Experimental Food: Caramel Apple Almond Tart - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free

Dr. Awesome and I were invited to a murder mystery birthday party tonight (It wasn't me - I promise!) and it was my job to make dessert. I was planning to just make cupcakes, but when I called my friend to ask what flavour she likes, I found out that she is on a gluten-, dairy-, and egg-free diet! This was a challenge; normally I pull out meringues when I need to do gluten-free, and dairy-free is pretty easy to do. But since eggs were out too, I had to get creative about what to make!

My first attempt failed horribly (too much coconut oil for the almond flour), but my second attempt worked out pretty well. I started with a rice/almond flour hybrid crust in a tart pan.

Tart Base:
1/2 c. rice flour
1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. coconut oil

1. Mix together until combined and press into tart pan (or anything else, really - my first plan was to make these in canning jars). 
2. Bake at 350°F for 20 min or so until golden brown.

I layered apple slices soaked in butter ripple schnapps over the base and drizzled them with dairy-free caramel sauce (adapted from Melissa Goulet's recipe over at Buttercream Couture).

Dairy-free Caramel Sauce:
1 c. sugar
6 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/2 c. coconut cream (just skim it off the top of a can of coconut milk)

1. Put the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. When it starts to liquefy around the edges, use a heatproof spatula or whisk to stir it until it's a clear, deep-ish amber shade. 
2. Whisk in the coconut oil and coconut cream. The caramel will bubble and seize up, but just keep stirring until it's smooth and beautiful! Let it cool a bit before using.

I covered the apples with a layer of whipped coconut cream (I added a bit of almond extract) and topped it all with almond brittle.

Nut Brittle:
1 c. sugar
Coarse salt
Chopped, toasted nuts (I didn't measure! I just chopped a bunch and then threw in what looked good. I used almonds, but I think hazelnuts would be heavenly too).

1. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Put the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. When it starts to liquefy around the edges, use a heatproof spatula or whisk to stir it until it's a clear, deep-ish amber shade. 
3. Throw in the nuts, stir to combine, and pour onto the baking sheet, using a spatula to spread as thinly as you can.
4. Sprinkle some salt over top!
5. (Note: I think a little bit of cinnamon somewhere in here would go a long way for this dessert.)
6. Let cool and then break into a million pieces.

It worked! A bit more caramel and maybe some cinnamon might add to this dessert, and I think it would be fun to play around with a vegan cream cheese topping instead of the whipped coconut cream next time. I liked the crispness of the fresh apples against the creaminess of the whipped cream and the texture of the base, but you could definitely try using cooked apples instead. The nut brittle was definitely the best part of the whole thing - perfect topping! Just don't sprinkle it on until just before serving, or it'll begin to soften. But if you forget, you can always sprinkle a bit extra on at the last minute. :)

I'm really happy about having an attractive, delicious dessert option for restricted diets. Experimental food for the win!