It may not officially be fall, but fall is definitely in the air. I can feel it. I can smell it. I swear I can almost taste it. That’s probably because I’ve gotten a jump on making fall recipes, but really, can you blame me? It was a long, hot summer. Very long, and very, very hot by New England standards. I’ve been wearing shorts and t-shirts since about mid-April and I am utterly sick of them. So it’s a relief to feel some coolness in the air now. We’ve had our windows open at night and I was actually a bit too chilly last night. And I love it.
There is no flavour more reminiscent of fall than that of apples. I love apples, perhaps more than I can say. I come from the land of the McIntosh, first discovered and cultivated in rural Ontario. If they sit around, Macs can become very mealy, but take a bite of one straight from the tree, and you are in apple heaven. Crisp and tart and clean. As a kid, I could eat my weight in apples when we went apple-picking. I probably took more home in my tummy than I did in the bag.
Apples aren’t exactly diabetic friendly. For such a tart-tasting fruit, they are surprisingly high in sugar. These days I only allow myself a small apple at a time, or half of one if it’s on the larger side. But I will never give up eating apples. Even if I had to run 20 miles to work off the sugars, I’d still eat apples for the sheer autumnal pleasure of it. Still, it’s not like I can indulge the way I used to. And heretofore, I never would have considered an apple an indulgence at all!
Earlier this summer, my husband and I took a trip to Maine and came across a delightful little kitchen store in Portland. I easily could have spent hours in there browsing, and probably could have spent hundreds of dollars as well. As it was, we bought a few fun items to bring home with us, among them a number of interesting LorAnn candy and baking oils. I’d never seen these tiny bottles of super strength flavourings before, but I instantly recognized their benefits for low carb baking. Most of the flavours are sugar and gluten-free, and are much more concentrated than typical extracts so a very little goes a long way. And they can allow me to play with some of my favourite flavours, without having the carbs add up. I brought home Apple, Butterscotch, Rootbeer, Coconut and Cherry. And I have my eye on a number of others from their website, they have an amazing selection.
And as we head into fall, I thought it might be fun to do a fall-themed ice cream. Apple crisp anyone? The traditional version is not exactly low carb or gluten free. But apple-flavoured ice cream with cinnamon-y, crunchy little bits makes a great substitute!
Apple Crisp Ice Cream – Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener or granulated erythritol
- 2 tsp arrowroot powder
- pinch salt
- 1 tbsp vodka
- 1/2 tsp LorAnn's apple flavor
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 25 drops stevia extract
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
Crisp
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup golden flax seed meal
- 3 tbsp Swerve Sweetener or granulated erythritol
- 2 tbsp brown sugar substitute such as Ideal
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
Instructions
- For the ice cream, combine cream, milk, erythritol, arrowroot powder, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk briskly to combine. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, whisking frequently.
- Let cool and transfer to a bowl. Chill at least 3 hours.
- Meanwhile, for the crisp, preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine almond flour, flax seed meal, erythritol, brown sugar substitute and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Scatter pieces of butter over the top of the mixture and then pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Spread mixture on prepared ban and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on pan, then break into small pieces. Set aside.
- Once cream mixture is chilled, stir in vodka, apple flavouring, cinnamon and stevia. Then sprinkle the surface with xanthan gum and whisk briskly to combine.
- Pour into the canister of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions.
- Once churned, transfer to an airtight container. Stir in crisp pieces, mixing to spread evenly through ice cream.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, 1 hour.
Recipe Notes
Serves 6. Each serving has 8.2 g of carbs and 2.8 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 5.4 g.
Oh wow, this looks amazing, Carolyn!
Another great cooking recipe. Is stevia extract the same as stevia glycerite? I don’t have any stevia extract (live overseas) and wonder if the stevia glycerite will do the same thing?
Thanks!
It’s not the same as stevia glycerite, and I think it’s a bit stronger. I would do the stevia glycerite in the same amount and then add more if you don’t think it’s sweet enough.
This is the week where all I want to dive into are big piles of fall dishes… apple crisp (in any form… hot or cold) makes me a very happy man.
Carolyn I want to be you when I grow up! Another great recipe!
I love apple crisp! And in ice cream?! Yes, please!
Ah, this gets me so excited for Fall!!
Had no idea apples had so much sugar…what a great recipe, Carolyn, for diabetics! 🙂
This is so great! Love that you used the Swerve in it! I have a big bag of it in my pantry right now!
I love a scoop of ice cream on an apple crisp, so ice cream with apple crisp mixed into it sounds good to me! 😀
This is perfect, Carolyn! Fall flavors, but will still keep you cool during these lingering hot days!
oh i love this! Just shared on my Facebook page
Looks delicious! I have used the Cinnamon Oil, and it sure packs a punch! It’s so good!
LOVELY recipe. You can get that brand of flavoring oils at Hobby Lobby also, in the candy making section
Great tip, thank you!
I’m so ready for fall baking/cooking for few weeks now, although not quite ready for turning up the heat in the house 🙂
The ice-cream looks so creamy, would love a big scoop
Love the topping you came up with for this apple crisp – it’s the first dessert of the fall for our family.
YUM — going to make this soon. Will use Almond milk in place of the whole milk which should bring the carbs down a bit more 🙂
Blessings!
Gail
Just made a peach version of this (sub peach oil for the apple, everything else the same) and it is FANTASTIC! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Great idea!
I’m looking for a ‘crisp’ topping for berries that is nut (almonds okay) free and I’m wondering if you think this would be good for that?
Sure, I think it would work.
Curious about the arrowroot powder in the ice cream. What does it do? I ask because I have a custard type ice cream recipe that I thought maybe I could just switch the extract flavors out with and use your crisp add in, but it doesn’t call for arrowroot or xantham gum.
I’m not diabetic but insulin resistant and miss apples dearly while watching carbs 🙁
It just helps thicken the base but I’ve made many custard based recipes without it. Just leave it out.
Hi Carolyn, I’m sensitive to lactose, can you use coconut cream measure for measure in these ice cream recipes?
I don’t know. I assume so.