/3 cup thawed apple juice concentrate
Sugar substitute equivalent to 8 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches) 
8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples
1 tablespoon butter

Combine the first four ingredients. Line pie plate with bottom crust; add apples. Pour juice mixture over apples; dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; cut slits or an apple shape in top. Place over filling; seal and flute edges. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Increase oven to 400°; bake 15-20 minutes or until apples are tender. Yield: 8 servings.
1 slice: 337 calories, 17g fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 233mg sodium, 45g carbohydrate (0 sugars, 0 fiber), 2g protein.  1 slice: 337 calories, 17g fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 233mg sodium, 45g carbohydrate (0 sugars, 0 fiber), 2g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 fat, 2 fruit, 1 starch.

Have your bottom crust ready in the pie plate (Nana’s deep dish pyrex, I tend to channel her when I get to baking like this). Have the top crust rolled out and ready to go. And so, mix the apple juice concentrate, sugar sub (I used baking Splenda), cornstarch, and cinnamon, whisk that mess up. Dump the apples carefully in the bottom crust and pile them up so they’re nicely mounded. Pour the mess you just whisked over them. Carefully would be my suggestion, if you don’t want to be cleaning it up off of the counter.  Dot with butter (I may or may not have used more than a tablespoon. OK, yea I did. So sue me.)

Cover the whole mess with the top crust. Fork the edges, twist them, flute them, do whatever you want to do to seal them. I did a flute-y  kind of thing. I swear one of these days I’m gonna try doing a braided edge. Could have latticed it but the apples were piled too high; it would have been a mess. Brushed it with milk for gentle browning. 

It looked dreadfully boring and I hate having to eat the leftover crust dipped in sugar, so I did the heart things. Cut out 8 hearts with a tiny heart cookie cutter from the leftover dough, dipped them in milk (dropped them in is more like it, as both sides needed to be coated, one side to stick to the pie, and the other to hold the sugar) Dipped one side in sugar and stuck them on the top crust. Sugar side up. 

Pressed them down a tiny bit so they stuck. Is that not adorable?  Cut 4 slits in the top to let the steam out (visions of apple pie explosion in my oven) and in the oven it goes. 
Bake as directed. Remove from oven. Let cool enough so it doesn’t burn your tongue if you try to eat it. Voila!  Le Apple Pie!

Serve warm with (no sugar added) vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Or both. Whatever floats your boat. Personally I prefer it with chocolate ice cream. Don’t judge til you’ve tried it. 
The fact that we ate it while watching Stephen King's "Gerald's Game" (it had to be the scene where the dog was eating Gerald, right?) aside, this was not a horrible, no sugar apple pie. In fact, it was quite good, not too sweet, and absolutely no hint of fake sugar. I think the apple juice concentrate helped there quite a lot. Definitely a keeper, and oh hey, I have a ton more apples!


*Credit where credit is due: Recipe from “A Taste of Home”

"Gypsy" ~Fleetwood Mac~“So I’m back to the Velvet Underground
Back to the floor that I love
To a room with some lace and paper flowers
Back to the gypsy that I was
To the gypsy that I was”
~Stevie Nicks~

Sinful

Sinful

So, I came across this recipe* on Facebook. Low Carb Chocolate mousse?  Living with a carb conscious fiancé, having two kids who are trying to eat healthy and lose weight?  Yes, thank you!  Of course, skepticism crept up on me. I mean, I’m a baker. I excel (she said modestly) at desserts. Chocolate mousse cannot possibly be low carb OR easy. I know. I’ve made it before. No eggs?? No cream?? HA!  No way is this gonna come out decent.

I stand corrected. I got the Coconut Cream, the Splenda and cocoa I had. Oh, and the Ghiradeli special dark bakers chocolate for shaving…which I totally forgot to use but it’s fine. Next time. Which will likely be tomorrow.

