Peach and Raspberry Tart

I have only recently found out what Mummy and Daddy are up to when they sneak out at dinner time on Saturday nights. They go to these places, often called restaurants or other similar names, to… have dinner. And, while this poor baby birdie stays home to feast on birdie food and raw broccoli and green beans, his Mummy and Daddy go to this fancy place where they get to choose from various dishes on the menu and can even have several courses if they want to! I’m also told there are other other people in the restaurant having dinner at the same time, which makes for a mind boggling array of dishes out on different tables at the same time. Now you humans probably don’t get this, as you don’t get to fly around much, but can you even imagine how much fun it would be for me to fly from one table to the next, taking one bite from each plate, and then returning to the ones that I really like??? That’s what I would call a real feast!!! Unfortunately though, Mummy and Daddy tell me that they don’t allow baby birdies in restaurants nowadays and, until I can verify this information from an independent source, I will just have to take their word for it, I’m afraid 😦

Last week they even went out on Friday night, and stayed out a lot longer than usual, but they tell me it was for a special occasion called New Year’s Eve. I wasn’t happy about it but, being such a kind, generous and loving birdie, I soon forgave them. It also helped that Mummy had made us this yummy sweet treat for New Year’s Day, which (nearly) made up for the fact that I hadn’t been invited out for dinner the night before…..

This tart is a lightened up and easier to make cheesescake variation and, if you choose the traditional base of crushed biscuits you don’t need to bake at all. We were quite intrigued to discover an almond and buckwheat dessert base on the shelves of our favourite grocery store, so we decided to try that instead. This is simply made from puffed cereal (buckwheat, white and brown rice and sorghum), almonds and sunflower kernels, coarsely crushed and meant to be mixed with some fat/liquid and then pressed into the tin as the base for a tart. As the mixture is very coarse, it requires about 5 minutes of baking so it can crisp up and hold together before you can add the filling.

As far as the verdict is concerned, we can say it definitely added an interesting crunchy texture to the tart and it had a lovely flavour, so it’s definitely worth trying if you’re on a gluten free diet or simply want a break from the crushed biscuit base. It should also be easy enough to make at home and customize with your own favourite cereal and nuts – just roughly crush everything in a food processor.

Peach and Raspberry Tart (adapted from the Australian GoodFood magazine)
For the Tart Case
250 g homemade or bought cereal and nuts dessert base
5 tbsp coconut oil, melted
or
250 g biscuits
100g melted butter

Tart Filling
250 g cream cheese, at room temperature
300 g quark, at room temperature
100 icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Zest and juice from one lime

To Decorate
100 g fresh whole raspberries
2 – 3 large peaches (we used both yellow and white peaches), thinly sliced

Lightly oil a 22 cm loose base tart tin and line the base with baking paper. If using a cereal and nut base, pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Place cereal and nut mixture or biscuits in a food processor and pulse until they attain a coarse sandy texture. Place the mixture in a bowl, add the melted butter or coconut oil and mix with a spoon to incorporate. Press this into the base and sides of the prepared tin. If using the cereal base, bake for 5 minutes, until set and slightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In the mean time, place all filling ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth.

Spoon filling into the prepared tart case, level with a spatula and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.

The tart is best decorated just before serving. Decorate with the peach slices and raspberries according to your own preference. Slice and serve.