Raspberry Tarts

March 27, 2009


Raspberry Tart 2

From the archives :: Text and recipe originally posted on Natural Living Cuisine

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

1 cup almonds, soaked and dried
¼ cup fresh grated or organic unsweetened shredded coconut
6 Medjool dates, pits removed
1 tablespoon agave
1 teaspoon rose water
1 teaspoon organic vanilla

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


1 cup fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon agave
½ teaspoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon rose water

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.

The components of this tart can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated. Assemble when ready to serve.

Serves 4

Back to Top ⇑

Reading: Raspberry TartsTweet This: Send Page to Twitter

-->

Comments

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Thank you for stopping by.

12 Comments so far

  1. Rebecca on March 28, 2009 Saturday, 5:56 am

    Wow, those look delish!

    Thanks Beppa hope you have a chance to try them.

  2. astrorainfall on March 28, 2009 Saturday, 6:57 pm

    Those raspberry tarts look divine. Yum.

    Astrorainfall – Thanks ~ cool name and thanks for stopping by.

  3. Kristen's Raw on March 28, 2009 Saturday, 10:42 pm

    Hi Ingrid!
    I love using rose water and orange blossom water in my recipes. It adds such a unique tasting experience.

    Great photo!

    Cheers,
    Kristen

    Hi Kristen – Yes, rose and orange blossom water is a very special flavoring ingredient and I love using both.

  4. debbie on March 29, 2009 Sunday, 12:59 pm

    yum, I love raspberries!
    again, you inspire me, like always!
    love deb

    Aw Deb – thanks! :-)

  5. Shernell on March 29, 2009 Sunday, 2:43 pm

    Great combanation ! and your the winner of my first ever Raw Experiences Give away !
    http://rawexperiences.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/03/index.html

    Shernell – well thank you very much!!! :-D

  6. Nicole on March 30, 2009 Monday, 12:54 pm

    Yum! This recipe will definitely make it to the list:)

    Nicole – would love to know how you like it.

  7. jessica on March 30, 2009 Monday, 5:07 pm

    gorgeous pic.
    so looking forward to eating berries soon, when back in usa.

    Hi and thanks Jessica!

  8. Zara on March 30, 2009 Monday, 6:44 pm

    These look irresistibly good. Raspberries are my favorite berries. This would make a perfect dessert to make during berry season. Book marked!

    Thanks Zara!

  9. Umm Nassim on April 9, 2009 Thursday, 9:37 pm

    My favorite dessert so far! Instead of rose water I used orange blossom water. This weekend I will try the exact same recipe substituting the almonds with a pistachio/rose water combination.

    Hi Umm – pistachio + rose water pair well together. Orange blossom water is an excellent sub in place of rose water. I’ll have to try it next time. Glad you are enjoying this recipe.

  10. spazz.me on April 16, 2009 Thursday, 4:57 pm

    mmmmmmm!

  11. Rose :: Herb of the Month : Raw Epicurean on February 14, 2010 Sunday, 6:18 pm

    [...] Rose is wonderful in sweet dishes. Here is one my recipes Raspberry Tarts. [...]

  12. Berries Prevent Sun-Induced Wrinkles : House of Verona on March 25, 2010 Thursday, 7:32 am

    [...] got a great recipe for a berry tartlet here. [...]

Get The Raw Epicurean Report free monthly food news in your inbox
Email:
For Email Marketing you can trust

Receive the latest raw vegan recipes and related posts via email alerts | RSS subscription

Let's connect via Twitter

Join our fabulous community

Herb of the Month

Red Clover our featured spice for April. We'll highlight its benefits, showcase it in raw vegan recipes, and at the end of the month a reader's name will be drawn from the comments, and our sponsor

Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c

will send that person products featuring red clover. Thank you for participating!