BUTTER TART SQUARES- Vegan, Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free & Oil-Free

My absolute favourite treat in the entire world is butter tarts. Yes, it is those sickly sweet and gooey treats that make me go insane. I would actually eat a traditional gluten and dairy filled butter tart in a second even though it would cause me pain. I love them that much! Sure an hour after I indulged I would regret my decision, but that moment that my teeth sink into the flaky crust and the gooey centre is released…it’s like nothing else in this world! I really want to agree with the statement “nothing tastes better than health feels” but it’s butter tarts that stop me from 100% believing it. If the statement excluded butter tarts though, I’d be all over it.

Clearly I’m a tad obsessed with butter tarts, mmm butter tarts. But it’s because of my obsession with them that they are one of the things I never had on my radar to try to create a healthier version of. After all, NOTHING compares to a traditional butter tart, so why even try?

And then I realized that a healthy and delicious version probably could be created but I was simply terrified to try to recreate my favourite treat. After all, what would happen if I failed? What would it mean if I couldn’t create a butter tart that does to me what a traditional butter tart does? I felt comforted by the hope that can exist in my absence of trying. So I held onto my hope and did the next best thing…I created a healthy butter tart inspired recipe. Not a butter tart, but a butter tart inspired square.

Butter Tart Squares

Decadent almond crust topped with chewy raisins and a buttery sweet custard top. 

Serves 16

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 cup firm silken tofu (I used Mori-Nu)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp maple extract
• 2 tbsp brown rice flour
• 2/3 cup raisins

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line 9 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl mix together almond flour, almond butter, 1/4 cup maple syrup and baking powder. Stir until it is a wet, thick dough. It may not appear that there is enough liquid, just keep stirring, the almond flour will release more oil as it’s stirred.
3. Press the dough into the 9 x 9 baking pan and bake for 10 minutes.
4. While the crust is baking, add the rest of the ingredients (except for the raisins) to a blender and blend until smooth.
5. Once the crust has baked, sprinkle the raisins overtop as evenly as possible.
6. Pour the blender mixture on top of the raisins.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes and let cool for at least 2-3 hours before cutting. For best cutting results, let the bars set in the fridge for the 2-3 hours or better yet, overnight.

xoxo Erin

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UPDATE! This recipe has been shared at Healthy Vegan Fridays and Gluten-Free Fridays.

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