I have spent all weekend baking and have produced 8 different afternoon tea foods – muffins, cakes, tarts, brownies and slices, including the custard fruit tarts you see here. The others you won’t see just yet because I am preparing an e-book of afternoon tea foods which are grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free. I have a target of 50 recipes, the majority of which you will never see on this blog. I am having such fun doing this but it is damned hard work and the fridge and cake tins end up very full – not that my family are complaining. It is certainly a challenge to create the traditional fare but with no grain, dairy, nuts or refined sugar. It is a learning curve but only the successful recipes will find their way into the book so you can feel confident that if you attempt one of the recipes, it will work.
Meanwhile this fruit tart is a sample of what will be in the book. The pie crust has been adapted from the one Carol uses in her book, Indulge, which you can purchase on her blog, Ditch The Wheat.
This is NOT a low Fodmap recipe.
- 2 eggs
- 30 ml coconut oil
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tbsp Tapioca flour (optional)
- pinch salt
- 400ml/13.5oz full cream coconut milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 3 tsp honey
- pinch of turmeric
- 3 tsp gelatine
- Preheat oven to 350°F or180°C.
- In a food processor, blend the oil and the eggs.
- Sift the flours and salt into the processor and blend until it forms a ball.
- Press the pastry out into 4 tart dishes to form pastry shells.
- Bake 10 minutes.
- Cool completely.
- In a double boiler, heat the coconut milk, reserving a few spoonfuls for dissolving the gelatine.
- When it is hot but not boiling, add the vanilla and honey and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat.
- Beat the egg yolks in a bowl.
- 1 tbsp at a time, add the hot coconut milk to the eggs, all the while whisking vigorously.
- When it has all been added, pour back into the top of the double boiler and heat gently on the stove, continuing to whisk until it thickens. This takes a long time so be patient.
- Add the gelatine to the reserved coconut milk and heat gently to dissolve it.
- When the custard is ready, add the gelatine mixture which will finish the thickening when it is refrigerated.
- Cool down almost completely before pouring into the pastry shells.
- Place in the refrigerator to set and add the fruit just before serving.
This looks divine! I’m slowly being swayed towards the idea of sugar free. If it were to happen ten I’d definitely be trying this!
I think sugar-free is always sensible while grain-free is a choice. It’s a good idea to make changes slowly or it all fails big time.
Another stunner!! I have to admit that I have never used gelatine before but this could be the time to try it out. All the best for the new ebook – I’m sure it will be a great success.
Thank you, Ang, I hope people like the book.
Gelatine is a great aid for setting things that could stay runny and make a mess.
You are really coming along with your quest to become gluten and grain free, all things that are worthwhile take a lot of effort
That’s right, Tania and hopefully it is worthwhile in terms of my health. But I think the sugar-free is the most important.
These tarts look amazing and it’s so hard to believe they’re GF. Congratulations on your e-book. I wonder how you find the time! Good on you for putting in the effort as I’m sure it’s not easy xx
It means having little time for anything else but work, family and e-book but I am sure it will be worth it when it’s finished and out there.
Congratulations Suzanne! I can’t wait to see and buy your ebook. Do let me know if you need help getting the word out once it’s released. The tart looks amazing! I love a little custard in mine.
P.S. Will you have any spelt flour recipes? I’ve been using and loving it lately.
Thanks so much, Nancy, for the offer. I had a tart for breakfast and it was a great way to start the day.
The e-book will be completely grain-free, which means no spelt flour. I do think it’s a great alternative to normal flour though.
Your e-book will be an instant success! With lovely dishes like this one, how could it not? Beautiful tarts!!!
Thanks, Liz. I hope you are right. This dish certainly turned out well and tasted great.
Another beautiful tart! This looks wonderful. I’m super impressed that you’re putting together an e-book. Sounds like a lot of fun, although I know it’s a great deal of work. Good luck!
Thank you, John. It certainly is a lot of work but so satisfying to get them all together in one place.
What lovely tarts, the fruit topping is so pretty! Congratulations on your e-book!
Thanks, Laura. I have a little way to go yet though. I can only bake in the weekends and then I end up with the tins so full they are bursting.
I made this last night. It was excellent. I added an orange juice gelatin layer over the fruit at the top and used an extra tsp of Felton to firm up the custard a little more because I was doing 1 large tart and I wanted it to hold together really well when sliced. I also used 1 TBS instead of tsp of vanilla in the custard because I’m a vanilla fiend and that was lovely. Next time I’d add a bit of sweetness and vanilla to the crust. I was quite impressed that the texture of this crust got the thumbs up from my picky boyfriend.
I love the idea of the orange juice gelatin layer. It would give a lovely gloss and an extra flavour lift. You can certainly add honey to the crust. In the past I made the crust without the tapioca flour but it tasted a little dry. The tapioca flour brings it closer to the realm of normal wheat/butter pastry.
I’m so happy it was a success for you.
I actually have to admit that I forgot to write that I excluded the tapioca flour because I can’t currently do starchy flours. It held up anyway though! I know it must be more moist with the tapioca so I’m thinking about including it when I make this for my boyfriend’s birthday because non-paleo people will be eating it. I’ll just have to stick to a small slice if I include the tapioca flour. The orange gelatin layer is a must. I used the juice of 2 large oranges and 2-3 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in it.
The crust is certainly fine without the tapioca so I’m glad that worked for you. The tapioca is definitely not necessary. I’m sure the non-paleo people will be very happy with this dish. By the way, 1 tbsp of honey will work well. I have done that before.
Everyone loved it though I made the crust wall a bit thick.
That sounds like a great response from your guests. It does take a bit of time to get the crust the right thickness so it’s not so thin it breaks and so it’s not so thick it over powers the custard and fruit. Now you will have to try another sugar and grain-free dessert. Good luck.
Hi!
I’m having guests over this week and I would love to make these! They are a big family, though. How big are the tarts that this recipe makes?
The tarts are 12cm or 4.5 inches in diameter. I am sure they will love them. Good luck.
Looks awesome! However, I’m not sure you can claim nut-free when it contains coconut. I was so excited to hear dairy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free, because my daughters are dairy and gluten sensitive, while I cannot digest nuts, coconut included. Darn!
My understanding has always been that coconut is not a nut but a drupe, despite the name. In fact, I have a problem with nuts but not with coconut. However, if you can’t digest it, it’s best to stay away from it. I have a lot of foods I am intolerant to so I understand the disappointment when you find a recipe that looks great but you can’t use. Good luck with the restrictions.
Hi, great recipe, when is it best to add the turmeric?
At any stage would be fine. It is only for the colour though turmeric has great anti-inflammatory properties.
I just made this but I was uncertain how thick the custard needed to be before adding the gelatin. It simmered for over an hour (I doubled the recipe because I’m making a large one) and it was still quite runny though had thickened slightly. I went ahead and added the gelatin. Not sure what will happen when it cools. thanks,
LOL. An hour is a long time to boil a custard. The gelatin should thicken it up nicely in the fridge. Fingers crossed.