Two cans of coconut cream go in the fridge (Overnight). I did not know coconut cream did what it did in there. The liquid stays at the bottom, the fat and cream rise to the top. THAT’S what you use. Literally scoop that thick muck out of the top and dispose of the coconut water that’s left. Or drink it, if you’re into that. I am not. Bleh. The coconut thing was a huge hurdle for me as far as wondering how this was gonna taste. I strongly dislike coconut for no good reason.

As far as putting it all together, I pretty much followed the recipe exactly.

Blend, blend, and blend more...

The sugar, I used 3 Tablespoons of baking Splenda. The cocoa was Hershey’s special dark. Oh and I skipped the salt. And forgot the shaved chocolate, but as I said, next time. The main objective here is the mousse itself. So easy, too. Beat the hell out of the coconut cream til it’s smooth (remember, you’ve got those bits of milk fat that need to be broken down) with the Splenda. Fold in the cocoa then beat the hell out of it some more til it’s smooth. That’s it. Done. Too easy for it to be anywhere near actual chocolate mousse, no? Yea, surprise.

Coconut Cream...who knew it could do that!

It. Was. Amazing.  I normally do not taste the many low carb desserts I have made because that Splenda aftertaste. There is no hint of artificial sweetener in this stuff.

Four perfect portions...

None. It is just creamy, smooth, rich, chocolatey bliss. Trust me, if I rave about a low carb, sugar free dessert, you can believe it’s phenomenal.

Then the fiancé (the original Mr. Low Carb, mind you, and I say that with the utmost affection) tried it. He says his mouth is still watering. I guess it was pretty damn good then.

In a world of things he can’t have, it gives me endless happiness to find a dessert substitute that isn’t cardboard. I fear I will be making this one over and over again.

Ready to serve with reserved coconut cream, and strawberries

3- Ingredient Chocolate Mousse (Low Carb)

Rich, chocolaty bliss!

Rich Chocolate Mousse in minutes! No eggs. No dairy. And only 3 ingredients to thick, creamy and rich chocolate mousse that happens to be low carb and real really good for you.

Weight Watchers: 5pp per serve (out of 8 serves)

Servings: 8

Calories: 192 kcal

Author: Karina - Cafe Delites

Ingredients

·         2 x 400ml (13.7oz) cans full fat coconut cream or coconut milk *See Notes

·         2 tablespoons confectioners sweetener (or confectioners | icing sugar if not counting carbs)

·         3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

·         pinch of salt (optional! About 1/4 teaspoon. Adjust to your tastes)

·         20 g | 2 squares 70% chocolate , shaved (optional for extra richness -- or sugar free chocolate chips)

·         extra shaved chocolate to garnish

Instructions

1.    Place sealed cans of coconut cream (or milk) in the refrigerator overnight. Without shaking the cans, open and scoop out the thick cream sitting at the top over the water. Transfer the cream to a bowl and discard the liquid left in the cans.

2.    Add the sweetener (or sugar) and beat on high using a hand mixer (or whisk) until thick and creamy (about 1-2 minutes). Reserve about 4 tablespoons of the plain 'whipped cream' to use as a topping to serve with (optional), and set aside.

3.    Fold the cocoa powder and salt through the cream and beat (or whisk) again until smooth, well combined and thick. Fold through the shaved chocolate. Depending on the coconut milk you use, a mousse will form almost immediately once the cocoa powder is mixed through. If not, refrigerate until set and ready to serve, or serve immediately. Dollop the 'plain whipped cream' over the mousse and sprinkle with shaved chocolate (if using).

Recipe Notes

*I found coconut cream worked the best, but you can use coconut milk. Do not try to use light or reduced fat. You need the fat content in both the cream and/or milk to make the cream successfully or it may not work.

Nutrition Facts

3- Ingredient Chocolate Mousse (Low Carb)

Amount Per Serving (0 g)

Calories 192Calories from Fat 167

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 18.6g  29%

Cholesterol 3mg  1%

Total Carbohydrates 3.6g  1%

Dietary Fiber 0.6g   2%

Sugars 1.2g

Protein 1.6g  3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

*Credit where credit is due-it came from Café Delites website.