Vegan or not, this tart is a winner for all your guests, and it can be adapted beautifully to suit all seasons. We served ours in early summer where raspberries are just coming into season, but you could easily dress the tart with blackberries in the autumn, orange crisps in the winter, or cinnamon pear slices in the late winter early spring.
On first glance, it doesn’t seem like a super easy tart because there are three layers to make. Don’t let this put you off though, each one takes only a short amount of time and it’s not very technically demanding.
We serve ours with some whipped coconut yoghurt, but for those that eat dairy, some crème fraiche or vanilla mascarpone will be delicious. It’s quite rich, so your only need to serve a small slice, but it’s so well balanced with sweetness, bitterness, nuttiness and sharpness from the fruit.
Vegan Cacao, Almond and Salted Date Caramel Tart
Serves: 8-10
Prep Time: 1 hour
Chill Time: 1 hour plus 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
Almond Base:
200g whole almonds, skin on
100g ground almonds
3 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
Pinch of salt
Salted Date Caramel:
180g medjool dates, pitted and chopped
120ml coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
Chocolate Ganache:
280ml coconut milk
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
200g vegan chocolate (we use Green and Blacks 85%)
METHOD
1. Begin by making the base. Preheat the oven to 150°c degrees and place the almonds on a baking tray and roast for 10 mins until lightly toasted.
2. Remove from the oven and place in a food processor with ground almonds, coconut oil, maple syrup and salt. Blitz until the almonds are broken down but not too much as they will start to release oils and essentially turn to a nut butter! Spread the nut mix onto the base of a 23 cm tart tin, ideally with a removable bottom. Press the mix down firmly, as you would a cheesecake base. Place in the oven for 10 minutes to gently colour and firm.
3. Meanwhile, make the salted date caramel. Warm 140ml of coconut milk and pour over the dates, soaking for 10 minutes. Tip into a food processor with vanilla bean paste and salt. Blitz until smooth.
4. When the tart case has cooled, pout the salted date caramel over the base and level. Leave to set in the fridge, for approximately 20 minutes.
5. Make the ganache by heating the rest of the can of coconut milk until steaming. Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl with the liquid coconut oil. Pour the hot coconut milk over the mix, stirring until the mix has emulsified. Spoon the ganache onto the date caramal and leave to set, you can put the tart in the fridge but remember to bring it back to room temperature before serving. Garnish with fruits and nuts of your choice.
