What is autumn without apple pie? Unimaginable.
Tiny and sweet, but with a slightly sour taste, local, perfectly imperfect apples are my favorite ones. They are the ones I used to make this heavenly caramel apple pie smoothie.
I am taking traditional apple pie into a whole new creamy level with my smoothie. Flavorful apple sauce (recipe here) and silky cashew cream combined with a gooey caramel sauce and raw pecan bites ensure a delightful multitextured autumn treat. I could call this a dessert smoothie as it is quite sweet, but I actually have had this for lunch several times, so in my opinion this treat can be consumed any time of the day. Just as long as it’s done with pure pleasure and absolutely no guilt.
This caramel apple pie smoothie has a special place in my heart as it is the one I entered for the Finnish Smoothie Championships 2015. My recipe was selected to the semi-finals in Turku where I prepared my creamy smoothie to a panel of six judges whilst dancing and whirling like the Vitamix I used (for the first time!). It was a tough competition, but I got chosen for the finals where I had to pick ingredients from a table full of superfood goodies for a smoothie to be made on stage in four minutes, again while jamming to some happy tunes (this song I chose for the finals is one of my favorite ever). I had so much fun, even though I was operating slightly out of my comfort zone. Well, as they say, that is where the magic happens – and I won! So I am officially now the FINNISH SMOOTHIE CHAMPION 2015 and this is a winner smoothie! Try it, I’m sure you’ll love it. Click here for the Finnish recipe and here to see a video of the fun event (and me jamming 🙂 ).
- Cashew cream, ~1/3 cup
- a little less than ½ cup cashews (when the cashews are soaked this will be ~1/2 cup cashews)
- 4 tbsp water
- ½ tsp agave nectar
- ¼ tsp organic vanilla powder
- Smoothie
- ⅓ cup cashew cream
- ¼ cup apple sauce (homemade apple sauce recipe here)
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 small organic apple
- 1 tsp Baobab powder (for additional vitamin boost)
- ½ cup plant based milk (e.g. almond works well)
- Caramel
- 4 pitted dates (e.g.medjool)
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp coconut cream (the creamy part of coconut milk)
- ¼ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- pinch of Himalayan salt
- Raw pecan bites
- ⅓ cup pecan nuts (soaked for 6 hours and dehydrated)
- ⅓ cup buckwheat groats (soaked overnight in water and apple cider vinegar, dehydrated)
- 4 pitted medjool dates
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- pinch of Himalayan salt
- Preparations, buckwheat groats and pecans: soak buckwheat groats overnight (cover with water and add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar). Soak pecans 6 hours in water and a pinch of salt.
- Dehydrate buckwheat groats and pecans in the lowest possible temperature in the oven OR in a dehydrator until dry (in the oven usually takes ~8-12 hours)
- Preparations, cashews: soak cashews 4 hours in water and pinch of salt.
- Cashew cream: drain and rinse soaked cashews well and blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until a smooth silky consistency achieved. Add more water if needed. *SEE NOTES*
- Raw pecan bites: blend all ingredients in a food processor until a sticky dough ball can be formed. Flatten the dough onto a silicone mold (or any tin lined with a parchment paper) and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour before cutting into pieces.
- Caramel: blend all ingredients together in a food processor.
- Smoothie: blend all smoothie ingredients together in a high-speed blender.
- Assembling the smoothie: spread the caramel to the sides of the serving jar before pouring in the smoothie. Pour the smoothie in a jar (or two jars), and add caramel swirls and raw pecan bites on top.
- Enjoy the sweet taste!
This is my absolute favorite! Wish I could have one every day.
How much cashew cream does the quantities stated make?
How much cashew cream does the quantities stated make?
anya x
Hi Anya! Thank you for asking! It makes 1/3 cup cashew cream, and I’ve adjusted the recipe accordingly. Thank you for asking this question:) I’ve also added a Note to the recipe. If you have a Vitamix, there’s no need to make the cashew cream separately:) I made this recipe when I was still working with my old not-so-powerful blender and it was better to make the cream separately to make it silky smooth. Hope you have a great day:)