My low FODMAP chocolate tart is one of my favourite recipes. It tastes fantastic and does not require cream or milk.  

The base
Put the butter and flour into a large mixing bowl. With your hands rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Next add the ground almonds and icing sugar and continue to rub the mix together. 

Add the water and egg, then quickly mix it all together with your hands. Once combined you should be able to shape the dough into a ball. Wrap this ball of dough in cling film and leave in the fridge overnight.

​The filling
Preheat your oven to 180c (355f). Spread some icing sugar on your work surface to stop the dough sticking. Take your dough from the fridge and roll out. This gluten free dough will be a little 'wetter' and 'sticker' than regular dough so you need to try and roll it out quickly. Line your pie tin with the dough then bake until the crust turns golden, this should take about 20 minutes. 

Take the blind baked crust out of the oven, but leave it in your pie tin, and set aside. 

Pour the tart mix into the blind baked pastry shell and put back in the oven at 180c (355f) for 20 minutes. 

My low FODMAP pumpkin pie is so quick and easy you can enjoy it at any time of year. Note the fillings above will make a 9 inch pie. If you want to make a 12inch pie add 50% to the filling. E.g 22 ounces of pumpkin, 3/4 cup maple syrup and lactose free milk, etc. 

The base
Put the butter and flour into a large mixing bowl. With your hands rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Next add the ground almonds and icing sugar and continue to rub the mix together. 

Add the water and egg, then quickly mix it all together with your hands. Once combined you should be able to shape the dough into a ball. Wrap this ball of dough in cling film and leave in the fridge overnight.

​The filling
Take your dough from the fridge and roll out. This gluten free dough will be a little 'wetter' and 'sticker' than regular dough so you need to try and roll it out quickly. Line your pie tin with the dough then set it aside.

Preheat your oven to 180c (355f). Blind bake your pie base for 15 minutes. In an electric mixer, mix together the pumpkin, milk, syrup, cinnamon, salt and eggs until well mixed. Pour the filling into your blind baked  pie shell then place in the oven. Bake for a further 40 or 50 minutes, The pie is completely cooked when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

Allow the pie to cool completely before decorating with pecans. 

The base
Put the butter and flour into a large mixing bowl. With your hands rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Next add the ground almonds and icing sugar and continue to rub the mix together. 

Add the water and egg, then quickly mix it all together with your hands. Once combined you should be able to shape the dough into a ball. Wrap this ball of dough in cling film and leave in the fridge overnight. 

Preheat your oven to 180c or 356f

Roll the dough out to around 5mm thick and lay it in the pie tin. If you need to you can use any scraps to cover any edges of the pie tin you may have missed. 

Once you have set the dough in the pie tin you want to use a fork to make small holes across the bottom of it. Then you'll need to blind bake it. 

I have always used baking beans when blind baking a pastry shell. But the couple of times I tried this pastry I did not use them and it worked out fine. 

Bake the pastry shells in the oven for 20 minutes. When cooked, they should be golden brown around the edges and shrink away from the edge of the tin.

The filling
Start by beating your egg yolks together with the caster sugar, they should become slightly thickened. Next whisk in the cornflour. 

Heat the milk and vanilla extract in a saucepan on a low heat until it just starts to boil. Remember to sir it regularly so it does not scald on the bottom. Apologies to the experts among us, but for the novices, milk does not boil like water. It should rise slightly in the pan but not bubble. 

Pour half of the warm milk into the egg mixture. You need to try and pour this into the side of the bowl rather then directly onto the eggs. Also you must whisk constantly while adding the milk to avoid scrambling the eggs. 

Now pour the egg/milk mix back into the saucepan containing the remaining milk. Whisk constantly. You will notice the mixture thicken. There is a fine line here, if you do not allow the mixture to thicken enough you'll be left with a creme paissiere that is too runny and unusable. You can also leave it on the heat too long and the mixture will split and become unusable. Ideally you want a consistency you could pipe in a piping bag. 

Once the mixture has thickened you need to take it off the heat and cool it rapidly so it does not continue cooking. I found the best way to do this is to put the saucepan into a large bowl of ice water.

Pipe or spoon the filling into the cooled pastry cases then top with strawberries in whatever style works for you!

The filling
I like to start by making the lemon filling. Put some water in a pan and set it over a low heat. Put the sugar, butter, lemon juice and zest into a mixing bowl. Sit the mixing bowl over the pan of simmering water, ensure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir the mixture occasionally until all the butter is melted. 

