Blueberry Birthday Treat

It's Birthday time in Thomasland.  Eric's mom just celebrated a birthday

followed promptly by our brother-in-law and this baby of ours is due any day now-YEAH!  We usually go to dinner somewhere to celebrate and then back to Eric's parent's home for Dairy Queen ice cream cake, presents and games. 

What a delicious tradition, right?  Unless, like my mother-in-law you are on a gluten and dairy-free diet...then this just becomes torture (or so I imagine-those fudgy slices of frozen goodness are hard to resist!)  So I've been working on finding some equally satisfying gluten and dairy free dessert options which isn't really as easy as one might think.

The first attempt at just switching to soy flour in this recipe was a bit of a flop....despite what it looks like, the lemon blueberry bread was moist and flavorful and the lemony syrup hid any burnt flavor....but....

who wants to bring something that looks like THAT to a party?!  So back to the drawing board. 

I chose a go to classic that Michelle has always liked (even before her dietary restriction days when I made this with all-purpose flour as the recipe calls for) 

BLUEBERY TART (by none other than Marthat Stewart Herself!)

• Prep Time 35 minutes
• Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
• Yield Serves 10

Ingredients

• For the Crust
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for dusting
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• For the Filling
• 6 cups (six 1/2-pint containers) fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter; process until large moist crumbs form (dough should hold together when squeezed).
2. Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom; with floured fingers, press evenly into bottom and up sides. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes; prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes; cool completely.
3. Meanwhile, reserve 1 cup of the prettiest berries for topping. In a medium saucepan, bring 1/4 cup water and 1 1/2 cups berries to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to break down, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water; stir into berries in pan. Add lemon zest and juice, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, stirring, just until mixture begins to thicken, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining 3 1/2 cups fresh berries. Immediately pour hot berry mixture into cooled tart shell, and smooth with a spatula.
5. Scatter reserved berries on top, pressing down lightly to help them adhere. Refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes and up to overnight.

 

Stranded at home carless and with only ingredients on hand, I just subbed out the soy flour for all purpose flour (and even though it was a fail on the bread) it turned out to be a virtually undetectable change-success!