Berry Almond Tarts

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The moving truck pulled away this afternoon. Our lives are packed in the way, way, back and headed to New England. I am very ready for the next chapter. We really thought that DC would be the last place we would move, but after 6 months of living here we decided that it just wasn’t home. I can’t give a specific reason really, it just didn’t feel right. (Not to say that there weren’t things that I loved about this area. There were.)

As I get older, it is easier for me to define my priorities and values. I keep coming back to one thing over and over – I want a simple life. While I firmly believe that where you live is just geography, that happiness and contentment are within you, it helps if you like the place that you live. We didn’t, and the opportunity to leave (and go to our dream location) presented itself – we jumped on it. The thing about life is that we have the opportunity to change and make changes all the time. There are very few things in life that we have to accept forever.

The idea of moving to a small town really appeals to me. I want to know my neighbors, the families of my children’s friends, and I want to smell the ocean again. I think know that this will be a reality soon. If you live in the Boston/Cape area, say hi in the comments, I am thinking of having a get together once we get settled.

My kid’s aren’t officially out of school until the 25th (yes, you read that right. And yes, we pulled them out early, today is their last day), so it doesn’t feel like the 4th of July is in two weeks. But alas, it is. I have a feeling that ours will involve unpacking boxes and packing paper, a pizza, and fireworks somewhere TBD. I hope that yours includes these berry almond tarts. I found this recipe in this month’s Donna Hay. It is an Australian magazine, it is fall there, and her recipe included figs. I love almond anything, I had berries, so I used them instead. These are called tarts, but really are cakes. They are not super sweet, and would actually be a great breakfast. Also, this would be really easy to adapt to be gluten-free. Sub out the 1/4 cup flour for gluten-free all-purpose.

(I forgot to take an ingredient shot, sorry!)

1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (130g) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon orange zest
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup sliced almonds
2 cups berries

Put the butter, sugar, zests, and vanilla bean in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Cream for 6 to 8 minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Whisk together almond meal, flour, and baking powder. Set aside.

Add the eggs one at a time.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Take the bowl off of the mixer and fold in the almonds.

Scoop the batter with an ice cream scoop into 6 paper tart pans or an 11-inch fluted tart pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spread evenly into the pan.

Add the berries and gently press into batter.

Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. (If you bake in a large tart pan, it will be closer to 45 minutes.)

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and dive in. This recipe is adapted from the April/May issue of Donna Hay magazine.