The most delicious peach tart ever – paleo, GF, vegetarian, no refined sugar, low fat, vegan option

This was yesterday’s experiment.  We had 4 very large, firm nectarines, not particularly sweet, and not a lot to do with them – so this tart/ pie/ slice kinda happened.  And boy am I glad it did… I think this has to be one of my favourite dessert recipes period, which is quite amazing given the fact it contains no sugar except what is naturally found in the fruit.  The peach topping is just delicious, I could eat a bowlful on its own.  In honesty, that’s what makes this dessert – you could use any pastry, cake or cheesecake base you’d like (or none at all) and it would probably be fabulous – meaning you can easily make this vegan too.  But if I can make something fast and low-carb to hold all that delicious topping (the pastry does meet these criteria) then all the better.  It’s also firm enough not to fall apart if you decide to pick up a slice to eat while wondering about.  Yum 🙂

Incidentally, because our fruit wasn’t that sweet or soft and yours might be, you may find you need less stevia/ sugar that specified, and a shorter cooking time before the peaches dissolve into a beautiful, fruity sauce.  Play with the sweetness if you need to, and if your fruit has melted into a glorious soup you could combine it with the fruity custard in the saucepan before pouring it on top of the tart to help it set better.

Or you could just eat it with a spoon, straight from the pan.  Whatever makes you happy 😉

would you just look at all that yumminess? 

Ingredients – makes one 7 by 12″ tart 

• 1 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup arrowroot starch (or cassava flour, or regular flour if you want)
• 7 tbsp egg whites, or 2 whole, medium eggs (beaten)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (good quality please)
• 4 extra large (or 5-6 regular) peaches or nectarines, peeled and chopped
• 18g Truvia (this is a 1% stevia/ 99% erythritol sweetener available in the UK) or if you want to use sugar, try about 80g or to taste
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 cup (240ml) apple & mango juice (or pure fruit juice of choice)
• 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in the US) – or for pure paleo, thickener of choice e.g. arrowroot (but I haven’t tried this)

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C for a fan assisted oven or about 160 degrees C for a conventional one.  That’s about 300F I believe (doesn’t actually matter that much as the pastry is so thin).  mix the arrowroot, ground almonds, egg, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth, then spread evenly over the base of a loose-bottomed, well-greased 7 by 12″ brownie pan (or 8 or 9″ square if you prefer).  If you line the pan with paper you should probably brush the top of it with oil to prevent sticking too.
2. Bake the pastry (or your own pastry of choice) until starting to turn golden at the very edges.  In the mean time, put the peaches, coconut oil and Truvia or sweetener of choice into a saucepan.  on a medium-high heat, stirring frequently, cook until the fruit is softened and somewhat translucent.  You’ll need to check the pastry every so often while you do this.
3. Once the fruit is cooked (test the sweetness and adjust if necessary – cooking a bit longer to avoid sugary grains if you add more) and the pastry is ready, spoon the fruit over the top of the tart base.  Spread in as even a layer as you can manage.
4. put the cornstarch (or thickener of choice) in a saucepan and add about 1/4 of the fruit juice.  Stir quickly or whisk until all of the lumps are gone and you have a smooth, creamy coloured liquid.  Add the rest of the juice then put the saucepan on a medium heat, stirring all the time until the mixture starts to boil.  It is ready when the mix has thickened, become translucent and almost like a custard.
5. Pour your amazing fruity custard over the top of the tart.  As soon as it is cool enough to set, you can cut it into pieces and serve 🙂

Enjoy!

healthy fig & almond slice – paleo, GF, sugar free, low fat (yes, really)

This is a recipe I developed as a guilt-free alternative to one of my favourites, the raspberry and almond slice from Costa coffee shops.  Theres something oh-so-delicious about that rich, dense almond base with those swirls of jam, and the delicate flakes of almond on top… the first version of this recipe I made was very similar, but contained no sugar except for the jam (plus I had no flaked almonds in the house), and it doesn’t have that odd layer of doughy pastry at the bottom which I don’t really like.  It was so good that before the batch finished I made it again, this time a double portion and without any added sugar at all – just fresh, sliced figs baked into the top.  The recipe for both can be seen here.

In case you’re wondering how on earth this can taste like a dessert without sugar in it – that’s because of stevia.  Stevia is a natural sweetener they have been using for generations in South America, its from a plant, tastes 300 times sweeter than sugar in its pure form, and contains no calories.  Too good to be true, right? I thought so, especially because there’s a bit of an art in baking with it to get the sweet balance right, and the first few times I tried it didn’t work so well. But I think I’m getting the hang of it now, because the last few things I’ve made have been great 🙂  But don’t worry if this doesn’t convince you, I’ve given the option to use regular sugar instead.  Hurrah!

Did I mention this recipe also has no added fat, and is so simple a child could make it? yup.  yesterday was a good day 🙂

Here it is before going into the oven 🙂

I couldn’t resist giving it a little styling – you can see more pictures on my Facebook page, Fancy Favours & Edible Art

and here is the first version, the raspberry jam original 🙂

 

Ingredients – makes one 9″ tart

• 2 cups ground almonds (480ml as measured in a measuring jug.  Don’t look at me that way, I’m not weird)
• 6 medium egg whites, or 12 tbsp carton egg whites (if you can’t find these you could use 4 whole eggs)
• 2 tsp oil based almond essence 
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tsp (90ml) of stevia based sweetener with erythritol (in the UK the brand name for this is Truvia) – important it has the weight and granular appearance of sugar.  NB: Truvia “baking blend” is different – its sweeteners plus sugar and you will have to adjust amounts if you use that one.  If you want to use real sugar, its 2 cups (480ml).
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds
• 3 fresh sliced figs to top, or 4 tbsp raspberry jam of choice for the sweeter traditional alternative

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C fan, 180 C for regular ovens or whatever your equivalent gas mark
2. Line a 9″ round or 8″ square pan with baking paper, then brush with oil or spray with cooking spray.  This recipe sticks if you don’t.  I used a loose bottom pan, which I recommend for ease if you have one.
3. mix the almonds, sweetener, egg, baking powder and almond essence together in a bowl until well combined, then pour into your prepared pan and spread evenly.  Top with dollops of raspberry jam, or slices of fig, then sprinkle over the flaked almonds, as in pic 1.
4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester or fork comes out clean.  Allow to cool on a wire rack, then remove from the tin and peel away the paper.

Enjoy! 🙂