The Sunday Recipe: Wild Blueberry Tart with Almond Crust

November 28, 2021 at 5:59 am (Recipes)
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Tarts have been big in my house this year. Easy to make with a gluten free crust and relatively low sugar, they are perfect for a fast and easy dessert. I had a yen for blueberries the other day and found wild blueberries in the freezer section of our local grocery store so this week’s recipe is a wild blueberry tart.

Wild Blueberry Tart with Almond Crust

Crust Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 160 grams or 1 1/2 cups almond flour

Filling Ingredients

  • 16 ounces or 3 cups blueberries, defrosted
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca flour (mixed with 1 tablespoon water)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prep your tin if needed. (I used a non-stick 9 inch tart pan but an 8 X 8 tin, greased and lined with parchment paper, will work just fine.)
  3. Heat the 2 tablespoons of butter in the maple syrup for 1 minute on 50% power in the microwave then stir to finish melting.
  4. Add the pinch of salt and almond flour.
  5. Stir to combine.
  6. Turn out into your tin and press evenly out to the sides and up a half inch.
  7. Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.
  8. Meanwhile, combine all the filling ingredients except for the dissolved tapioca powder in a medium saucepan.
  9. Bring just to a boil over medium high heat.
  10. Stir in the tapioca flour and keep stirring for 30 seconds to a minute as it thickens.
  11. Remove from heat.
  12. When the tart shell is ready, fill with the blueberry filling.
  13. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
  14. Allow to cool before serving.
  15. This is best served the same day or the next because the almond pastry will soften if left for two days. Not a deal breaker, but it’s nicer when crisp.

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The Friday Poem: Warp and Weft

November 26, 2021 at 6:00 am (Poetry)

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The Sunday Recipe: Orange Cranberry Muffins

November 21, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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This is a reprise of a recipe I shared last year with just a few changes. Orange and cranberry are so ubiquitous at this time of year, that it doesn’t seem fair, most of it has wheat flour in it. This one is gluten free. (These got a tiny bit scorched as I’m still getting used to my new oven, but they tasted just fine.)

Orange Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup melted butter, cooled
  • 3/4 cup white rice flour
  • 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • Zest of one orange (optional)

Directions

  1. Combine dried cranberries with orange juice in a glass bowl or measuring cup.
  2. Microwave on low power, about 50% power for one minute.
  3. Allow to sit for at least one hour, preferably overnight in the fridge.
  4. When ready to make the muffins, pour the cranberries into a strainer and set aside.
  5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  6. Combine the oats and buttermilk then allow to sit for 10 minutes.
  7. Grease 12 muffin cups.
  8. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs.
  9. Add maple syrup.
  10. Mix the melted butter.
  11. Add white rice flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  12. Stir in cranberries and orange zest.
  13. Divvy up amongst the 12 muffin cups.
  14. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
  15. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  16. Enjoy.

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The Friday Poem: Equivalents

November 19, 2021 at 6:00 am (Poetry)

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Sunday Recipe: Chunky Maple Apple Tart #glutenfree

November 14, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Chunky Maple Apple Tart #glutenfree

I’ve finally realized my two tart pans are two different sizes and the smaller one works much better for this recipe. It allows the dough to fill the tart pan and create a substantial but not overly heavy crust. It’s a Wilton non-stick pan, 9 by 1.125 inches. My 8 by 8-inch square tin works great too but I find you need to line it with parchment paper to get things out easily, and it’s not quite as pretty. I’d say this serves about 6. I wanted a simple apple pie type dessert since I have so many apples, but one that was gluten free. This one fits the bill. It’s easier to make than a pie and yet satisfies that particular desire without any gluten, and pretty easy to make vegan. I love to serve it with sharp cheddar cheese.

Ingredients

For the Crust

  • 2 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 ½ cups or 160 grams almond flour

For the filling

  • 4 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca flour mixed with 1 tablespoon cool water
  • ¼ teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Use a non-stick tart pan OR grease and line an 8 by 8 pan with parchment paper.
  3. Combine the crust ingredients and press into the prepared pan with your fingers, pressing the crust up the side.
  4. Bake for 12 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, prepare the apples and combine with the water, butter, and maple syrup in a medium sauce pan.
  6. Bring to a low boil over medium heat. (Takes about five minutes.)
  7. Simmer covered for another five minutes, stirring periodically, until apples are softened.
  8. Stir in the tapioca slurry and seasonings.
  9. Pour into the crust and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
  10. Cool completely before serving.

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The Friday Poem: Writing Brain Connections

November 12, 2021 at 6:00 am (NaNoWriMo, Poetry)

#nanowrimo2021

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The Sunday Recipe: Paleo Apple Pie Fail

November 7, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)

I really wanted to work on making an apple pie that was gluten free and lower sugar so I went looking for a pie crust that uses almond, coconut, and/or tapioca flour. I found a crust that sounded good at https://www.foodrepublic.com/recipes/holy-grail-status-perfect-paleo-pie-crust-recipe/ and gave it a try. I don’t have a recipe for you this week because I honestly don’t deem it worth trying again. I really didn’t like it. It was edible, but that was the best I can say for it.

I followed the directions, using my food processor. I molded it into a disk and wrapped in plastic wrap then refrigerated it for exactly 20 minutes, per the recipe. I placed it between two sheets of parchment paper and tried to roll it out, but it immediately just started crumbling. I eventually gave up, dumped it into my pie plate and just pressed it in. I should have blind baked it to avoid a soggy bottom but I didn’t and I had one.

I also used palm shortening, which could have affected the recipe, but the creator allows for a variety of fat contents. The recipe itself says to weigh the ingredients and measure, but doesn’t give the weights, just the measurements. The problem with this is that I have had almond flour packages that said ¼ cup was 15 grams and others that said ¼ cup is 28 grams. Big difference. That could have had something to do with how the crust turned out for me.

The recipe also gives instructions on blind baking but doesn’t really apply the use of the crust to pies, which tend to bake at a higher temperature than the creator gives for blind baking. I did not blind bake, just filled with the standard Betty Crocker recipe for a deep dish apple pie, exchanging maple syrup for the sugar, and tapioca flour for the wheat flour.

It smelled heavenly. And the edges didn’t taste horrible, just not what I’m looking for. I’d rather make a tart using my standard almond flour crust, if I’m going to go in this direction anyway. I really want a gluten free pie crust I can roll out, make a two crust pie, and have it rival a regular pie. Maybe that’s asking too much of alternative flours. But I’ll try some other recipes before I give up.

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The Friday Poem: Blanketed

November 5, 2021 at 6:00 am (Poetry)
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