Cinnamon Ice Cream with Warm Apple Compote

Can we first take a moment and do a happy dance for my first dessert posting?  Finally!  Who would have thought it would take a girl with a sweet tooth this long to post a dessert?

Here’s a recipe that has all the flavors of a warm apple pie in a sundae form.  And you’re gonna love it.  The ice cream itself isn’t overly sweet (unless you decide to add more honey than I did) so the sweet apple compote is a fantastic pairing.

Prep ahead for entertaining.  If you’re making this recipe for a party you can do everything ahead!  For the ice cream, make this the day before and just take the ice cream out about 15 minutes before you’re ready to scoop so it can soften up a little.  You could also make the ice cream base ahead, store it in the fridge, and freeze it in the ice cream maker the day of the party!  Remember, ice cream always comes out of the ice cream maker more like soft serve (as shown in the photo below).  If you want the texture of ice cream, you have to freeze it for 3-4 hours before serving.  The Warm Apple Compote comes together pretty quickly, but you can also make this a day ahead, store it in the fridge, and just re-heat it for dessert.

Tempering eggs.  This recipe for ice cream involves a technique called tempering. It’s very easy and included in the recipe’s instructions.  Tempering is where you add hot liquid to eggs allowing them to rise in temperature without cooking yet. You don’t want to add the yolks straight into the hot liquid, or they’ll just scramble. By tempering them, you incorporate them first, slowly bringing their temp up, allowing them to thicken your mixture once you place it back over heat.

Don’t have an ice cream maker?  If you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t fear!  You can still make this recipe with other equipment.  You’ll need a food processor and an ice cube tray.  To do this, follow the instructions for the ice cream below through step 6.  Once the ice cream base is made, place the mixture in an ice cube tray and freeze little cubes of the mixture.  Once it’s frozen, let the cubes soften a little on the counter, about 15-20 minutes.  Then place the cubes in the food processor.  Pulse at first to break up the cubes.  Then, run the food processor until the mixture is smooth.  If you’re having trouble getting the cubes to break up or mix, let them thaw just a little longer or slowly add splashes of almond milk.

Key to making the compote.  To make the compote, which is usually made with sugar for that syrupy sauce, you’ll need to reduce the apple juice until it’s almost gone.  Otherwise, you’ll end up with a watery sauce on your ice cream.  In the photo below, you can see just how much the apple juice has reduced by the time the compote is ready.

How do desserts fit into the paleo diet?  Posting my first dessert recipe is a great opportunity to discuss paleo and desserts.  For those reading who want to learn more about paleo, the rest of this is for you.  Otherwise, skip to the bottom for the recipe.

So here’s the deal.  Paleo is about eating in a way that keeps your blood sugar balanced; this way you don’t have huge blood sugar spikes followed by blood sugar lows.  These peaks and valleys are what can make us feel tired, sluggish, irritable, etc.  Carbohydrates (not matter the source) are all broken down into sugar molecules at the molecular level during digestion.  So whether it’s a sweet potato and whole wheat bread, or white bread, pasta and caramel, carbs are broken down into sugar.  The more sugar we eat, the more our blood sugar spikes.  Again, paleo is about keeping that spike minimal, or those peaks and valleys less far apart.

In the spirit of trying to keep a balanced blood sugar, desserts best fit into the paleo diet when eaten right after a meal.  Eating desserts on their own or as a snack will cause more of a blood sugar spike than with a meal.  So while paleo isn’t a high carb diet, it is also on the other hand, not just tons and tons of protein.

Let’s dispel the myth that paleo is eating gobs of just meat and bacon.  It’s not.  Eating only chicken breast for three meals a day is not endorsed.  While chicken breast is paleo, eating that way is not what paleo is about.  Another example: while bacon, dates, bananas, and cashews are paleo foods, eating 5 strips of bacon and a handful of dates in the morning, followed by two bananas at lunch and a handful of cashews before your workout does not make up a healthy, balanced diet (under any circumstances).  So someone who has tried eating paleo, eaten like this, and claimed paleo doesn’t work is a bit misguided.  When you think about having a paleo meal, try to think of your plate to be 1/3 protein and 2/3 veggies with a dose of healthy fat (like avocado, olive oil, or coconut oil).

Desserts get a little tricky then because a cake made from almond meal, coconut sugar, and ghee is still a cake.  It’s still high in fat and carbs, low in protein, and going to give you a spike in blood sugar.  A cake is a cake, paleo or not.  Simply substituting almond meal for whole wheat flour and coconut sugar for white sugar doesn’t all of the sudden make the food magically better.  

Paleo is also about restoring a good internal balance of omega 6 (N-6) and omega 3 (N-3) fatty acids.  Did you know for optimum health you should ingest N-6:N-3 at a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio?  Today’s average diet consumes these at at 10:1 ratio.  This is why oils like canola and vegetable aren’t promoted on the paleo diet.  This is why baking with cups and cups of ground almonds isn’t advised.  They’re all high in N-6 which promotes an inflammatory effect on cells.  Inflammation prolongs recovery from exercise and opens the body to other harm like type 2 diabetes.  N-3’s bring however an anti-inflammatory signal to cells thus why they’re so promoted and discussed for optimum health.

So how do desserts fit into your new paleo diet?  No one is saying you can’t have dessert anymore, especially not me — a sweet lover myself.  What I’m saying is, just because a brownie or ice cream is paleo, doesn’t mean you get a free pass to have as much as you want, whenever you want.  There’s no magic solution or food that’s going to be a cure-all.  The solution is always good ‘ol balance and moderation no matter your diet: vegan, vegetarian, paleo, gluten-free, you name it.  So save desserts for special occasions like holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and celebrations.  If you have a sweet tooth otherwise, enjoy some dark chocolate.  Or, have smaller portions of paleo sweets right after meals.  Enjoy the simple taste of sweet clementines, berries, or other seasonal fruit.  My favorites are (1) top raspberries with shaved dark chocolate, (2) mixed raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries with chiffonade of basil and mint, and some lemon zest/juice, and (3) sliced bananas with dark chocolate or frozen and blitzed with a blender and almond milk for instant “ice cream”.

I will be sharing my paleo dessert ideas and recipes with you so that on those occasions you need a sweet treat you have an arsenal of paleo ones.  On those occasions where you’re attending parties, it’s great to bring a paleo option so there’s something there you know you can enjoy.

There are many other resources on topics discussed in this post, but here are a few:  Paleo Baking: Oxymoron? from The Primalist; Thanksgiving Desserts from Paleoista; and Fish Oil from Robb Wolf.