Apple Lasagna

This apple lasagna is a delicious and sweet take on the classic pasta dish.

Cinnamon sugar apples are layered with a cream cheese mousse and topped with vegan toffee and caramel. What more could you ask for? So decadent, cozy, and yummy. It is also really simple to assemble and no-bake! The hardest part about fall and winter is deciding which dessert recipes to make! This apple lasagna is definitely a great place to start.

Apple Lasagna [Vegan]

Ingredients

For the Cookie Layer:

• 1 box of graham crackers (you will use 2 1/2 sleeves from the box)

For the Apple Layer:

• 3-4 medium sized apples peeled & sliced to about 1/8 inch thick
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 Tablespoons brandy (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon vegan butter

For the Cream Cheese Mousse:

• 2 packages vegan cream cheese
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 cans coconut milk (full fat), refrigerated overnight
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

For the Vegan Toffee (optional):

• 1 cup vegan butter
• 1 cup vegan sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons water
• 10 ounces vegan chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup finely chopped almonds

Optional Caramel (optional):

• 1/2 cup palm sugar paste
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• pinch of Salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

For the Apples:

1. Melt the vegan butter in a large skillet over high heat and then add the slices apples. Let them cook down for about 5 minutes stirring frequently then add the brown sugar, flour and spices and stir well to combine
2. Stirring often, let the apples cook down for about 10 minutes, I cover the pan with a lid from time to time to get them nice and steamy.
3. Add the brandy and the maple syrup and cook until they are tender but not mushy- total time about 15 minutes of cooking
4. Remove from the heat and cool completely

For the Mousse:

1. Open the cold cans of coconut cream and scoop the fat from the top, reserve the liquid for another recipe and then whip the coconut fat with a whip attachment until soft peaks form. Set aside.
2. Combine the vegan cream cheese, sifted confectioners sugar, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and light brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl (you can use an electric mixer, but vegan cream cheese breaks down very easily and by hand mixing you can be sure you won't turn it into soup!)
3. Fold the coconut whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture

For the Vegan Toffee Bark (optional):

1. Toast your chopped almonds on a baking sheet for five minutes at 300°F. You can use any nut you like, but almonds work best in this recipe.
2. Line a half sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and keep it near your burner. Have your chocolate chips and chopped almonds ready as well.
3. Add the vegan sugar, water, vanilla, and vegan butter to a medium-sized saucepan.
4. Heat over medium heat while stirring continuously until the vegan butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Increase the temperature to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat as needed to keep the syrup from boiling over.
5. When the color gets darker and the caramel starts to thicken, clip a candy thermometer to the side of the of the pan or check the temperature often with a probe. Remove from the heat as soon as the caramel reaches 300°F.
6. Pour the caramel onto your prepared pan immediately and spread it out quickly.
7. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the hot toffee. Let the chocolate chips get melty, then spread them out evenly over the toffee.
8. Sprinkle the chopped almonds over the melted chocolate. Press lightly on the nuts to make sure they stick to the chocolate. (Do this carefully so you don’t spread chocolate on top of the nuts.)
9. Let the toffee cool completely and be sure that the chocolate is fully hardened. Break the toffee into small pieces and store them in an airtight container. Add a piece of waxed paper between each layer of toffee.

For the Vegan Caramel (optional):

1. Combine the palm sugar and coconut milk together in a sauce pot and whisk smooth until it starts to boil.
2. Once it boils reduce heat to medium and stop stirring and let it reduce to almost half the original volume (which would be about 1/2 cup) this should take about 5 minutes, not much longer.
3. Add the salt and vanilla extract and swirl the pan to combine.

To Assemble: 

1. In the bottom of a 9"x9" baking pan arrange the graham crackers.
2. Layer with 1/3 of the mousse mixture and then top with half of the apples.
3. Layer with more graham crackers, another 1/3 of the mousse and the other half of the apples.
4. A final layer of graham crackers and the last of the cream cheese mousse.
5. Sprinkle with vegan toffee and drizzle vegan caramel.
6. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving, the lasagna actually got better the next day just like a traditional lasagna!

Notes

Apple Lasagna must be kept refrigerated and will stay fresh for up to 4 days

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/apple-lasagna-vegan/