As my sister is now gluten free but still loves a sweet treat, I have developed this recipe using a selection of gluten free products and if you ask anybody, they wouldn’t even know! I use Sillyyak Gluten Free Pastry, which you can buy in Tesco and other large supermarkets – You do have to be more careful than if using regular pastry but it tastes just as good.
Ingredients
- Sillyyak Gluten Free Pastry Block 400G
- 125g Butter, room temperature
- 125g Caster Sugar
- 1 Whole Egg and 1 Yolk
- 125g Ground Almonds
- 1 Tbsp Gluten Free Flour (cornflour/ tapioca flour/ almond flour), plus extra for rolling the pastry
- 1 Tsp Almond Extract
- Raspberry Jam
- 200g Icing Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Water
- Glace Cherries
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180ᵒC. Lay out 12 small individual tart cases.
- Lightly dust a clean work surface with gluten free flour and sprinkle a little over your rolling pin. Gluten free pastry is very delicate and can be difficult to manage. Before rolling the pastry, start by ‘ridging’. Hold your rolling pin in both hands and gently push down on the pastry block from bottom to top, lifting the rolling pin and placing it down again. Turn the pastry 90ᵒC and repeat. The pastry should now have softened up but not broken. Flour your work surface and rolling pin again and make sure the pastry moves freely on the work surface. Now roll your pastry to 3mm thick. Use a knife or a large cookie cutter to cut the pastry to the size to fit in your individual tart cases. Carefully line the tart cases, making sure the pastry is pushed into all edges. Place in the fridge to firm up.
- For the filling, cream together the butter and sugar with a hand whisk. Mix in the egg and yolk and add the almond extract. Sieve the ground almonds and gluten free flour into the bowl and mix together using a wooden spoon until you have a smooth paste.
- Remove the pastry cases from the fridge and add 1 teaspoon of jam to each tart case, spreading it out with the back of the teaspoon. Then fill to 2/3 of the way up the pastry with the almond paste, also using a spoon to evenly spread the paste.
- Place in the centre of your preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the centre has risen. Insert a skewer to make sure the mixture has set. Set aside to cool.
- Sieve the icing sugar into a small bowl and add the 2Tbsp water. Use a folk to mix together until smooth. The icing should be thick and hold its shape.
- Remove the tarts from their cases. Use a teaspoon to spread the icing over the top of the tarts, not going too close to the edges. Place one cherry in the centre of each tart and leave to set up. Icing them can take a bit of patience but it will be worth it in the end!
