Natural Living Cuisine

Raspberry Tarts

I thought it would be easy to decide what to make with all the red ripe raspberries we bought, it wasn’t. Most of the time I know exactly what I will make but there are times like this when I can’t seem to make up my mind. One thing I knew for sure - whatever recipe I dreamed up, turned raw, or borrowed from a creative raw food friend - it had to show off these gorgeous berries. So, as I sat at the dining table eating a bowl of them, I thought what better way to do so than to make a tart.

Since the emphasis is on the raspberries, I made the crust as thin as I could and thick enough to hold together and not to fall apart (about ¼ inch thick). After chilling the crust in the refrigerator, I trimmed off the edges and cut the crust into four 4 x 1 ¾ inch rectangles. The excess crust makes a great snack just roll into bite sized balls and eat. Another idea would be to shape them into micro-mini tarts and garnish with a single berry.

Although I generally prep my almonds (soak, remove skin, dry) when I bring them home from the health food store, I must admit that the almonds I used this time for this recipe were not sprouted. Either way the crust will turn out fine.

One tip: beware of over-processing the nuts used in the crust. It would take a few minutes of continuous processing, but there is a point where they start turning into a paste.

Raspberry Tarts

The crust can be made with other nuts like brazil nuts, pecans, walnuts, cashews, or seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, or chia seeds. The raspberry sauce is complimented with a subtle hint of rose water. If you do not have rose water, orange blossom water works too, or use organic vanilla extract. One of my favorite online sources to purchase both these fragrant waters is Dayna’s Market. Other berries – blueberry, blackberry, strawberries - would go well with this crust and make a great tart.

Sweet Almond Crust

Place the almonds in a food processor and process until it reaches a crumbly-grainy consistency. Add coconut and dates and process until the dates are broken down and mixed in well with the almonds. Add the remaining ingredients and process until well incorporated.

Shaping the crust

Place enough crust mixture into a tart pan (in the ball-park of 8 x 11) or in individual tartlette pans and shape and mold the crust to the pan. A springform tart pan is great for ease of removing the crust. If you don’t have one on hand, consider brushing a little coconut oil in the tart pan before the crust mixture.

If you are shaping the crust freehand (as I did) turn the crust mixture out onto a cookie sheet lined or wooden cutting board. Flatten the crust to the desire thickness and form into the shape desired using a cookie cutter or a knife to cut out squares or rectangles.

Chill the crust in the refrigerator for an hour or until ready to use.

Raspberry Sauce

Add all ingredients to a food process and process until the raspberries turn into a sauce. Place a strainer over a large measuring cup or bowl and pour the raspberry sauce into the strainer. Take a small rubber spatula or spoon and stir and press the raspberry sauce through the strainer. Continue until all the raspberry sauce is in the bowl and only the raspberry seeds remain in the strainer. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Assemble the tart

Remove the tart crust and raspberry sauce from the refrigerator. Spread the raspberry mixture over the sweet almond crust and top with fresh raspberries and serve.

This tart can be made a day ahead. Keep refrigerated.

Serves 4

Related Posts on Berries

Raspberries

Fresh Mulberries

Other desserts from Natural Living Cuisine

Banana Cream Pie

Cashew Coconut Pudding with Orange Segments

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

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