Greetings Honeyville Fans! My name is Ayla and I am the low carb, wheat/grain and gluten-free, “no sugar added” blogger known as Gourmet Girl Cooks. I have created and shared hundreds of grain free, no sugar added, and “real food” recipes on my blog over the past 2 years. I lost 65+ pounds (and have maintained my weight loss) by eliminating wheat, grains and added sugar from my diet 2 years ago. During these past 2 years, I have made and created so many delicious recipes and have never once felt deprived. I get to enjoy all kinds of delicious foods that I feared would be forbidden such as breads, pizza, sandwich rollsand delicious desserts like the one I’m going to share with you today! The one consistent ingredient in the recipes for all of these amazing and surprisingly non-forbidden foods is Honeyville’s Blanched Almond Flour!
I am so excited to be doing another guest post for Honeyville’s blog because I’ve been using their blanched almond flour for 2 years now. I can’t tell you what a life changing moment it was for me when I first tried their almond flour. At that moment, I realized that I was now able to make just about anything I wanted to with it because it was the perfect substitution for the regular flour I could no longer have. It opened up more doors for me than I can count. In my opinion and experience, nothing else compares or even comes close to their almond flour. I love creating new recipes with it and know I can count on its freshness and consistency. My baked goods are better because of it.
The new recipe I’m sharing with you today is a dessert recipe for a Fresh Berry Tart w/ Butter Pecan Cookie Crust, and I have to tell you…it is awesome! I created this recipe with the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations in mind. It is simple to make, it is festive…and more importantly, it is absolutely delicious! Hands down, this is one of my favorite dessert recipe creations thus far!
The tart begins with a delicious butter pecan cookie crust that is baked and then cooled. The crust uses a combination of almond flour and pecan meal. The pecan meal adds a coarse nutty texture to the crust. It is then topped with a delicious fluffy, creamy, no-bake cheesecake layer that is out of this world. Lastly, it’s topped with your choice of fresh berries that you can arrange in whatever kind of pattern you like. I used sliced fresh strawberries and fresh blueberries on mine and then piped sugar free whipped cream around the border. I went with a patriotic color theme on mine, but you can use whatever kind of berries or fruit you prefer. This tart is wheat, grain and gluten-free, and it contains no added sugar. I used my favorite non-sugar sweetener, Swerve in both the cookie crust and the cheesecake topping. I have really enjoyed this tart; it is so good. It’s a cross between a fresh fruit tart, a cookie bar and a cheesecake…all rolled into one. I hope you enjoy this Fresh Berry Tart with Butter Pecan Cookie Crust as much as I do. I will be serving this for our Fourth of July celebration! Enjoy!
If you’d like to find more grain free recipes like this one, please check out my blog,
Gourmet Girl Cooks!
Fresh Berry Tart w/ Butter Pecan Cookie Crust
Ingredients:
For the Cookie Crust:
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Butter, softened (1/2 stick)
3 oz (brick style) Cream Cheese, softened
1 large Egg
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup Pecan Meal
For the Cheesecake Topping:
16 oz brick-style Cream Cheese (2 8-ounce bricks), slightly softened
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 tsp Vanilla extract
Fruit Topping:
Fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)
Whipped cream for serving, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 10″x15″x1″
jelly roll pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sweetener. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add softened butter, cream cheese, egg and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix dry and wet ingredients together until blended. Stir in pecan meal.
Using a rubber spatula spread and press dough evenly in pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.
In a mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese, until creamy and smooth; stir in cream, vanilla and sweetener. Beat with hand mixer for about 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth, light and fluffy. Spread topping over top of crust until smooth. Refrigerate for several hours until chilled. Arrange berries on top. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
Note: If you are unable to find pecan meal locally, it can be ordered online or you can easily make your own by using the pulse setting of your food processor outfitted with a steel blade. Nut meal is more coarsely textured than flour and should resemble the consistency of cornmeal. The pecan meal provides more texture to the cookie crust.
