(Paleo) Almond-Berry Tartlets

As much as I love fall, I'm not ready to let summer go yet.
I've been noticing some leaves changing in the park, but I'm trying to ignore them and pretend I don't see them.
I think I’ve said “I can’t believe it’s September already” a million times over the last couple of days.
I’ve even cracked the joke “Wake me up when September ends” a dozen times or more, and it just isn’t funny anymore.
The dark evenings are approaching with dread but I’m not ready to go into hibernation mode.
People, what happened to sitting out in the bright until 9pm?


On top of that, I’ve been caught without a jacket on more than one occasion. But wearing a coat out seems just wrong so soon after summer.
Not to mention that I just can’t think about unleashing the winter clothes boxes from under the bed, and put away the shorts and the flip-flops.
Nope, can’t do.
I can’t let summer go.
I still want to jump off the dock into the water, laugh over the silly stuff, bobbing out at the end of the dock, toes pointed to the sky.


I want to spend my afternoons picking blueberries and raspberries.
Come home and bake some delicious almond-berry tartlets with my posse (nieces + nephew) and let the mess happen. Because there’s no way to contain the disaster zone and honestly I don’t want to.
Baking with the kids is fun because it’s messy, and there’s no other way to do it.


Don’t let the look of these tartlets deter you, they’re actually so easy to make, the kids can definitely help.
The crust is made in the food processor in 3 minutes and you can have your kids press the dough into the molds (just make sure they wash their hands before!)
The custard just needs a bit of whisking.
And when it’s time to assemble the tartlets, give the berries to the kids and let their creativity run wild.


We made the tartlets, admired them, took a couple of pictures, ate them all day, and then served them up again later that evening to the adults.
I didn’t tell anyone that the tartlets were paleo friendly, grain and dairy-free, everyone was focusing on how crazy good these were.
A perfect summer night, all was right with the world.


(Paleo) Almond Berry Tartlets                                                                                    Print this recipe!
Adapted from Against All Grains

Ingredients
Makes 8 tartlets (depending on the size of your molds)

Crust

¾ cup / 3.3 oz / 95 gr pecans
1 ½ cups / 5.3 oz / 150 gr almond flour (I used Wellbee’s)
¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of nutmeg
3 tablespoons cold coconut oil (or butter)
2 tablespoons raw organic honey
1 free-range organic egg

Custard

½ tablespoon gelatin (I used Great Lakes)
1 tablespoon water
1 cup / 250 ml almond milk (or other milk of your choice)
¼ cup raw organic honey
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and bean reserved
3 egg yolks
Coconut cream scraped from the top of 1 (13.5 oz) chilled can of full fat coconut milk (I used Natural Value)
3 cups mixed berries (I used blueberries and raspberries)

Directions

Place gelatin in a bowl add 1 tablespoon of water and whisk until dissolved.
In a small saucepan combine almond milk, seeds from the vanilla bean, and the bean shell and heat over medium-high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes.
In a small bowl whisk the egg yolks and honey, then slowly pour the heated milk mixture into the bowl, whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to the pan and heat for another 2 to 3 minutes while whisking the entire time.
Pour in the softened gelatin, and whisk until dissolved.
Reduce to a low simmer and continue cooking for another 5 minutes until starts to thicken and will coat the back of a spoon.
Pour the custard into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to avoid a skin from forming.
Refrigerate until cold (a couple of hours should suffice.)
In the meantime make the crust.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and place a rack in the middle.
Place pecans in the bowl of a food processor and ground them down to a coarse flour.
Add almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut oil, honey, egg, and vanilla and pulse until a ball of dough forms.
Divide the dough among greased molds (use molds with removable bottoms if possible) and press it into the bottom and up the sides of the molds.
Cut small circles of parchment paper and lightly press them into the bottom of each mold.
Fill the bottom of each mold with beans and bake for 8 minutes.
Remove the beans and parchment paper, and bake for further 4 to 5 minutes until golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.
Take the cold custard from the fridge, open up the can of coconut milk and scoop the thick coconut cream (trying to keep as much liquid out the cream as possible) into the custard.
With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, whip the custard until thick and creamy, about 3 minutes.
Divide the custard among the cooled tartlets and chill for an hour to let the custard set.
Arrange your berries then serve immediately, or keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Nutrition facts

One tartlet yields 384 calories, 30 grams of fat, 29 grams of carbs and 8 grams of protein.