These gluten-free tartlets are made with a pine nuts (pignoli), cornmeal, oat crust and finished with vanilla pastry cream and glazed grapes.
Steps
1
Preparing the Crust
Ingredients
1/2 cup pignoli (pine nuts) plus more for garnish
1 cup rolled oats, toasted and cooled
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or another vegetable oil
3 tbsp pure maple syrup, Grade A dark or dark amber, more if crust is too dry to press
1 to 3 tsp fruit juice, to hydrate the crust, as needed
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350˚F (175°C). Oil the tartlet rings and their removable bottoms. Once oiled, put the tartlet pans together. Place the pans on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Add the pine nuts to the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the metal blade. Add the oats, cornmeal, baking powder and salt and process for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until very fine. The mixture should look like it could almost stick together.
With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil through the feeding tube and process for another 30 seconds. Add most of the maple syrup and process just until the mixture holds together.
Pour the mixture into a bowl. Press some in your hand. The mixture should press together easily. If it doesn't, add the remaining maple syrup and some of the fruit juice (see video for the consistency you are looking for) until the appropriate consistency is reached.
Spoon a packed 1/4 cup of dough into each of the tartlet pans and press the mixture into an even layer over the bottom and up the sides of the pans.
When all of the tartlet shells have been made, bake in the preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the crust is a light golden color. Place baking sheet on a wire cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes before removing, or loosening, the side rings.
2
Preparing the Glazed Grapes & Assembling Tartlets
Ingredients
1/3 lb seedless grapes, multi-colored, some cut in half
1/2 cup apricot jam or orange marmalade
1 cup thick Vanilla Pastry Cream + 1 tsp lemon or orange zest
1/4 cup pignoli nuts, toasted and cooled
To assemble the tartlets, first wash, dry, stem and halve most of the grapes. Put into a medium bowl and set aside.
Combine the jam (or marmalade) with 1 tablespoon of water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for a couple of minutes or just until the jam has melted. Pour the melted jam over the grapes, tossing to coat.
Assemble the tartlets, no more than 30 minutes ahead of serving, otherwise they will become soggy.
To assemble the tarlets, spread just enough of the melted jam onto the bottom of each of the prepared crusts to lightly cover.
Next, pipe a small amount of the Vanilla Pastry Cream into the jam-coated crusts to cover the bottom. Arrange an equal portion of the glazed grapes over each one and then finish each one with an equal sprinkle of the pine nuts.
Note: These gluten-free tartlets are a good way to highlight almost any seasonal fruit.
