NEW ALMOND JOY

Almonds are bringing new joy. They add crunch, delicate flavor and scent wherever they go. We’re seeing more almond recipes in sync with increasing interest in calcium-rich, gluten-free, and low-carb dishes.

We love making pastry crusts with ground almonds. This plum tart, by DOMONIQUE on the lovely A Bowl Full of Simple blog is a gem. In fact, we love their food blog. Check them out for this and more beautiful recipes. And try this with apricots too. Gorgeous!

PLUM TART WITH ALMOND SHORTBREAD CRUST (gluten-free)

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 10-15 small plums
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. fresh orange juice

Crust:

• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 ¼ c. superfine brown rice flour
• 1 c. almond flour
• ¼ c. potato flour (starch)
• ¼ c. tapioca starch
• ½ tsp. salt

Instructions:

1. For the Filling: Fill a large stockpot halfway with water and bring it to a boil. With a paring knife, slice a small X in the bottom of each plum. Separately, fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside. Gently place plums in the boiling water for 30-40 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately submerge the in the ice water bath for 2 minutes. Remove skins. Slice plums in half or if you prefer, slice thinly and remove pits. Toss them in a bowl with the sugar, cinnamon, and juices. Set aside
2. For the crust: Preheat oven to 375˚. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and egg. Mix, scraping the sides and bottom and mixing until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add them slowly to the butter mixture on low speed. Mix until the dough comes together. Evenly press the dough to the bottom of a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
4. Place the cooled tart on a cookie sheet. Toss the plums in their juices and arrange them on the tart crust. Pour some of the juices onto the fruit. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

This post was originally published on Imma Eat That. Click over to see many more delicious gluten-free recipes from Kylie.

Photo: Courtesy of All Sorts of Pretty

Almonds, ground super-finely to form a flour, are not only the basis for pastry crusts, but also to make other baked treats, both sweet and savory. You can substitute almond flour for wheat flour in many cases. You just need to play with it a little because almond flour doesn’t absorb liquid the same way that wheat flour does. And it has a few other idiosyncrasies worth noting. Find out more about how to do it best from Urban Poser.

You can also make your own almond milk from almond flour. We found a great new take on it on KCRW Good Food.

Photo: Faith Gorsky. Almond Joy Smoothie

It’s not easy to find creative new smoothie recipes -- seems like every possible combo has been done before. But Faith Gorsky and Alyssa Brantley at Edible Mosaic just created a fabulous Almond + Joy smoothie that is totally worth giving a whirrr. In fact, their new e-book, “BLEND: Artisanal Smoothies For Food Lovers, Summer Volume 1” is full of really delicious new ideas. All of their smoothies are naturally-sweetened, dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan, so they are beautiful for your mind and body too. We substituted sugar for the alternative sweetener in keeping with BN food aesthetic and it still tastes great!

ALMOND +  JOY SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) plain, unsweetened almond milk

• 2 tablespoons canned light coconut milk

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

• 3/4 teaspoon coconut extract

• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 pinch sea salt

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 2 Medjool dates, pitted and coarsely chopped

• 1/2 medium banana, peeled, chopped into 2 pieces, and frozen

• 2-4 ice cubes

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened, shredded coconut (for garnish)

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients into a blender (except the ice and the shredded coconut) and process until smooth. Add the ice and pulse until pulverized.

2. Transfer to a serving glass and stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons shredded coconut. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tablespoon on top and serve immediately.

Photo: Arie Andika Setiawan

Bicil the Baker, another extra-special food blog that really gets the beautiful in food, has this super-scrumptious new idea about cheesecake. It mixes the almond flour right in with the cheese mixture to create a marvelous mouth-feel. We love it served with sliced peaches or apricots in the side.

FLOURLESS CRUMBLY CHEESE CAKE

Posted by dianawidjaja

Ingredients:

• 60 gr unsalted butter, softened

• 120 gr caster sugar

• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scrapped

• 2 eggs, separated at room temperature

• 120 gr almond meal

• 150 cream cheese

• 60 gr flaked almonds, for decoration

• icing sugar, for dusting

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 160 C. Line and the base of 4 of 10 cm springform tins with baking paper – set aside.

