Lemon Tart

If you’ve been reading this blog before you probably know that we try to cook and bake with a healthier twist. But how do you bake a lemon tart without adding sugar, wheat flour or butter? We have been asking ourselves that question the last couple of weeks. And after giving it a few tries, our answer is … you don’t. Or we don’t.

We tried to make a couple of tart crusts without butter but they just didn’t qualify. So we use butter in this recipe (quite a lot actually). But to make up for that we have made a tart crust that tastes a lot better than your regular tart crust. And we have made it without adding sugar or gluten, instead we use almonds, cashew nuts and dates. We have also made a sugar free lemon custard, using agave syrup and a vanilla pod. And when you put the crust and the custard together, you get a pretty darn good lemon tart. And that is exactly what we deserve, because we have been eating a couple of lousy tarts to get here.

Lemon Tart

Gluten free pie crust:
200 g mixed nuts (we used almonds and cashews)
10 fresh dates
100 g cold butter
2/5 cup (55 g) buckwheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon

Sugar free lemon custard:
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 starch

Making the crust: Mix nuts and dates in a blender for about a minute (it’s ok if the nuts aren’t completely grinded) and pour the mixture in a bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the bowl together with the rest of the ingredients. Use your hands to work the pastry. Coat the bottom of a 9” tart pan with some butter, and distribute the pastry evenly on the bottom and the sides. Prick the pan with fork and put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes while you make the custard.

Making the custard: Heat butter, soy milk and vanilla pod in a saucepan on medium heat. Add lemon juice, zest and agave syrup. Bring to a boil while stirring, then lower the temperature and let it simmer for about five minutes. Remove the vanilla pod, set aside and let it cool. Whisk egg yolks, egg and corn starch with a manual whisk in a large mixing bowl for a couple of minutes, then add the lemon mixture while whisking.

Pour the custard into the tart pan and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes. The tart crust can easily get burnt so keep an eye on the oven. Let it cool before serving. Decorate with fresh lemon balm.

Photo by: Johanna Frenkel.