Apple Snails (vegan-friendly)

On Saturday, my 4-year-old boy made a couple of Apple Snails in a cooking class designed for kids. The class was actually much better than I'd expected, teaching more than just how to cook and follow a recipe. It was great watching a bunch of 3- and 4-year-old kids getting their hands floury and sticky, cleaning down the work space, setting the table, and then enjoying the fruit of their labour. And they all looked so cute with their little aprons on. They also got to eat the apple in its natural form while learning about where apples come from. The Apple Snail was pretty good, and the recipe is worthy of sharing. This is a vegan recipe, and the teacher said only organic ingredients were used. A wholesome recipe that is fun to make and tastes great.

Apple Snails

The Apple Snails that were introduced to the class at the beginning of the lesson:

Makes 16

Ingredients

Dough
590g flour
10g active yeast
240mL soy milk
60g coconut oil
70g coconut sugar
3g salt
135mL water
15g ground flaxseed

Filling
40g coconut oil
800g apples
60g coconut sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze
Coconut milk

Eyes
Big tapioca pearls
Black chia seed

Method

Dough
1. Make a flax egg by combining 15g of ground flaxseed with 135mL of cold water in a blender.
2. Heat soy milk, coconut oil and coconut sugar until coconut oil is melted.
3. Combine yeast and half of the flour in a mixing bowl. Turn mixer on low and slowly pour in the soy milk mixture. Add in the flax eggs. Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.
4. Add in remainder half of flour slowly when dough has come together. Use your hands to knead the dough. Put dough into an oiled large bowl. Cover with cling film. Let rise for 2 hours until doubled.
5. Knead dough and divide into eight pieces. Let rise again for 15 minutes before use.

Filling
Combine all filling ingredients in a pan and heat while stirring for 15 minutes. Let cool before use.

See photos below for a clear demonstration of how to make the snails.

Glaze
Brush rolled snails with coconut milk before baking at 180degC for 18 minutes.

Eyes
Boil tapioca pearls according to instructions. Use chia seed to make pupils.

Due to the fact that the lesson was only one hour duration, the dough and apple filling were prepared ahead of time:

The kids were encouraged to poke and prod the dough to get a feel of the texture and squishiness of it:

On a floured surface, flatten the dough into a rectangular shape. The kids were given a template to work on:

Spread on the prepared apple filling, leaving room at the edges:

Starting from the edge closest to you, roll up the dough (shown in the background). The class used a snail template, but it wasn't necessary:

Carefully cut the roulade into two. The knife that my boy used was a child-friendly knife that doesn't have a sharp edge; it cuts by using the back-and-forth motion:

Flip the pieces so that the cut side is facing up. Press down lightly to flatten:

Brush rolled snails with coconut milk:

Baking the snails at 180 deg C for 18 minutes:

Setting the table with fork, spoon, knife and plate. My boy was the only one who chose the same colour for all utensils and plate; the other children had more colourful choices:

The finished Apple Snails - cute, delicious and healthy: