Pear, Hazelnut and Salted Caramel Tarts

A heavenly trio of a textured hazelnut & ginger base, silky & sweet salted caramel centre + lightly baked maple pears. Wholesome and seasonal, these little tarts are enough to satisfy that sweet craving & pair perfectly with a chai tea. The salted caramel mixture will make more than enough for these tarts, & the extra can be stored in a jar to dip apples into or spread on toast. Enjoy!

Makes 6 small tarts

Dairy-free, vegan

Salted Caramel + Pear Ingredients:
2 cups pitted Medjool dates

¼ cup almond butter

4 tspn fresh lemon juice

½ tspn sea salt

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Soaking water, as needed

2 pears, cut into thin strips

Hazelnut Base:
1 ¼ cups of ground hazelnuts

3/4 cup of spelt flour

3 tablespoons of coconut oil, room temperature

1 tspn of ground ginger

2 tablespoon of maple syrup

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Soak dates for at least 4 hours in water. Drain the dates, reserving the soak water
2. Add dates to a food processor along with all other ingredients (except the pears). Blend on high until dates are smooth. Then add 2 tablespoons of soaking water, or enough until it is a thick but pourable consistency.
3. Mix hazelnut meal, spelt flour, coconut oil and ginger in a food processor until it looks like rough crumbs. You should be able to pinch the crumbs together and they’ll hold their shape.
4. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of maple syrup in; briefly process to incorporate it
5. Put crumbs into small greased tart tins and push into shape.
6. Bake at 180 degrees for 8 minutes
7. Let the bases cool before pouring the salted caramel into them. Top with fanned sliced pears.
8. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of maple syrup over the tarts. and bake at 180 for 15 minutes.

Nutrition Bite:
Spelt flour – While it’s from the same family as modern hybridised wheat, spelt has a different genetic structure, with a greater protein content and a greater concentration of minerals and vitamins. The gluten is said to be more easily digestible than standard wheat flour. This accounts for it often being more readily tolerated by those with wheat intolerances, although its higher protein content makes it unsuitable for those with coeliac disease.