Italy has been wonderfully good to us.
Let’s just agree, life doesn’t get much better than this.
Deliciously warm days with cool crisp nights; breathtaking views of the Amalfi Coast and amazingly scrumptious food. It has been such a glorious time; and being able to momentarily escape the Argentine winter to bask in Italy’s toasty summer sun is a pleasure so great I want to jump up and do a crazy little dance. (I’ll share about our trip in another post very soon!)
Even though we’re now back in Argentina, Italy still feels as present as it has always been.
I have a dream of living in Italy one day, speaking Italian with the ferocity and velocity of a local, dining at off-the-beaten-track trattorias and ristorantes, and living just like an Italian.
I imagine myself at the farmers’ markets, greeting the farmers as though we were old-time friends, picking the plumpest summer peaches; choosing large swelling lemons; tasting freshly made buffalo mozarrella; and smelling the sensual aroma of herbs like rosemary and thyme.
In this daydream, my arms will be laden with bags of ripe fruits of every kind, particularly berries.
There are bright red strawberries bursting with their juices as well as round little blueberries that are just the right amount of sweet. The bags are heavy but I don’t mind. I’m already thinking about devouring every single berry, that very same day.
I imagine heading back to my small cottage somewhere in Tuscany, and in my little kitchen I begin to make little tarts.
I first begin with the crust, a combination of almond meal, powdered sugar, egg and coconut oil, all mixed together and then pressed down into greased tart molds. I place the molds into the pre-heated oven, and let the crusts firm up, and a quarter of an hour later, take them out, and let them cool.
While the crusts are cooling, I whip fresh milk cream with just a touch of sugar until stiff peaks form.
Once the whipped cream is ready, I place it straight into the fridge for chilling.
Meanwhile, I wash the berries, popping a couple into my mouth every few minutes.
Forgive me, but they’re just too pretty to resist.
When the crusts have cooled and the whipped cream is chilled, all that’s left to do is to assemble.
First I scoop a generous amont of whipped cream into each crust, then I top them with berries, and finally, I sift a bit of powdered sugar over.
And so, just like that, we have grain-free berry and cream tarts.
As delightful and glorious as Italy.
I promise I will return one day to Italy, for a much longer time…
Grain-free Berry & Cream Tarts
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- For the grain-free crust:
- 2 cups of almond meal/almond flour
- 1 heaping teaspoon of powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons of coconut oil (or more if dough is still too dry)
- 1 egg, beaten
- For the filling:
- 1 cup of milk cream
- 1–2 tablespoons of granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you like your whipped cream)
- 2 cups of fresh berries (I used strawberries and blueberries)
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit (180 deg Cel)
- Mix almond meal and powdered sugar together in a large bowl
- Add in coconut oil and beaten egg, and mix all the ingredients well together, until a uniform dough is formed (add a little more coconut oil at a time if dough is too dry)
- Line tart moulds (either 2 small molds or 1 large one) with baking paper (waxy side up).
- Press dough into tart molds, making it as thin as you can.
- Bake in pre-heated oven for around 10-12 minutes, or until firm
- Remove tart crusts from the oven, and let them cool for at least 10 minutes before easing them from the molds
- While crusts are cooling, combine milk cream and sugar together, and beat it with an electric beater until stiff peaks form. Let whipped cream chill in the fridge for an hour.
- Divide whipped cream into two equal portions, and scoop each portion evenly into each tart crust
- Adorn with berries of your choice, and sift powdered sugar over
Notes
This recipe makes 2 small tarts or 1 large one.
Inspired by: Elana’s pantry (http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-pie-crust/)
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Western
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