Cinnamon Peach Tart with Vanilla Cream and Pecan Crumble
A buttery, grain-free almond crust filled with silky vanilla cream, topped with warm cinnamon-maple peaches and a crunchy pecan crumble. Serve it with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream for the ultimate late-summer dessert.
Yield: One 9-inch tart, 8–10 slices · Active: 40 min · Total: 2 hours (including chilling) · Best in North America from July through September, when peaches are at their juiciest (from Georgia and South Carolina to California, Michigan, New Jersey, and Colorado's Palisade orchards) · Best eaten: midday or early afternoon
Ingredients
Almond crust
2 cups almond flour
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
4 tbsp grass-fed butter, melted (or coconut oil)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Vanilla cream filling: choose one
Classic (with dairy)
8 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened
½ cup mascarpone or crème fraîche (or thick whole-milk yogurt)
3 tbsp raw honey or maple syrup
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean (or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract)
Zest of ½ lemon
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Dairy-free
1½ cups cashews, soaked at least 2 hours, then drained
½ cup full-fat coconut cream
¼ cup raw honey or maple syrup
¼ cup melted coconut oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean (or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract)
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Pecan crumble
½ cup pecans, chopped
¼ cup almond flour
2 tbsp grass-fed butter, softened (or coconut oil)
1 tbsp coconut sugar or maple syrup
½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Cinnamon peaches
4 ripe but firm peaches, pitted and sliced (no need to peel)
1 tbsp grass-fed butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Squeeze of lemon
To serve: homemade vanilla ice cream
Method
Make the crust. Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the crust ingredients together until they form a soft dough, then press it evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake 12–15 minutes, until golden. Let it cool completely.
Make the crumble. Lower the oven to 325°F. Mix the crumble ingredients with your fingers until clumpy, spread on a parchment-lined sheet, and bake 10–12 minutes, until golden and fragrant. It crisps up as it cools.
Make the filling.
Classic: Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the mascarpone, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt until fluffy.
Dairy-free: Blend everything in a high-speed blender until completely silky.
Fill and chill. Spread the filling into the cooled crust, smooth the top, and chill at least 1 hour, until set (the dairy-free version sets best in the freezer for 1 hour).
Cook the peaches. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the peaches, maple syrup, and cinnamon and cook 3–5 minutes, stirring gently, until just tender and glossy but still holding their shape. Stir in the vanilla and lemon. Let them cool 10 minutes, so they don't melt the filling.
Assemble and serve. Just before serving, arrange the cinnamon peaches over the vanilla cream, spoon their juices on top, and scatter with the pecan crumble. Slice and serve each piece with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Make ahead: Bake the crust and crumble, and make the filling, up to a day ahead. Cook the peaches and assemble the tart just before serving, so the crumble stays crunchy.
Storage: Refrigerated up to 3 days. The crumble softens over time, so store any extra separately and sprinkle it on as you serve.
A note on honey: Raw honey shouldn't be given to babies under 12 months; use maple syrup if little ones will be eating this.
Nourishment Notes
Peaches — vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium, and fiber, plus polyphenols concentrated in the skin.
Almond flour — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.
Pecans — manganese, zinc, and polyphenols.
Cream cheese and mascarpone — calcium, vitamin A, and K2 from grass-fed dairy.
Cashews and coconut cream (dairy-free) — magnesium, copper, and lauric acid.
Ceylon cinnamon — polyphenols that help moderate blood sugar.
Grass-fed butter — vitamins A and K2, plus butyrate.
Raw honey — enzymes and trace minerals, kept intact in the no-bake filling.
As a circadian treat, this tart lands best at midday or in the early afternoon, when your body handles sweets most gracefully in daylight.
Sourcing
Peaches — organic and locally grown, from a farmers' market in season (conventional peaches carry some of the highest pesticide residues of any fruit)
Almond flour — organic and fresh (keep it in the fridge); for truly raw almonds, grind your own from organic, unpasteurized Spanish almonds, like Terrasoul's
Pecans — organic, from a U.S. Southern orchard when you can, kept in the fridge
Cream cheese — organic, full-fat, cultured cream cheese from grass-fed cows, with no gums or stabilizers
Mascarpone or crème fraîche — organic, from grass-fed cream; Bellwether Farms makes crème fraîche
Cashews — organic (every cashew sold has been heat-treated, even "raw" ones)
Coconut cream and coconut oil — organic, full-fat coconut cream with just coconut and water (Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans); organic, virgin, unrefined coconut oil
Grass-fed butter — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows
Raw honey and maple syrup — organic, local, and unfiltered raw honey; organic Grade A dark maple syrup
Coconut sugar — organic
Vanilla — organic vanilla beans or pure vanilla extract with no added sugar
Ceylon cinnamon — organic and non-irradiated, from Sri Lanka
Lemons — organic (you're using the zest)
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall