Warm Strawberry, Apple, and Acai Crisp with Maple Nutmeg Cream

Kindi Lantz March 12, 2020

Superfruit Crisp with Maple & Nutmeg Whipped Cream

Who says dessert can’t be healthy? This strawberry, apple, and açaí fruit crisp is loaded with antioxidants, fiber, protein, and even beneficial minerals, including magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Even the whipped cream is healthier than most, sweetened with pure maple syrup, rather than processed sugar. So you can feel good about indulging in it even if there isn’t a special occasion to celebrate.

This rustic dessert is perfectly balanced in a multitude of ways. It is both light and decadent, sweet and tart, smooth and crumbly, warm and when topped with the nutmeg whipped cream, cool. It’s an exceptional dessert for a potluck, family-style entertaining, or, dare I say it—breakfast! 

The impetus of this superfruit crisp was an outing to a community event, where I treated myself to an açaí bowl. Oats, almonds, strawberries, and, of course, açaí—I thought to myself, “this would be even tastier if it was warm and crispy”! Once I decided to transform similar ingredients into a subtly spiced fruit crisp, I had a decision to make, did I want to incorporate the nutrient-dense açaí via frozen pulp or a freeze-dried powder. Fresh wasn’t an option because açaí turn rancid very quickly after being picked and are not shipped fresh. I chose the powder for one main reason. Between the juice that cooks out of the strawberries and apples and the bourbon I wanted to enhance the flavor with, the crisp could have been in jeopardy of becoming runny. Using the powdered açaí works well in soaking up some of those juices. 

Another bonus of this healthy dessert recipe is that is super easy to make. So what are you waiting for?

Nutritious Açaí  Fruit Crisp with Maple and Nutmeg Whipped  Cream

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup almond flour
• ¾ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar, divided
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces cold butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
• ½ cup coconut shavings, unsweetened
• 2 pounds of strawberries, tops removed and sliced
• 3 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 
• 2 tablespoons Ceylon cinnamon powder
• 3 tablespoons Acai Powder
• ¼ cup bourbon 
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 ½ tablespoon fresh nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• Seeds from one scraped vanilla bean

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉.
2. Mix the oats, almond flour, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon of salt, and oats together. 
3. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the cold butter into the mixture until it is thoroughly incorporated (small balls will be formed with the flour/butter).  
4. Add the coconut shavings to the mixture. 
5. Mix the strawberries and apples together and place them at the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish. 
6. Toss in the ¼ cup of brown sugar, acai powder, cinnamon powder, and ½ teaspoon salt
7. Pour the rum over the apples and strawberries and top with the crumble topping. 
8. Place in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and crispy. 
9. Meanwhile, add the cream, maple syrup, and nutmeg together in a mixer (make sure liquid ingredients are cold). Mix on high until soft peaks have formed and you have a thick whipped cream. This will take approximately 3 minutes, depending on your mixer. Don’t mix for too long or you will have a sweet butter. 

Serving Suggestions

Serve the crisp warm with liberal amounts of the nutmeg whipped cream!

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be found in the Slofoodgroup online store for high-quality ingredients.