This recipe was inspired by a free form berry tart recipe from the master of all baked things, Margaret Fulton. However I wanted to use a wholegrain pastry, decrease the sugar and use a fruit that was currently in season: persimmon. As I was asking this my housemate questioned my fruit choice as he thought they were savoury, more like a tomato, it goes to show that this golden fruit is not getting the love it deserves! Persimmon’s might not have the biggest fan club which is kind of surprising, because when very ripe they are sweet, low in acidity and so delicious.

Unfortunately they have a similar fructose content to grapes and cherries so for me that means I must eat with caution. I usually find that I’m fine with half a persimmon and this recipe allows for approximately that per person. The almond meal in the pastry lends a natural sweetness and the coconut sugar over the top gives it a nice crunch. I dusted mine with the tiniest amount of natvia icing sugar but this is unnecessary it just made it look pretty 😉  This recipe uses butter and I haven’t tried any alternative to this because I kind of love butter, but if you don’t, go ahead and experiment with coconut oil instead!

Serve with natural yoghurt, sweetened with maple syrup and vanilla. Or if you want to up the indulgence – cream!

Ingredients

Pastry

2 cups wholemeal spelt flour

125g unsalted butter, diced

1 Tbs coconut sugar

1/2 cup ground almonds

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon rum

Persimmon filling

2 very ripe persimmons they should have a lot of give and feel a bit squishy when you gently squeeze the sides)

1 ripe persimmon (should have just a little give but still some firmness)

1 tsp rum

1/4 tsp lime zest

1/4 cup almond meal

1 Tbs coconut sugar + 1 tsp

Directions

Prepare the pastry: Put all pastry ingredients in a food processor and pulse until all ingredients are mixed and beginning to clump together. Empty onto cling wrap, form into a ball, warp tightly in the cling wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour. Remove from the fridge and on baking paper (or a floured pizza stone as I did because I had run out of baking paper – whoops) roll out to a 30cm circle. It’s fine if the edges are a little rough (see images!). Put back in the fridge for 30 minutes, if using baking paper you will need to place on a tray:)

Prepare the persimmon: Cut the very ripe persimmons in half and scoop the flesh out, place on one side of a bowl. Take the ripe but still firm persimmon and slice into 2-3mm round slices, don’t stress if some of them end up halves you will be layering them anyway. Place these on the other half of the bowl and sprinkle all the persimmon with the lime zest and rum. Stir it through the scooped flesh a little bit. Leave to sit while pastry continues to chill.

Assemble and bake: Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Sprinkle the almond meal and coconut sugar over the base of the pastry, leaving 4cms around the edge clear. Next spread the persimmon flesh over the base, still leaving the 4 cms clear. Then layer the persimmon slices starting from the outside (still leaving the 4cm clear) and moving towards the centre in a circular fashion (see image). Fold up the edges of the pastry then sprinkle them with the 1 tsp of coconut sugar you should have left. Bake in the lowest shelf of your oven for 45 minutes (it should be nice and golden when you remove it). Cool slightly on the tray before cutting into slices and serving with yoghurt or cream.

HH. x