Almond Cookie Tart with Berries and Cream
A crisp, buttery oat-and-almond shortbread base, spread with maple whipped cream and Greek yogurt and piled high with fresh summer berries and stone fruit.
Yield: One 9x12-inch tart, 16 pieces · Active: 30 min · Total: 1 hour, plus cooling · Best in North America in summer, when berries and stone fruit peak · Best eaten: early afternoon
Ingredients
Almond cookie crust
2½ cups rolled oats (sprouted, and certified gluten-free if needed)
1½ cups almonds, toasted
½ cup maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¾ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
8 tbsp cold grass-fed unsalted butter, cubed
1 large pasture-raised egg, lightly beaten
Maple cream topping
1 cup raw or grass-fed heavy cream, cold
3 tbsp maple syrup
½ cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt
Optional: swap the yogurt for mascarpone, for a richer topping that holds its shape longer
Fruit
3 cups fresh berries and/or sliced stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, apricots, raspberries, and blueberries)
Optional: 1 tbsp coconut sugar
Method
Prep. Heat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Make the crumb. Pulse the oats and toasted almonds in a food processor until they're the texture of coarse sand. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and salt, scatter the cubed butter over the top, and pulse until combined.
Shape. Turn the dough out onto the baking sheet, and with wet hands, press it into a 9x12-inch rectangle.
Egg wash. Prick the crust all over with a fork, and brush it with the beaten egg.
Bake 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until deeply golden.
Cool. Let it cool on the pan 10 minutes, then carefully move it to a cutting board with two spatulas, and let it cool completely.
Prep the fruit. Just before serving, toss the fruit with the coconut sugar (if using).
Whip the cream. Beat the cream with the maple syrup until stiff peaks form, then gently fold in the yogurt (or mascarpone).
Assemble. Spread the maple cream over the cooled crust. Lift the fruit out of its juices with a slotted spoon and arrange it on top, leaving the juice behind.
Serve. Cut into 16 pieces and serve right away, with the fruit juices spooned over individual servings.
Storage: The crust keeps at room temperature, covered, up to 2 days. The assembled tart is best within an hour. Leftovers keep refrigerated up to 1 day, though the crust softens.
Nourishment Notes
Folding Greek yogurt into the whipped cream is a small touch that changes the whole topping. It adds body and a light tang that balances the maple. For a topping that holds its shape longer, fold in mascarpone instead.
Oats — fiber (including beta-glucan), manganese, and magnesium, plus minerals that are easier to absorb when the oats are sprouted.
Almonds — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.
Grass-fed butter and cream — vitamins A and K2, CLA, and butyrate.
Greek yogurt — protein, calcium, and live cultures.
Pasture-raised egg — choline and fat-soluble vitamins.
Berries and stone fruit — vitamin C, anthocyanins, beta-carotene, and fiber.
Maple syrup — manganese, zinc, and polyphenols.
For your cycle: Bright with summer fruit and its vitamin C, this tart is especially lovely in the follicular and ovulatory phases.
Sourcing
Rolled oats — organic and sprouted, like One Degree Organic Foods (certified gluten-free if needed)
Almonds — organic and unpasteurized, like Terrasoul's organic Spanish almonds
Grass-fed butter — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows
Heavy cream — raw from a farmer you know and trust, or organic, grass-fed cream that isn't ultra-pasteurized
Greek yogurt or mascarpone — organic, full-fat, and grass-fed, with no gums or stabilizers
Eggs — organic and pasture-raised, from a local farm or Alexandre Family Farm
Berries and stone fruit — organic, from a farmers' market in summer (berries and peaches are among the most heavily sprayed fruits when grown conventionally)
Maple syrup and coconut sugar — organic Grade A dark maple syrup; organic coconut sugar
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall