Spring has finally arrived! The sun has made an appearance, and not a shy one, and it brought higher temperatures with it – or at least higher than subzero, which I for one very much appreciate! -. And so, flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and I begin to put lemon on EVERYTHING. Not that I don’t do this the rest of the year, but with the warmer temperatures my obsession somehow grows and G has to sometimes put his foot down.
I had been wanting to do a no-bake tart for a while, also since I’m experimenting for a birthday coming up soon and wanted to try different things, and wasn’t sure if I should try agar-agar or good old-fashioned gelatine and for once forget the dear vegetarians and vegans of my community. I went with gelatine, but this recipe luckily works with both, and you can find the substitutions in the Bonus Tips section below. I also didn’t want to use sugar, which is why this recipe calls for honey instead. This also adds to the texture of the tart, making it so nice I actually couldn’t resist to have a piece for breakfast the day after I made it. This lemon tart is not only uncomplicated, but also healthy, gluten-free and low on calories. And make no mistake just because it doesn’t have sugar, it’s still sweet and smooth with a crunchy base and full of flavour.
- 3 cups soaked cashews
- 1/2 cup sweetener (see options below)
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 4 drops Young Living lemon essential oil
- vanilla extract
- gelatin powder or agar-agar
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 150g ground almonds
- 60g coconut butter
- Drain the cashews after having soaked them for at least 2 hours, then blend it together with the sweetener and the vanilla extract to make a smooth cream. Reserve.
- Melt the coconut butter and mix with the ground almonds. Press onto a pie plate making sure it’s even (I use a small glass that has a completely flat base).
- Bake at 175ºC for 10 minutes, and allow to cool.
- Measure the cashew cream and calculate the amount of gelatine accordingly.
- In a small pot on low heat, add the lemon juice and sprinkle the gelatine powder you measured in the previous step. Whisk slightly and let it come to a boil.
- Pour the gelatine together onto the cashew cream making sure it’s well mixed, then separate into two bowls.
- Add the turmeric powder into one of the bowls only, and mix well. Use a non-plastic spoon or spatula to avoid turmeric dyeing your tool.
- Add 2 drops of YL lemon essential oil to each bowl.
- Alternate pouring the cashew cream from the two bowls randomly. Once you’ve finished, take a toothpick and swirl it across the surface to create a marbled result.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.
BONUS TIPS:
- Sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, agave…
- Substitute the gelatine powder for agar-agar to make it vegan/vegetarian! Follow this link for more details.
- You can substitute the same amount of ground almonds for ground biscuits if you prefer. Do not use plain flour instead of almonds though, it will have no flavour.
- You can skip the turmeric if you wish, the cashew cream without the yellow colour will give it a look similar to a cheesecake. You can also get creative with other natural food colouring.
