Lemon tartlets

There’s something about the offsetting flavours of tangy lemons with sweet maple syrup and comforting cream and egg yolks that sends me into gastronomical bliss.

I also love that this recipe only calls for 4 ingredients and you can quite literally make it in 10 minutes flat and store the tray with the filled ramekins in the fridge all day and simply pop them in the oven when you sit down for dinner. Then 1 hour later a hot dessert awaits! And it never disappoints. Both kids and adults love this dessert.

I basically took my lemon tart recipe that I crafted 10 years ago and out of sheer desperation in the interest of time I ditched the gluten-free shell part and poured the filling directly into individual ramekins. If you prefer to make 1 large lemon tart instead you’ll need to first make a shell to line a round pie dish (recipes will be given for various gluten-free shells at my gluten-free tarts workshop) before pouring the filling in and bake for same length of time. 

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Ingredients

— 1 cup lemon juice (the juice from approximately 6 lemons. I like to use a juicer which is the only reason why I still own one)

— 200ml cream (or for a dairy free version use coconut milk or coconut cream)

— 4 egg yolks plus 3 whole eggs (the spare egg whites can be stored in the fridge for several days and added to omelettes or scrambled eggs)

— 1/2 cup (160g) pure maple syrup

Note — At Broth Bar & Larder we sell coconut milk (certified organic, guar gum free, BPA free), Carbeen pastured eggs (which have the lowest stocking density of any eggs in Australia) and Jakemans pure Canadian maple syrup. So all you really need is to buy half a dozen lemons and juice them!

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients together in a blender or a stick blender. 

2. Pour into ramekins on a baking tray. This quantity makes for 10x 100ml ramekins. 

3. Bake in oven at 120 degrees for 1 hour. 

4. If you want your tartlets to have a golden brown glow, scorch the top of the tartlets with a blow torch if you are brave enough or place the tray under a heated grill element in the oven for the same effect. 

Kitchen Tip: Soak the ramekins with hot soapy water as soon as possible after the tartlets have been devoured to make for easy washing up. If you do this it avoids having to grease the ramekins first. It’s all about those time saving hacks that us mums love ;-)

ANZAC biscuit recipe!

As promised, here is my ANZAC biscuit recipe. I use my activated cinnamon-dusted buckwheat groats as my gluten-free flour substitute. 1 cup is ground into a fine flour with a spice grinder while the other cup is left whole. Maple syrup is my sweetener of choice but you could can substitute any other low fructose natural sweetener such as honey, rapadura sugar, coconut sugar, or coconut nectar. I hope you and your kids enjoy these as much as we do!

Ingredients
 
1 cup activated cinnamon buckwheat groats
1 cup activated cinnamon buckwheat to make buckwheat flour
¾ cup (70g) desiccated coconut
½ cup (160g) maple syrup
100g butter or coconut oil
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons boiling water
 
Directions
 
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.

To make the buckwheat flour, grind our activated cinnamon buckwheat in a nut/spice/coffee grinder or Thermomix (speed 9, 15 seconds) until it resembles a fine flour.

Mix together the dry ingredients of buckwheat, buckwheat flour, desiccated coconut and salt in a large bowl.

Melt the maple syrup and either the butter or coconut oil in a small saucepan and pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients together with the boiling water and mix well. If it appears too dry and crumbly add a little more boiling water until the mixture can hold together.

Take approximately a couple tablespoons or 40g of the mixture and shape into a small ball then pat down between palms of hands and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Throughout the process I find it helpful to occasionally dip my hands into a jug of filtered water to clean my palms to make it easier to roll the mixture into balls.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 150 degrees. Allow to cool before storing in an airtight container.
 
Makes approximately 15 - 17 x 40g biscuits

Apple (or pear) custard tart

This is great way to use up a large number of apples. We love eating this dish for breakfast (I prepare everything the night before then pop it into the oven the following morning). There is no added sweetener because apples and cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg are sweet enough for us. However, you could easily convert to a dessert by further sweetening with a little maple syrup or honey if desired (add it into the custard ingredients before blending). 

Ingredients

8 apples, cored and sliced but unpeeled
2 star anise
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla bean powder
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter for sautéing
coconut oil or butter for greasing quiche dish 

Custard Ingredients

200ml cream
6 eggs
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions

Melt butter or coconut oil for sautéing in a large frying pan. Add the apples (or pears) and spices and sauté on low to medium heat until soft, stirring occasionally.

Remove (and reserve) the star anise and pour the cooked apple mixture into a greased round quiche dish. 

Blend together the custard ingredients with a stick blender and pour on top of the cooked apple mixture. Position the star anise in the centre of the dish if desired. 

Bake at 120 degrees for 1 hour. 

Variations: use pears instead of apples.