Gluten Free Tart with ricotta and strawberries
Ingredients
Pastry
- 130 gm gm gluten free flour 1 cup
- 20 gm almond meal (flour) 2 tbsp
- 1/8 tsp Xantham gum
- 50 gm icing sugar 5 Tabsp
- 110 gm butter
- 55 gm egg, whole 1 whole
Ricotta Filling| shallow tin
- 400 gm Ricotta
- 1 whole Orange zest
- 80 ml maple syrup 4 Tbsp
- 100 gm whole eggs 2 eggs
Ricotta Filling | deeper tin
- 600 gm ricotta
- 1 whole orange zest
- 120 ml maple syrup 6 Tbsp
- 150 gm eggs, whole 3 whole
Strawberries
- 40 ml orange juice 2 Tbsp
- 40 ml orange liquer 2 Tbsp
- 20-40 Tbsp maple syrup 1-2 Tbsp
- 250 gm strawberries whole or cut in half
Instructions
Pastry
- Set the oven to 160 C / 320 F. 20 cm (10 in) tart ring or tart mould with a removable base
- Mix the dry ingredients together. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. ( I like to do this in the food processor. its quicker and keeps the mixture colder)
- Whisk the egg to break it up, weigh it, and add to the pastry, Mixing until it forms a dough. Knead the dough together until smooth, with a little gluten free flour on the bench. You can work this dough, there is no gluten in it. The dough may be a little stickier than the pastry you are used to. Push together and flatten down. Refrigerate until firm ( approx 1 hour) or 15 - 20 minutes in the freezer
- Sprinkle the bench with gf flour and roll out the pastry and line a 20 cm ( 10 in) pastry case. Refrigerate until firm.
- Heat the oven to 160 C. Line the pastry case with baking paper and fill with rice or baking beans. Do not prick the base or the custard will see]p through Bake for around 10 minutes or until about 1/2 cooked and set around the sides. Empty the paper and beans and bake again for around 8 minutes or until golden. Set aside
- Ricotta Filling
- Zest the orange and put the zest and maple syrup into a bowl and mix well. Add the ricotta and whisk again. Add the eggs and mix until combinedI like to use a stick blender here to get a beautiful smooth custard. You could also use a food processor to blend till just smooth
- Pour the custard into the tart case and bake at 160 C for approximately 20-25 minutes or until just set. Baking the tart too long will encourage splitting.
Strawberries
- Put the liquer , orange juice and aple syrup into a pot. Stir well and add the starawberries. bring up to a simmer. Turn off put on the lid and set aside
Serving
- Add the chilled strawberries only when serving the tart. i like to cut a slice and add the strawberries
Notes
The recipe features maple syrup. This delicious syrup gives a gentle sweetness that ensures you can taste ricotta and strawberries with no cloying sweetness. DO NOT use maple-flavoured syrup. If you don't have maple syrup use golden syrup or just sugar icing sugar to taste.
Ensure you bake the pastry case to a lovely golden brown and do not prick it with a fork or the egg custard will seep through.
If you want to make the recipe alcohol free, simply add extra orange juice or use water in place of that
How to weigh an egg: crack the egg, whisk together, and then weigh it.
If you have a carton of 600 gm eggs (Australia) the eggs will weigh 45 to 50 gms. 700 gm eggs (Australia) weigh approx 55 to 60 gms. If the eggs weigh under 50 gm add a little water to bring them up to around 50 gm
There are different types of gluten free flour. Some look and feel like cornflour and tapioca. My favourite blend ( usually Aldi) has a more floury separated appearance (see pictures)
You may need to knead this gluten free pastry to bring it together properly and make it less sticky. As there is no gluten this will not affect the pastry. You must only add enough flour to stop it sticking to the bench and your hands and no more. It will still be soft and a bit sticky. Always chill to firm up and make it easier to roll out.