Greek Yogurt Tart With Gluten Free Crust

Greek Yogurt, Labneh, Labni or strained yogurt tart, you can name it whatever you want. But above all, this is the one light velvety textured baked yogurt tart, which is not cloying too. A perfect dessert or a tea time snack for the present weather. It can be topped with whatever in-season fruits you get, or can just be enjoyed plain, no one would complain.

It somehow resembles to the the quark cheesecake I baked last year with balsamic roasted strawberries, the texture, the flavor and even the color. It could be because quark is nothing but the strained natural yogurt. I have been wanting to bake a yogurt tart but preferably the egg-free version. But most of the egg-free version called for a loads of sweetened condensed milk, which kinda put me off, thinking the over sweetness from the condensed milk could ruin the delicate flavors of yogurt.

Talking about the crust, I am not a gluten intolerant person, neither is anyone in my family and friends. But I thought it would be good, if I try some alternate flours for the crust. It might be challenging, the crust would not keep crisp or it might come out excessively crumbly. But after a lot of research on the internet, I decided onto replacing half of the flour with almond meal and rest half with oatmeal and cornmeal.

Oatmeal helps to make the crust crumbly, while cornmeal balances out with the body it gives and almond meal keeps the moistness of the crumb intact. A perfect winner for a tart crust, though I am not sure if this could be used for a traditional double crust pie. I am yet to figure that out.

I topped this tart with ruby red pomegranate seeds and some toasted slivered almonds, which made the tart all the more appealing, resting with high head in the middle of our dinner table!

Recipe adapted from SAVEUR

Ingredients

For the crust

1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup oatmeal, powdered in a food processor
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
80 gm unsalted butter, melted
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling

400 gm strained yogurt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
3 eggs

 

Directions

1. To make the crust, preheat the oven to 180 degree C. Whisk almond meal, sugar, oatmeal, salt, cornmeal in a bowl. Stir in vanilla extract and butter, until the dough forms. Press into the bottoms and sides of a 9″ springform tart pan. Using a fork, prick dough all over. Line dough with parchment paper and fill with dried beans and bake until pale golden 13-15 minutes. Remove paper weights and bake for another 10-12 minutes. Let cool.
2. To make filling, lower the oven temperature to 150 degree C. Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl, until smooth. Fill in the pre-baked tart shell and bake until just set in the center, for about 20-25 minutes. Let cool. Top with fresh fruits and some nuts before serving.