Although small, red currants are a powerhouse healthy super food! They are loaded with essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, being particularly high in Vitamin C and Vitamin B. These vitamins help with skin cell regeneration, making red currants a great food to add to your skin care diet, eating red currants daily will help keep your skin glowing and fresh. They are a strong vibrant colour, making them a berry that is often used to decorate food as well as keep us nourished.
In Austria, red currants are often made into jams and when in season that are popular in various desserts. At MoaAlm we also like to use the red currant leaves to make fresh tea. Currant leaves boast anti-inflammatory properties that are very effective in the case of arthritis and all sorts of inflammations. After a day of hiking, a fresh cup of red currant tea is the perfect natural remedy to appease our tired but happy bodies.
In true WearActive tradition however, our favourite way of gorging on freshly picked berries is by making a tart. We are truly lucky to be able to wild forage the red currants from about 100m from our high Alpine location. They are protected by a thorny bush, but as we love an adventure in the mountains, we embrace the challenge! In mid August we are able to pick the fresh berries and then find new ways of sharing the bounty with our guests. Becca, our plant based cook produced a winning tart that tastes as gorgeous as it looks, full of berries and with the perfect amount of sweetness to compliment the red currants. We are looking forward to picking the berries soon in Austria and experimenting with new recipes.
250 g Spelt Flour
125 g Vegan butter
100 g Brown sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking powder
300 g Red currants
150 ml Apple juice
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1 tbsp Brown sugar
400 ml Almond milk
50 g Vegan butter
40 g Brown sugar
70 g Cornstarch
2 tbsp Vanilla sugar
1/2 Juiced Lemon
400 g Soy yoghurt
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a round cake tin. Combine all ingredients for the base and press ⅔ of the mixture into the bottom and sides of your cake tin. Keep the other ⅓ aside for later. Blind bake the base for 10 minutes.
To make the pudding, in a medium pan combine the apple juice, cornstarch and sugar. Bring to the boil while stirring constantly. Add the red currants to the pan, letting it boil for a minute, set aside for at least 10 minutes. In a separate pan, combine almond milk, butter, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla sugar and cornstarch and whisk removing all lumps .Then bring the mixture to boil until the starch starts to bind. Take the pot off the heat, set it aside and stir in the yoghurt.
Once the base is ready, spread the red currents on top, cover the berries with a layer of pudding and crumble the remaining ⅓ of the base dough on top.
Bake for around 50 minutes, let it cool and set in the fridge for at least one hour.
We hope you love this recipe as much as we do. As always, if you make this recipe and share it on your social media, please remember to tag #relaxinglyactive.
If you are looking for a holiday that combines our plant based recipes with daily yoga and hiking in a stunning Austrian Alpine location, then check out our website.
The other recipe we have made recently with berries that you may want to check out is a Vegan Fruit Tart
Happy Baking!