Persimmon, Rum + Almond Tart + Quick Buckwheat Pastry {vegan, gf}

A beautiful Wintery tart with sweet persimmons, a touch of spiced rum, and almond frangipane filling (though you could use just about any in-season fruit). A quick buckwheat and almond gluten-free press-in crust makes this easy to whip up, no chilling required.

So I’m going to try a new thing this week, where I share the recipe near the top of the post, then finish with the photos and any extra writing. I just know that personally when I want a recipe, I just want the goddamn recipe. Sure the photos are beautiful to look at, and I love reading personal stories etc., but I generally don’t want to scroll for five hundred years to get to what I’m actually after – the recipe.

So, recipe first, then it’s your choice whether to read on or not. What are your thoughts on this? Do you love long posts? Or are you in the hurryupandshowmetherecipe bandwagon? 

Persimmon, Rum + Almond Tart + Quick Buckwheat Pastry

vegan, egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free

Crust adapted from Evergreen Kitchen. Filling adapted from Lazy Cat Kitchen. A beautiful Wintery tart with sweet persimmons, a touch of spiced rum, and almond frangipane filling (though you could use just about any in-season fruit). A quick buckwheat and almond gluten‐free press‐in crust makes this easy to whip up, no chilling required.  

Servings 8

Ingredients

crust

• 100 g / 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 95 g / 1 cup almond meal
• 25 g / 1/4 cup sweet rice flour*
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 tbsp refined coconut oil, melted

filling

• 75 g / 1/3 cup vegan butter, I use nuttelex buttery (or mild olive oil)
• 115 g / 1/2 cup raw caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 35 g / 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp cold chickpea liquid (aquafaba)** whipped to semi-firm peaks
• 1 tbsp spiced rum
• 240 g / 2 1/2 cups almond meal
• 4 non-astringent (fuyu) persimmon cut into thin half moon slices
• handful sliced almonds scattered on top
• icing sugar to dust

Instructions

crust

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F with a rack set in the bottom third. Lightly grease a 23cm/9-inch tart pan.
• In a large bowl whisk together the flours and salt, then stir in the maple syrup followed by the melted coconut oil or vegan butter. Press the crust firmly and evenly into the tart tin, pushing it into the sides and making sure there are no holes. Patch any holes with excess crust. Prick the base all over with a fork, then place in the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

filling

• While the crust bakes, make the filling. Whisk together the butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, then whisk in the buckwheat flour and salt. Add the aquafaba, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the rum. Gently fold in the almond meal with a spatula.
• Fill the cooled crust with the almond frangipane, and spread it evenly. Arrange the persimmon slices on top, overlapping them slightly, then scatter with the sliced almonds. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, until the filling has puffed up and is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

This tart is a beauty. It’s so easy to whip up thanks to the press-in crust, which by the way is delicious. ‘Buttery’ and crumbly (but not too crumbly that it falls apart, it’s sturdy), and with a nice nutty flavour from the buckwheat/almond combo. I plan on using this pastry for everything. I don’t think I’ll bother with regular shortcrust anymore, this one is everything I want, and it’s stress-free and quick.

Then the frangipane filling made with aquafaba, with the spiced rum addition, is simple but feels elegant. It complements the persimmons oh so well, with their sweet-spiced flavour. But almost any fruit would work wonderfully: apples, rhubarb, peaches, nectarines, berries, pears, plums etc. etc. Just change up the flavour to suit the fruit. For instance, you might leave out the rum but add more vanilla. Or you might add some herbs or lavender to the frangipane. Or use pistachio meal instead of almond. Or you could use a different alcohol to suit, maybe amaretto or cognac. Or just keep it simple. It’s up to you.

If using persimmons, keep in mind that you are after the non-astringent type. The most common type I’ve seen around these parts is called a Fuyu persimmon. They’re firm-ish when ripe, and so can be sliced and cooked like an apple. The astringent variety has to be completely soft and smooshy to be eaten, otherwise, they are… astringent. Bitter. You will not want to slice them and bake them in a tart. Trust. Most often the ones you will see for sale are the non-astringent variety, so you needn’t worry too much.

I hope you love the tart if you give it a go, let me know your thoughts. I realllllllly want to make croissants and then use this frangipane filling to make almond croissants. Croissants aux amandes are one of my Achilles​ heels, along with doughnuts. I almost caved and ate a non-vegan version recently, I was missing them that badly. So I need to give them a go myself. I want to do it NOW… maybe I will.

Have a lovely week!

Bek xx