Strawberry Tart
Sweet pastry, crème pâtissière filling, topped with slices of fresh sweet British strawberries
Sweet crust pastry, crème pâtissière filling and topped with slices of fresh British strawberries, a delicious sweet strawberry tart but made low carb so that you can enjoy it without worrying about the impact on your blood glucose levels.
These strawberry tarts are self-paired due to the ingredients used. This means you can enjoy them just as they are!
Xanthan gum
I use a very small amount of xanthan gum powder in the recipe which helps to bind the strawberry tart pastry together better. Xanthan gum powder can be bought in most large stores and can usually be found in the ‘free from’ section. The brand I use is Dove’s Farm and costs around £3.00 a tub
It’s important to use loose bottom tins for this recipe or you will not be able to remove the pastry tart shells from the tins! You could make one large tart which is then divided into smaller servings. The recipe below yields 4 servings.
Servings: 4 tarts
Calories: 481kcal
Equipment
- 4 x 10cm metal loose base tart or quiche tins
Ingredients
For the tart shells
- 45 grams coconut flour
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp powdered erythritol sweetener (or ground xylitol)
- 1 large egg
- 50 grams butter softened to room temp
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
For the crème pâtissière
- 300 ml double cream
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- xylitol or erythritol sweetener to taste
For topping the tarts
- 4 whole strawberries sliced
- 1 tsp xylitol or erythritol sweetener (optional)
- 2 sprigs fresh mint (optional) to garnish
Instructions
For the crème pâtissière
- Add the cream and vanilla to a saucepan
- Whisk the egg yolks together in a bowl, add the cornflour, whisk until it is combined and set aside
- On a low heat, bring the cream to a gentle simmer. The cream should only be just simmering and not boiling or this will cause the eggs to scramble in the next step
- Carefully add the warm cream to the egg mix very slowly in small amounts, whisking with a balloon whisk constantly. Continue mixing until all the cream is added and the mixture goes golden yellow and smooth
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and continue whisking on a very low heat until thickened. Add sweetener to taste that this point using a tsp at a time and tasting to see the sweetness. Once thickened, pour the crème pâtissière into a bowl, cover with baking parchment or cling film to prevent a skin forming and allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge to chill for 2-3 hours
For the tart shells
- Preheat the oven to 170°c (fan assisted) and grease 4 x 10 cm loose bottom flan or quiche tins with some room temp butter using your fingers, then set aside
- Add 50g butter and sweetener to a bowl and beat until light and creamy
- Sift coconut flour, cornflour and xanthan gum into the bowl with creamed butter and mix well to combine (the mix will go slightly clumpy, like crumble topping)
- Crack an egg into the bowl and mix well until all the ingredients are combined to form a *dough ball *Please note, this dough is not like normal pastry dough at all, it will be quite wet and more like a paste than an actual pastry dough
- Using wet hands, pick up the 'dough' ball, divide into 4 equal amounts and place a piece each greased tin. **Push the dough down firmly to flatten and work the 'pastry' up the edges of the tin to create a nice pie crust edge. Use your hands or the back of wet spoon to smooth out the 'pastry' on the base and into the corners, aiming to achieve the same level of thickness throughout. If you create any gaps/holes, just smooth over more 'pastry' to fill the gaps ** This pastry is too sticky to roll out (even after chilling – I tried and it didn't work, so stick to using your hands to smooth out the crust!) Once smoothed into the tin, use a fork to prick some holes into the bases
- Place the tarts in the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes. Keep a close eye on them! Once the edges are starting to brown, place some baking parchment paper over the tart shells to stop the edges from browning too much and burning Tip: scrunch up a piece of baking parchment paper then straighten out flat (this helps to shape the paper to the item you want to cover when using)Keep baking until the tart crusts are slightly golden at the edges, quite pale at the bottom, but dry to the touch, then remove from the oven and set aside in the tins to cool
To assemble the tarts
- Once cooled, push each tart shell out of the tins carefully
- Pipe or spoon the chilled crème pâtissière into each tart shell
- Add slices of fresh strawberries, a sprinkle of erythritol/xylitol if you wish and garnish with a few small sprigs of fresh mint leaves
Notes
The strawberries on these tarts can be switched for other low carb fruit such as berries, cherries or kiwi slices.
These tarts are best eaten on the day they are made to prevent the pastry from going soggy. They cannot be frozen filled, but the tart cases can be made then frozen, defrosted and filled when ready to use.
SWEETENERS
The brand of xylitol natural sweetener that I use and is most widely available in larger supermarkets is Total Sweet. To find a local stockist, please check this link. It is important to note that xylitol, although a natural sweetener, is highly toxic to dogs, so no sharing your GD treats with your furry friends!
Erythritol sweeteners are what I recommend using in this recipe if you struggle with IBS or gastric issues. Whilst xylitol is fine for most if eaten in small amounts, those who have any gastric conditions such as IBS may find that xylitol can trigger their symptoms. The brand of erythritol I use is NKD Living powdered erythritol.
For the best outcomes with this recipe it is best to use the ingredients recommended and in the quantities stated.
Erythritol sweeteners are what I recommend using in this recipe if you struggle with IBS or gastric issues. Whilst xylitol is fine for most if eaten in small amounts, those who have any gastric conditions such as IBS may find that xylitol can trigger their symptoms. The brand of erythritol I use is NKD Living powdered erythritol.
For the best outcomes with this recipe it is best to use the ingredients recommended and in the quantities stated.Nutrition
Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 44g | of which saturates: 27g | Fibre: 5g | of which sugars: 2g
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