Nectarine Lemon Curd Tarts

These pretty little tarts are absolutely glorious! The pastry is perfectly crispy and nutty and is contrasted beautifully with the creamy, sweet and tangy lemon curd and nectarine filling. I shared them with friends, neighbours, my pottery teacher and my boyfriend and they were all blown away. Every single ingredient is extremely wholesome and nourishing and the recipe is extremely easy. All ingredients are simply blended together for the base and then the filling. I have used slices of beautiful summer nectarines to adorn the top of each tart. However, other fruits, such as raspberries, would also work. Twice recently I have made this into one large tart and replaced the lemon juice and nectarines with passionfruit pulp. Give this delicious variation a try if you're a passionfruit lover like me and have some on hand! (The variation tips are included below the original recipe).

Makes 6 tarts

6x 1 cup (250mL) capacity pie tins (7cm wide base, 4cm high side)

Pastry:

½ cup coconut oil

1 free-range egg

2 tbsps. raw honey

2 cups almond meal

½ cup brown rice flour

Lemon Curd Filling:

½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 2 lemons)

¼ cup brown rice flour

4 free range eggs

¼ cup raw honey

2-3 yellow nectarines (ripe but still firm)

For the pastry:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C and lightly grease 6 small pie tins with coconut oil.

2. Place all pastry ingredients into a blender and process until it combines into a dough OR simply stir well in a medium sized mixing bowl.

3. Press the mixture into the 6 pie tins, covering the base and sides evenly.

4. Prick each one a few times with a fork and then place into the oven for 10-12 minutes.

5. Allow to cool while you slice the nectarines and prepare the lemon curd filling. I made slices around the outside of each nectarine while they were still whole and then pulled each slice away from the seed.

For the Lemon Curd Filling:

1. Reduce the oven’s heat to 160C

2. Place all ingredients (except for the nectarines) into a blender and process until well combined. The mixture will not be thick at all yet, but will set once it has cooked.

3. Pour the mixture evenly into each tart shell and return to the oven for 15 minutes (cover the edges of the pastry with foil if browning too quickly).

4. Add the nectarine slices to the top of each tart (I used three per tart) and then return to the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the lemon curd is set.

Variation:

- Press the pastry mixture into one large tart tin (not too high up the sides) and bake until golden.

- Replace the lemon juice and nectarines with 3/4 cup passionfruit pulp for a delicious passionfruit tart. However, do not add the passionfruit to the blender as you would the lemon juice. Simply blend the rice flour, eggs & honey and then stir in the passionfruit pulp afterwards.

- You can also replace the nectarines with berries, such as raspberries or sliced figs - up to you. This recipe has been a success every time, ever after I alter the size and topping ingredients.

1. I prefer to cool and refrigerate the tarts before serving. However, they are also nice warm. Enjoy!