Low-Sugar Mango Almond Tart

Happy Easter! Here in the Phoenix area, it's a beautiful weekend for this celebration of Christ's resurrection--a weekend we get to spend with family, friends, and the winner of the Creepiest Easter Bunny competition 2015.

Right?

My kids and their cousins were super good sports about posing with the bunny that looked like it might burst out in a maniacal cackle at any moment. 

On this Easter day, as our Lenten fast comes to a close, I'd like to share with you another recipe I made while my husband and son were doing their six weeks of eating less sugar. It really was a fun challenge to make desserts that would taste good with a major sugar reduction. (I'm sure diabetics are rolling their eyes, like, yeah, tons of fun.) This mango almond tart was a definite winner. The original recipe from Eating Well is for a raspberry-almond tart, which I'm sure would also be fabulous, but as I had no frozen raspberries in the house when inspiration struck, I used the frozen mangoes hibernating in our fridge and it turned out delicious, too. With only a quarter cup plus two teaspoons of added sugar in the entire 9-inch tart, I'd say this dessert stretches the sugar pretty thin without it being noticeably absent. My guess is you could substitute any berry or even peaches for the mangoes with lovely results. I could see making it for company--at a tea party, perhaps, or as a light but satisfying dessert for a spring dinner party. Or just for a husband and son who were brave enough to last 40 days with less sugar. I applaud them and feel no guilt today about letting my 7-year-old dive head-first into an Easter basket full of candy.

Low-Sugar Mango Almond Tart
(Adapted from Eating Well)

Ingredients:

1/2 c. sliced almonds, skins on
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/3 c. plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
4 c. diced mangoes, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
2 tsp. powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan or pie dish with cooking spray.

2. In a food processor, combine sliced almonds and sugar until almonds are finely ground. Set aside 1/2 c. of the mixture.

3. Add 1 1/3 c. flour to the remaining sugar-almond mixture and pulse to blend. Add butter a few pieces at a time and process until well incorporated.

4. In a small bowl, combine egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extracts until blended. Add to the food processor and process until the mixture begins to form a dough that looks like wet, crumbly sand, about 1 minute. Set aside 1/3 c. of this mixture.

5. Transfer the remaining dough to the prepared tart pan. Spread evenly, pressing the dough up the sides of the pan to form a crust.

6. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of flour to the sugar-almond mixture you set aside in step 2. Toss mangoes with 2 Tbsp. of this mixture until coated. Spread the coated mangoes evenly over the tart crust, then sprinkle the remaining sugar-almond mixture over the mangoes. Take the reserved 1/3 c. of dough from step 4 and pinch into small clumps. Sprinkle these all around the tart.

7. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 45 minutes or until the crumbs on top are golden. Cool at least 30 minutes, then dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Makes 1 9-inch tart.