Allergy Free Apple and Almond Tart

Almonds, for me, are an essential part of my allergy free cooking, especially when it comes to desserts and baking. They are so versatile - not only do they have a unique, sweet flavour, but they can also be used to bind, thicken, add texture and creaminess to a dish.

I am not one for baking, but Food24 blogger, Inspiration's challenge for this week was to make a sweet tart, which got my mind thinking - how could I make a tart without the standard flour, butter, etc?

Well, this is what I did...

Allergy-Free Apple and Almond Tart:

Crust:

1/2 Cup Finely Ground Almonds (almost powder-like)

1/2 Cup Ground Almonds (slightly rougher texture)

1/2 Cup Nature's Choice Gluten-Free Cake Flour

1/2 Cup Xylitol/ Caster Sugar

1 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum (this acts as a binder in gluten-free cooking)

1/4 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Rooibos Tea (steep a bag of Rooibos Tea in boiling water for about 5 minutes and use the liquid)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Filling:

3 Granny Smith Apples, Peeled and Chopped
1/2 Cup Rooibos Tea
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
5 Teaspoons Xylitol/ Caster Sugar

1 Cup Finely Ground Almonds

Directions:

Crust:
Heat oven to 180 Degrees Celsius
Sift dry ingredients together
Add the roughly ground almonds
Add the oil, rooibos tea and vanilla extract
Mix together until a dough-like consistency has formed - you don't want it to be too dry or too wet, if too wet add a little more cake flour, if too dry add a little more rooibos tea
Pat out the crust mixture into a pie tin, going up the sides of the dish
Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes until it has dried out a bit, so that when you are adding the filling, it doesn't make it soggy

Filling:
Put the apples, rooibos tea, vanilla extract, cinnamon and xylitol into a pot on the stove and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, until some of the liquid has reduced and the apples are tender
Add the ground almonds and mix together
Pour the filling into the crust
Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until the filling has set
Be careful not to burn the crust
Serve warm with soya cream or ice cream