Cherry, Coconut and Cocolate Tarts
Cherry, Coconut and Chocolate Tarts, made with a whole lotta love!
I love chocolate! Anything that's made using it, is my love. You know what's even better than plain chocolate? Decadent chocolate tarts! We have a tradition at my house, pizza and movie Friday nights. I call these nights, Fri-Yay! Every week I create some sort of new dessert, usually chocolate based, and then I consume a whole bunch of it. For this reason I love Fri-Yay's! So expect to see plenty of chocolate desserts.
As per usual these are
Refined Sugar Free
Vegan
and also Gluten Free
They are creamy, decadent, fruity, chocolatey and really more-ish. Just writing this post is making me crave one. These need to start being prepared the day before, by pre-soaking cashews and placing a tin of coconut cream in the fridge. However, they are really worth the extra prep time.
...so what are you waiting for? Let's get baking!
Cherry, Coconut and Cocolate Tarts
Makes 10 tarts Base - 130g almond meal (Sourced from Naked Foods Braddon) - pinch of salt - 1/8 teaspoon baking powder - 1 tablespoon light tasting olive oil - 1 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup - 30g cacao powder
Filling - 1 cup cashews, pre-soaked overnight - 1/4 cup coconut cream, leave tin in the fridge overnight then scoop out and use only the cream part on top - 1 teaspoon lemon juice - 1/2 cup cacao powder - 1/4 cup maple syrup - 1 tablespoon almond milk - 100g pitted cherries, frozen or fresh +10 extra - 1/4 cup shredded coconut Method: 1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F), fan forced. Spray a 12 holed muffin tin with a little bit of spray olive oil. Cut out 10 small rectangular strips of baking paper and place them in the bottom of the muffin tins, leaving some paper hanging out over the sides. This will make your job of taking the tarts out a lot easier because you can just pull on the baking paper. 2. Start by making the base. Place all of the base ingredients in a food processor and process until combined. Using about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture, firmly press it in the muffin holes. Making sure they are even and tightly compacted. 3. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. Take out and leave to cool. 4. Meanwhile make the filling. Combine the cashews, coconut cream, lemon juice, cacao powder, maple syrup and almond milk in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. This took about 2 minutes in my food processor. 5. Add in the cherries and shredded coconut to the mix and pulse until the cherries are roughly cut and combined through. Careful because this really doesn't take long, like 1-3 seconds. 6. Dollop about 1 1/2- 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the cooled bases. Using the 10 extra cherries, cut them in half and place them on the top of the tarts. 7. Place the tarts in the fridge for 4-6 hours to firm up or in the freezer for 1-2 hours. They should have a creamy and fudge like consistency. Enjoy!
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