2. Beat the butter, half of the sugar, vanilla seeds for 8-10 minutes, until pale and creamy. Add in the egg yolk and beat for another 2 minutes until well combined. Add the almond meal and beat to combine.

3. Beat the cream cheese until soften, whisk it into the almond meal mixture. In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peak form. Gradually add in the remaining sugar to the egg whites and whisk until thickened. Fold the egg white mixture with the almond meal mixture in 2 batches until combined.

4. Layer the tops of the cakes with the almond flakes and bake for 40-45 mins or until cooked and firm to touch. Let it cool completely in the tins. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Photo: Courtesy of Chocolate Chilli Mango

Chocolate Chilli Mango, a new BN favorite food blog, did some “muscling in on a classic” with their new spin on almond cake. The blood orange juice sets the almond flour off into a rapturous dance. So luxurious, it’s one of those “you won’t believe it’s so healthy” recipes. It’s loaded with protein and calcium and not loaded with fat. We substituted sugar for the alternative sweetener called for in their ingredients list, in keeping with BN’s food aesthetic, and it worked really well. You will love this one.

BLOOD ORANGE ALMOND CAKE

Ingredients:

• 480g whole blood oranges (2 large or 4 small)

• 104 grams whole eggs (2 large)

• 210 grams liquid egg whites*

• 250 grams sugar

• 170 grams almond flour

• 80 grams rice flour

• 5 grams gluten-free baking powder

Instructions:

1. Place the oranges in a saucepan and cover with fresh water. Bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat. If the oranges are large, let them boil for 2 hours. If they are small, reduce the time to 90 minutes. Drain the oranges and set aside to cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 190℃/375℉.

3. Line the base and sides of a 24 centimetre springform or loose-bottomed cake tin with silicon baking paper and set aside.

4. Quarter the oranges and remove any white pith and pips. Place the orange quarters in the bowl of a food processor with the eggs, egg whites, and sweetener. Process until smooth.

5. Mix together the almond flour, casein powder, and baking powder. Add to the orange egg mix in the food processor and process until smooth. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake tin and smooth the top.

6. Bake for about 45 to 60 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out with just a few crumbs sticking to it. Cool the cake in the tin before gently removing and transferring to a serving plate.

7. It is lovely served with a little extra "icing sugar" on top. Simply pulverise a little granulated sugar in a food processor, until fine. Sift it lightly over the top of the cake just before serving. Store leftover cake in an airtight container for a few days.

Photo: Courtesy of Super Fun Food Adventures

This is our new breakfast fave. It’s a pancake made with almond flour, peaches and basil -- from Super Fun Food Adventures. They are super-pure mouth joy! As are lots of Super Fun Food Adventures. Check out their tumblr to see for yourself.

PEACH GINGER & BASIL ALMOND FLOUR PANCAKES

Ingredients:

• 1c almond flour

• 3 Tbs coconut flour

• 3 Tbs fresh ground flax seeds

• 1 banana (I pull a frozen one out of my freezer)

• 2-3 Tbs fresh grated ginger

• 3-4 Tbs fresh diced basil

• 1 ripe peach

• 6 pastured raised eggs

• Butter or olive oil for frying (we substituted this for the original lard ingredient)

Instructions:

1. Take your banana and  mash it till smooth. I find that a frozen banana smooths out easily with just a fork. (I keep the banana frozen in it’s skin and when I am ready to use it I peel the skin off with my knife.) Once smooth, drop in the basil and ginger followed by the 6 eggs and incorporate till smooth.

2. Add the almond flour, coconut flour and flax and blend again till smooth. Slice the peach to your preferred size and gently fold into the batter.

3. Heat your butter or oil of choice on the skillet and fry till golden brown and gently firm.

4. Top with thinly sliced fresh basil and a tad of maple or honey syrup.

Photo: FlickrLickr, Wikipedia

Enjoy the joy of almonds. If you have any beautiful almond joy that we should know about, please share it with us. We’re still hungry!