Tuesday 22 January 2013

Sin and Be Forgiven!

Mela alla Cannella con Miele, Mandorle e Yogurt
Cinnamon Apple with Honey & Almonds on Yogurt


Ok- we have all be there- craving something sweet and fretting over the consequences! It seems like everything that tastes delicious is going to go straight from your lips to your hips- right? Wrong! Just take a second to think about what you're likely to reach out for... ice cream, chocolate, creamy desserts... yes they are all tasty, but its the fat and the sugar that you are enjoying... when there are so many good and natural things that you already love too...

Apples and cinnamon are a wonderful match- no doubt about that- everybody loves them! Crunchy almonds? Yes please! A little honey to make them sing? Sure! What more do you need, folks? Let's be honest- that's good stuff right there! Something cold, refreshing and creamy to go with them? Well, a yogurt can taste mighty fine if you whip a little more body into it yourself... so what are you waiting for? You know you are going to like this!


The first thing I did, which might sound strange, was to pour just enough water to cover the base, into my frying pan and to bring it to the boil. Whilst that was happening, I peeled and sliced a small apple and added them, so that they could soak up the liquid and begin to soften. I added a teaspoon of cinnamon and stirred it in well- it disperses very easily and spreads evenly over the apple with no problems.

As soon as the water had been absorbed or had evaporated away, I added a tiny splash of brandy... why not?!? Well- there are 2 reasons maybe to not do so... 1.) if you are making this for children, or 2.) if you don't like brandy... in which case you can add a little apple juice- whatever you add- just a little splash! 

Next I added some slivered almonds and a drizzle of honey- not too much and stirred it in well so that everything became nicely coated. I turned the heat down, as honey tends to brown very quickly and can burn and become nasty and bitter... and flipped over the apple slices until they and the almonds became brown on all sides. Finished! I then removed them from the heat and allowed them to cool whilst I whipped up my yogurt.

I whipped the yogurt for a full 5 minutes- this made it become fluffier and smoother- even though it was relatively low fat... which was simply a matter of my particular taste. You could always use a full fat or Greek yogurt- that would taste delicious as well!

And that was all that I had to do! I made sure the apple was cool before serving it as it would otherwise have probably made the yogurt curdle (not good!) and spooned some of the honey/syrup over the top... good times! And a lot more guilt-free than most desserts- so go ahead and enjoy a little bit more ;-)

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