Now, whisk your three eggs together and then slowly pour the eggs into the warm lemon mixture. It is important that you thoroughly wisk the lemon/egg mix until all the ingredients are combined. 

Leave the mixture to cook for about 12 minutes, stir it regularly. This regular stirring helps ensure the eggs are incorporated. When cooked the mixture should be thick and creamy, you should be able to coat the back of a spoon with it. Take the mixture off the heat when cooked and allow it to come to room temperature before placing in the fridge.

The base
Put the butter and flour into a large mixing bowl. With your hands rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Next add the ground almonds and icing sugar and continue to rub the mix together. 

Add the water and egg, then quickly mix it all together with your hands. Once combined you should be able to shape the dough into a ball. Wrap this ball of dough in cling film and leave in the fridge overnight. 

Preheat your oven to 180c or 350f

Roll the dough out to around 5mm thick and lay it in the pie tin. If you need to you can use any scraps to cover any edges of the pie tin you may have missed. 

Once you have set the dough in the pie tin you want to use a fork to make small holes across the bottom of it. Then you'll need to blind bake it. 

I have always used baking beans when blind baking a pastry shell. But the couple of times I tried this pastry I did not use them and it worked out fine. 

Bake the pastry shells in the oven for 20 minutes. When cooked, they should be golden brown around the edges and shrink away from the edge of the tin.

The meringue
When the base cools to room temperature spoon in the chilled lemon filling. 

I found the meringue difficult and have to admit, it took me a few attempts. Don't give up if it takes you a while. Also, be extremely careful with the boiling syrup. It is very dangerous and will burn you!
Combine the sugar and water in a small pan and bring to the boil. Once the syrup reaches about 90c (195f) whisk the egg whites in an electric mixer until they form soft peaks. Once the syrup reaches 115c (240f) on a thermometer slowly pour the syrup into the meringue while whisking at a medium speed. Continue mixing at a medium speed until the meringue is thick and glossy, 8-10 minutes.

Pipe the meringue onto  your lemon tart before scorching the meringue with a blowtorch. 

The base
Put the butter and flour into a large mixing bowl. With your hands rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Next add the ground almonds and icing sugar and continue to rub the mix together. 

Add the water and egg, then quickly mix it all together with your hands. Once combined you should be able to shape the dough into a ball. Wrap this ball of dough in cling film and leave in the fridge overnight.​

Preheat your oven to 180c or 225f

Take the dough from the fridge and pull a chunk off in your hand, about the side of a medium egg. Flatten this dough out in your hand until you have a disc that covers your palm. Put the dough into the base of your pie tin.

Then press the dough into the base of the tin and up along the edges. What you want to do is fill the tin as evenly as possible so pastry cooks evenly.

Otherwise you could end up with a raw bottom and burnt sides.
(If you're a purist you can roll the dough out and then lay it in the pie tin, both methods work fine.)

Once you have set the dough in the pie tin you want to use a fork to make small holes across the bottom of it. Then you'll need to blind bake it.

I have always used baking beans when blind baking a pastry shell. But the couple of times I tried this pastry I did not use them and it worked out fine.

Bake the pastry shells in the oven for 20 minutes. When cooked, they should be golden brown around the edges and shrink away from the edge of the tin.

Leave the pastry cases on the kitchen bench to cool while you start work on the creme patissiere.

The filling

Start by beating your egg yolks together with the caster sugar, they should become slightly thickened. Next whisk in the cornflour. 

Heat the lactose free milk and vanilla extract in a saucepan on a low heat until it just starts to boil. Remember to sir it regularly so it does not scald on the bottom. Apologies to the experts among us, but for the novices, milk does not boil like water. It should rise slightly in the pan but not bubble. 

Pour half of the warm milk into the egg mixture. You need to try and pour this into the side of the bowl rather then directly onto the eggs. Also you must whisk constantly while adding the milk to avoid scrambling the eggs. 

Now pour the egg/milk mix back into the saucepan containing the remaining milk. Whisk constantly. You will notice the mixture thicken. There is a fine line here. The first time I did this I did not allow the mixture to thicken enough and was left with a creme paissiere that was too runny and unusable. You can also leave it on the heat too long and the mixture will split and become unusable. Ideally you want a consistency you could pipe in a piping bag. 

Once the mixture has thickened you need to take it off the heat and cool it rapidly so it does not continue cooking. I found the best way to do this is to put the saucepan into a large bowl of ice water. Once completely cooled store the creme patissiere in the fridge. 

Spoon your filling into your pastry cases then carefully cover with blueberries. You should be able to make three small tarts with this recipe. I find it requires around 200g of blueberries.