This year, I made a beautiful chocolate tart for dessert for my Christmas Eve dinner – and that meant I had to make a vegan alternative for my vegan daughter. This recipe had great reviews, so I decided to make it for her. It took some doing, as the recipe called for Medjool dates and a specific brand/type of chocolate, which the recipe-maker insisted was just the best. Only after I’d searched for and found the chocolate (at Walgreen of all places) I realized that her post was actually sponsored by that chocolate brand. As it turned out, this chocolate was probably too dark for this cake. It would have probably worked best with 50-60% cocoa content chocolate. Just make sure you look at the ingredients to make sure it’s vegan.
Medjool dates are a particularly sweet type of dates that cannot be substituted by regular ones. Neither of my local supermarkets carried them but I was able to find them at Trader Joe’s (I think).
As other chocolate tart, this tart is beautiful when topped with fresh berries and mint leaves – which also provide a nice light tart contrast to the very rich chocolate.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 8 pitted Medjool dates
- 1 cup peeled almonds
- 1 oz semisweet vegan chocolate, chopped and melted
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
- pinch of salt
For the filling:
- 3.5 oz semisweet vegan chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 8 pitted Medjool dates
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Put the dates and almonds in a food processor and process until the mixture is very fine. Add the melted chocolate, melted coconut oil and salt and process until they are fully incorporated.
Press the mixture onto the bottom and sides of a tart pan. Place in the refrigerator and cool until the crust has set.
Meanwhile, make the filling.
In a small saucepan, melt together the chocolate and coconut oil. Mix in coconut cream. Transfer to a clean food processor bowl. Add dates and vanilla extract. Process until all ingredients are combined and have a smooth, pudding-like consistency.
Add the filling to the crust. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
Top with berries, mint and whipped coconut cream, if desired.
Adapted from Regina’s recipe at Leelalicious
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