Cherry tart.

Serves; 8

Preparation time; 20 mins.

Cooks in; 60 mins.

Difficulty; easy.

Free from; gluten & dairy.

This recipe put simply is a heavenly dessert but uses the powerful fruit of cherries. It also is gluten and dairy fee. Sweetened naturally by the organic maple syrup rather than using refined sugar. I can’t say this is ‘healthy’, but is a great option for a sweet treat using natural ingredients with no gluten.

Why cherries?

Cherries are a nutrient-dense superfood that contain many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

Improved sleep;

Cherries are a natural source of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep cycles.

Faster muscle recovery;

Eating tart cherries daily may help your muscles recover faster after exercise

Reduced inflammation;

Cherries may help lower inflammation and ease arthritis pain.

For the crust;

180g of gluten free oat flour (I blend gluten free oats in a nutribullet)

65g of coconut oil

Pinch of salt

80g of organic maple syrup

For the filling;

600g of cherries (pitted and sliced)

40g of ground almonds

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

40g of organic maple syrup

Squeeze of lime juice

For the crumble topping;

40g of gluten free oats (lightly blended)

10g of coconut oil

20g of organic maple syrup

For serving;

Few cherries

Coconut yoghurt (I use Cocos)

Ingredients.

  1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees and line a tart or pie tin with parchment paper.

  2. To make the crust combine your oat flour, coconut oil, maple syrup and salt. Mix well with a spoon. Place the mixture in your tin pressing the crust down with your fingers to mould into shape. Tip; you want the crust to be quite thin on the sides. Set aside.

  3. To make your filling combine your chopped cherries, maple syrup, lime juice, vanilla extract and ground almonds and mix well. Take half of this filling and cook on a low heat in a saucepan for 10 minutes or until the mixture softens.

  4. Now add your soften cooked mixture on top of your crust and then pour on top the other half of the cherry mixture you didn’t cook.

  5. To make the crumble topping combine your lightly blended oats, coconut oil and maple syrup, mix well. This should start to form a crumble like topping. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the filling.

  6. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. Then lower to 170 degrees and bake for another 30-35 minutes. Or until cooked through and mixture is not wobbly.

  7. Remove from the oven and rest on the side to cool for 1-2 hours. This is important as it will allow the filling to set.

  8. Serve cold or warm a slice up in a hot oven for 5 minutes. Plate with some fresh cherries and a helping of coconut yoghurt.

Method.