Black Sesame Seed Fruit Tarts
Inspired by the rich, nutty black sesame paste we made last week (see recipe for black sesame paste here). Today, we thought we’d share an easy tart recipe that can standalone as a refined-sugar-free dessert or even a decadent breakfast pastry. This tart conjures up memories of banana cream while remaining perfectly balanced and not too cloying with just the right amount of acidity, salt, and sweetness.
The Medicinal Properties:
Below we have some of the more medicinal properties of the ingredients according to Chinese dietary therapy.
-Almond: descends the Lung qi, stops coughing, moistens the intestines and relieves constipation
-Banana: cooling, tonifying to body fluids and yin, clears toxic heat froth body
-Pomegranate: strengthens the spleen and lung, stops diarrhea, and promotes uterine contractions during labor
-Coconut: nourishes blood, yin, and qi, kills parasites, promotes generation of body fluids
-Honey: in small quantities it strengthens the digestion and Sp qi, restores qi, prevents dryness
Recipe:
Makes 6 Tarts
crust
3/4 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
1 cup natural almond flour (we used bob’s red mill)
1/4 cup blanched almond flour (we used trader joe’s)
pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter (you can use coconut oil for a vegan option)
*Note: The crust was delicious but rather crumbly, if you are not vegan, you can add 1 egg to the crust mixture and it
filling
2 tbsp black sesame seed paste (see recipe here)
2 bananas, thinly sliced
3/4 cup of pomegranate seeds
garnish
coconut butter or coconut whipped cream
drizzle of honey
dash of powdered sugar
Directions:
Mix together the flours and a pinch of salt
Melt butter and add melted butter to flour until it gets a crumbly texture. *Add egg here if using egg.
Prepare muffin tin with muffin liners
Take crust flour and evenly disperse amongst all 6 muffin tins, push down on them together in the tin to form a crust.
Place crusts into preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes (until slightly golden brown)
Let crusts cool for 5 minutes.
Spoon 2 tbsp of black sesame paste into crust (see recipe here)
Put banana slices on top of paste, about 6 slices for each tart
Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over top
Garnish with coconut butter or coconut whipped cream, a dash of powdered sugar, and a drizzle of honey.
References
Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford
Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen by Yuan Wang
Black Sesame Seed Paste Recipe
In the middle of winter, we like to encourage eating foods that tonify the Kidney. Black Sesame Seed Paste is a delicious, and highly nutritious, way to do that. This slightly sweet, nutty flavored paste is yummy to put on top of toast, on congee, or on oats.