We woke to the rumble of thunder in the
distance, a rather angry looking sky, and a whole lot of washing that was
absolutely not going to dry. It was a miserable day, and yet I can solemnly
swear that my first thought was along the lines of "what a perfect morning
for a spot of baking".
What better way to brighten your day than
whipping up a sunny lemon tart? And besides, this is no ordinary dessert...it's a
healthier twist on an old classic and is so scrumptious it barely lasts a
second in our house.
I must admit this recipe is not entirely
of my own creation, the fabulous Luise and David over at greenkitchenstories can take the credit for that. However, I must share this delightful dessert with our Shorties crew, simply for that fact that I cannot stop making it! So
without further ado, pop on your aprons and follow me.
Note: Please don't be frightened by
ingredients such as agave syrup. Apart from being available at your friendly
local health food store, co-op or even supermarket, you could absolutely substitute
it with honey or maple syrup. Having said that, agave is a really neat
sweetener and it works a treat in this recipe.
Ingredients
for the pie crust:
200 g mixed
nuts (we used almonds and cashews)
10 fresh dates
100 g cold
butter, cubed
2/5 cup (55 g)
buckwheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
for the lemon filling::
75 g butter
1 1/3 cup soy milk
1 vanilla pod
2 small lemons (juice and zest)
6 tbsp agave syrup
2 egg yolks
1 egg
4 tbsp corn flour
Pop the nuts and (pitted) dates into the
blender and grind it all up nicely. It’s totally okay for there to be lumps,
but you may need to give the dates a little prodding in between blends, as they
tend to be both stubborn and sticky.
Tip your nut mixture into a bowl with the
cubed butter, cinnamon and buckwheat flour and use your fingers to work it all
together. Once it’s all combined, pop it into a tart tin and use your fingers
again to spread it out evenly along the bottom and sides of the pan. Now just
prick it a couple of times with a fork and chuck it in the fridge while you
make the custard. That was easy!
Heat the butter, soy milk
and vanilla pod in a saucepan on medium heat. Add lemon juice, zest and agave
syrup. Bring to the boil while stirring, then lower the temperature and let it
simmer for about five minutes. You can fish out the vanilla pod now, then set
aside the mixture to cool.
In another bowl whisk egg
yolks, egg and corn flour with a hand whisk until everything is combined. Keep
whisking and slowly pour in your lemony mixture. Mix until combined.
At this point it is going
to smell amazing. Resist the urge to eat the custard up as is, and instead carefully pour it into the tart pan, and pop it all in the oven at 170C for 20 minutes. A word of warning: the
crusts can burn quite suddenly so do keep an eye on things.
Allow your tart to cool before serving and enjoy!
