Grain-Free Lemon Tart

It all started with this beautiful bag of organic lemons. They called to me on my trip the grocery store this morning, and they were so bright and cheerful, well... I just had to take them home with me!

They sat on the counter all afternoon, smiling at me with their dazzling yellowness, while lemon recipes swirled thru my brain. I finally settled on a lemon tart, and did a quick search on Pinterest.  My search came up with a ton of recipes, but none of them matched the ingredients I had to work with, and I was REALLY not wanting to make another trip to the grocery store (who knows what else would have called to me!!) So, there the lemons sat, looking like a bright little spot of sunshine on my counter, while my own creation worked itself out in my head. I love it when a recipe works the first time out of the gate. It is bright and lemony and tart, exactly what I was aiming for.  I kept the sweetener to a minimum, using dates as the sweetener for the base, and honey to sweeten the creamy lemon topping. I wanted the tart lemon flavor to shine, and shine it does! The crust is soft, and not really crumbly, it holds its own well against the smooth creamy filling on top. If you love lemon, you have to make these!

Grain Free Lemon Tart

Crust:

8 dates

1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened!!)

1 ½ cup pecans

4 Tbsp arrowroot flour

½ tsp salt

2 Tbsp melted coconut oil

1 egg

Filling:

5 eggs

½ cup liquid honey

2 Tbsp arrowroot flour

1/3 cup almond flour(finely ground, I like JK Gourmet)

Zest from 2 lemons (organic!!!)

¾ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (6ish lemons?)

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Whiz dates in food processor until they are chopped and come together in a ball. 

Add the coconut, arrowroot, pecans and salt. Whiz until evenly ground, like coarse sand. Add the egg and coconut oil, and process until it comes together in a wet ball.

Press evenly into springform pan , and bake for 10 minutes in the center of the oven.  Remove from oven and set aside till needed. 

While it is baking, measure filling ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Whiz with a hand blender until well blended. Pour into pre-baked crust and bake again for 20 -25 minutes.

Remove from oven when the filling is set and just starting to ever so slightly brown.

Let stand for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack to cool. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and remove the outside of the springform pan. Cool to room temp before cutting. 

Store leftovers in the fridge.