Vegan Key Lime Tartletes

I come from Florida, where the key lime trees grow in each backyard. As a vegan, I do miss having key lime pie and lemon meringue pie. But recently I have been inspired to try using almonds or cashews to make the filling with and thus, not needing eggs or milk. I was quite pleased with the result. Although we are living in Holland, I do have some baby key lime trees that I’ve been nurturing from seed and I hope in another couple of years they will be able to bear some key limes for us to enjoy.

Ingredients:

for the sweet crust:

• 9 oz. pastry flour
• 1 oz. ground almond meal
• 3 oz. powdered sugar
• 1 egg substitute
• 5 oz. margarine
• salt
• 1-2 tbs. ice cold water

for the key lime filling:

• 3/4 cup white almond meats, finely ground
• 10 oz. tofu, crumbled
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• zest from 1 lime
• salt
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 tsp. agar agar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric

Directions:

For the crust:

1. Put the ingredients in a kitchen machine and pulse until you have a crumbly mixture.
2. Add the water and pulse to for a ball.
3. Remove from the kitchen machine, kneed a bit.
4. Wrap in plastic foil and put in the refrigerator for 1/2 or until ready to bake.
5. When ready, preheat the oven to 350 (F) (175 C).
6. Roll the dough out on a floured surface.
7. Be sure to roll the dough out thin otherwise it is too thick and hard, you want a nice light flaky crust that is a bit sweet.
8. Grease the tart forms.
9. Fill each tart form with the dough.
10. Pierce the bottom with a fork in several places.
11. Place a sheet of baking paper in the bottom, put beans or rice on the baking paper and bake the tart crust “blind” for 20-25 minutes.
12. This (baking blind) is rather important, otherwise the dough will rise too much and you will not be able to fill the art as much as you would like.

For the filling:

1. Grind the almonds as finely as possible.
2. Place them in a kitchen machine or blender and add the tofu, the cold water and sugar and blend or puree to a very smooth consistency.
3. Add the lemon juice and blend again.
4. Pour the mixture into a small sauce pan.
5. Taste the mixture, add more lime juice or the zest of another lime if you wish it to be more tart.
6. Dissolve the agar agar in 2 tablespoons of cold water and add to the lemon/almond mixture.
7. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is a thick smooth mass.
8. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked tart shells and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.
9. You can garnish with berries in season, or a slice of lemon or Soyatoo (whipped soy cream).

Note:

This recipe was inspired by La Tartine Gourmande, who is a very inspiring cook and photographer. Unfortunately, not vegan. So the recipes need some adapting for a vegan diet. Some of the ideas for altering the recipe came from Bryanna’s vegan feast kitchen blog.