Date almond praline tart

My mother sent me this palm sugar from Bali and I used some here in the crust. It has a delicious subtle tropical flavor, is pretty easy to find and often labeled as coconut sugar. You could easily substitute it with maple sugar. I served the tart topped with whipped cream infused with vanilla beans.

Oh and if you use gluten free oats, it’s gluten free!

Crust

½ cup toasted almonds

1 cup shredded dried coconut

½ cup rolled oats

¼ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup coconut flour

¼ cup palm sugar, packed

¼ teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Filling

1 cup pitted dates

½ cup filtered water

3 cardamom pods

2 tablespoon dessert wine or 1 tablespoon mirin

1/8th teaspoon sea salt

1 vanilla bean

2 tablespoons raspberry preserves

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Praline topping

1 ½ tablespoons maple sugar

1 ½ tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/8^th teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Few drops pure almond extract

1 cup flakes almonds

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

To make the crust:

Lightly oil a 9 inch spring form cake pan and set aside. I also like to cover the bottom in parchment paper, but it is not necessary.

Place almonds, coconut and oats in a food processor and grind for about a minute or until fine. Transfer to a medium size mixing bowl and add rice flour, coconut flour, palm sugar and salt. Stir well.

Drizzle in olive oil and coconut oil and mix until flour is moistened. Pour in maple syrup and vanilla and mix again. Mixture should stick together but not stick to your hands, if it is a little dry add a touch more maple or a splash of water. Press evenly onto the bottom of the cake pan and bake for 18 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

To make the filling:

Place dates, water, cardamom pods, dessert wine, vanilla extract and salt in a small pot. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthways and using the tip of a small knife, scrape out seeds and add to dates. Add pod to pot too and bring to boil over high heat, stir, lower heat, cover and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove lid and stir again. Dates should be soft and past-like. If mixture is still a little runny, simmer uncovered until it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in raspberry preserves and vanilla extract.

Pick out the cardamom pods and spread mixture onto pre-baked crust and set aside.

To make the topping:

Place maple sugar, maple syrup, sea salt, vanilla and almond extract in a bowl and stir until smooth. Add almonds and gently toss until evenly coated with maple mixture.

Spread date filling evenly over crust and cover with almond praline. Return to oven and bake for 20 minutes or until top is golden. Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before running a knife around the edge of pan and removing sides.