Caramelized Almond & Raisin Tart

Caramelized Almond & Raisin Tart
Serves 8

If you love almonds as much as I do, you are going to love this tart. This tart is crispy, melt in the mouth and offers notes of sweet and savory. Even with all of the flavors and textures, it is easy to make, wholesome and adorable. This tart is perfect as a dessert after a delicious family meal or a snack with a cuppa’ tea.

Almonds are more than just an everyday nut. The obsession with them can be traced way back to 1400 BC when the nuts were mentioned in the Bible. Later, almond trees took root in modern day Spain, Morocco, Greece, and Israel. Eventually, almond trees found a home in America, mainly in California where the industry blossomed in the 20th century. Today, almonds grow on over half a million acres and are the state’s top agricultural export. You can buy them whole, sliced, slivered, chopped, or as a flour, milk, paste or oil. Each is uniquely delicious in its own right, and all are good for you.

Almonds boast an impressive nutrient profile. A one-ounce serving of almonds contains:
• Fiber: 3.5 grams
• Protein: 6 grams
• Fat: 14 grams, nine of which are monounsaturated
• Vitamin E: 37 percent of the reference daily intake (RDI)
• Manganese: 32 percent RDI
• Magnesium: 20 percent RDI

They also contain a decent amount of copper, vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and phosphorus. All that nutrition is packed into one small handful of almonds, which supplies only 161 calories and 2.5 grams of digestible carbohydrates. In a nutshell, almonds are high in healthy monounsaturated fats, fiber, protein and various important nutrients.

Ingredients:

For the pastry
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
½ cup unsalted English butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
½ cup sugar
1 egg (free range if possible)

For the filling
4 cups flaked almonds
½ cup English butter
½ cup sugar
¼ cup milk or almond milk

How to make:
Pre-heat oven to 360◦F. Lightly spray an 8½ inch fluted tart or cake tin.

For the pastry, place the flour and butter into a medium size bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the flour and butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar then add the egg and mix until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.

Remove the dough from the fridge. Remove the plastic wrap and roll out the dough on a floured worktop to a thickness of a quarter of an inch and a little larger than the base of your tin. Using your fingers gently press the pastry into the corners of the tin and about half inch up the sides to create a small lip around the edge. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and prick the pastry base all over lightly with a fork. Line with baking paper and tip in baking beans or lentils or rice. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and paper and return to the oven for 3 to 4 minutes to dry out the base without coloring.

To make the filling, lightly toast the almonds in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until light golden brown. Do not burn. Tip them into a bowl and set aside until needed.

Place the butter, sugar and milk in the frying pan over medium heat. When the sugar dissolves and the butter melted, bring to a boil and continue to boil for one minute. Add the almonds and mix well before turning into the pastry case.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden-brown and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Serve warm or cold.