Gluten-free Caramel Apple Mascarpone Bars Recipe
If you have been following my blog for a bit now you may have noticed something about my dessert recipes. It’s all about the combos – and this recipe is no exception! I love the way fruits and nuts combine in endless ways to make juicy, tart, sweet and flavorful desserts that are also packed with vitamins, minerals, protein and healthy fats. I am also often inspired to combine two – or even three – seemingly different desserts in creative new ways, like this recipe which is the perfect melding of apple crisp, caramel cheesecake and ricotta pie.The bottom layer is a nutty shortbread crust, followed by a mascarpone, cream cheese and ricotta layer, and a spiced apple layer. Since I cannot have oats (even the gluten-free variety) I have been experimenting with using rice cereal and nuts in its place for crumbles and other desserts. The result is a fabulously crunchy crumb that melts in your mouth. These 4 beautiful layers are completed with a rum-spiked salted caramel sauce. Yum!
This baby is super rich and packed with dairy, so if you are watching your calories or favoring paleo desserts, you may want to check out one of my other creations. That said, there is about half the amount of sugar and butter in this recipe than in gluten-ful versions I have seen. And while it may seem like a lot of ingredients and steps, it actually comes together pretty quickly and is well worth the effort!
Thank you to The Girl Who Ate Everything for the inspiration for this recipe!
Total prep time: 30 minutes. Total cook time: 45 minutes. Cool time: 2 hours. Total time from pantry to mouth: 3 hr 15 minutes. Serves 12-16.
Ingredients
Crust- 1 C gluten-free flour (I prefer Cup4Cup, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour or Authentic Foods)
- 1 C ground pecans (1 1/2 C before grinding)
- 1/4 C firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 C butter, softened
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Mascarpone Filling
- 1 8-ounce package of organic cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 8-ounce containers of mascarpone cheese (12 ounces total), softened
- 8 ounces of organic whole-milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 4 large organic eggs
- 1 tbsp Bourbon vanilla extract
Apples
- 3 large or 4-5 medium/small Honey Crisp or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
- 1/2 lemon – juiced
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Crunchy Pecan Topping
- 1/2 C firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 C gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 C crushed pecans (3/4 cup before crushing)
- 1 C gluten-free crunchy/crispy rice Cereal (I like Enjoy Life’s Crunchy Rice)
- ½ C butter, softened
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1/2 pint heavy cream
- 3/4 C dark brown sugar
- 1/4 C butter
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp spiced rum (optional)
- 2 tsp Bourbon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- For the crust: In a food processor or a blender combine flour, pecans, salt, butter and brown sugar. Pulse until it forms a coarse crumble. Press evenly into a 9×13 buttered baking dish. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cook’s Note: No need to wash the food processor yet as you will be using for the topping too.
- For the mascarpone filling: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a bowl, whisk and some serious elbow grease, beat cream cheese, ricotta and mascarpone with 1/2 cup brown sugar at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs and vanilla. Beat for several more minutes. Pour over warm crust.
- For the apples: In a medium bowl, stir together chopped apples, cinnamon, lemon, cornstarch and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.
- For the pecan crunch topping: In the food processor or blender, combine all ingredients and sprinkle topping over apples.
- Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set mostly set and only slightly jiggles in the center. Turn off the oven and let leave for 15 minutes
- For the caramel sauce: While the bars bake, put all ingredients in a heavy bottomed pot and cook on medium/low, stirring frequently until it bubbles. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the caramel thickens and alcohol burns off, about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside.
- Let cool and then drizzle with caramel sauce (note you should have some extra just in case you want to go for broke and top these with vanilla ice cream!)
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
Caramel Apple Mascarpone Bars