no sugar fig & almond slice (or raspberry & almond if you prefer)

This is a recipe I developed as a guilt-free alternative to one of my favourites, the raspberry and almond slice from Costa coffee shops. The first version of this recipe I made was very similar, but contained no sugar except for the jam (plus I had no flaked almonds in the house), and it doesn’t have that odd layer of doughy pastry at the bottom which I don’t really like. It was so good that before the batch finished I made it again, this time a double portion and without any added sugar at all – just fresh, sliced figs baked into the top. The recipe for both can be seen here.

June I saw your comment on the buttercream thread about using stevia – so I thought I’d share this here for you :)

(you can see photos of the raspberry version here: http://recitries.wordpress.com/2014/09/09/healthy-fig-almond-slice-paleo-gf-sugar-free-low-fat-yes-really/ )

Ingredients – makes one 9″ round tart or 8" square

2 cups ground almonds
6 medium egg whites, or 12 tbsp carton egg whites (if you can’t find these you could use 4 whole eggs, but I haven’t tried this)
2 tsp oil based almond essence
1/3 cup plus 2 tsp (90ml) of stevia based sweetener with erythritol (in the UK the brand name for this is Truvia, but not the “baking blend” which also contains sugar). If you want to use real sugar, its 2 cups.
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp flaked almonds
3 fresh sliced figs to top, or 4 tbsp raspberry jam of choice for the sweeter traditional alternative

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C fan, 180 C for regular ovens or whatever your equivalent gas mark
Line a 9″ round or 8″ square pan with baking paper, then brush with oil or spray with cooking spray. This recipe sticks if you don’t. I used a loose bottom pan, which I recommend for ease if you have one.
mix the almonds, sweetener, egg, baking powder and almond essence together in a bowl until well combined, then pour into your prepared pan and spread evenly. Top with dollops of raspberry jam, or slices of fig, then sprinkle over the flaked almonds.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester or fork comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack, then remove from the tin and peel away the paper.
Enjoy! :)