This is a vegan chocoholic’s dream. It is rich and creamy, and yet there’s no dairy in it. This is the favorite tart of the most cheerful customer we have at the bakery, so we’ll often make it just to thank her for brightening our day when she comes in. It can be made up to a week in advance, and kept in the refrigerator.
Chocolate and Ginger Tart
MAKES 1 x 9½-inch round tart
EQUIPMENT 9½-inch round tart pan with removable bottom and a food processor
GF DF V+
FOR THE BASE:
1 cups (175 g) almonds
1¼ cups (175 g) pitted dates
3½ tablespoons (50 g) almond butter
2 tablespoons (25 g) coconut oil
FOR THE CHOCOLATE FILLING:
1½ cups (375 g) almond milk
2 tablespoons (25 g) cornstarch
1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
¾ ounce (20 g) fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1¾ cups (285 g) coconut sugar–sweetened chocolate chips or raw chocolate
2 tablespoons coconut oil
DIRECTIONS:
1 Grease and line the bottom of a 9½-inch tart pan.
2 To make the base, blitz the almonds in a food processor until they resemble coarse sand. Add the dates, butter, and oil and continue to blend until the mixture comes together as a smooth mass. Press it into the bottom of the prepared pan, smooth it over carefully, and put it in the freezer while you make the chocolate filling.
3 In a small pan, heat the milk with the cornstarch, vanilla, and fresh ginger. By adding the ginger here you infuse the milk with it, which spreads the flavor evenly through the filling. Bring the milk to a boil, whisking occasionally to prevent the cornstarch from forming clumps and burning on the bottom of the pan. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil and has slightly thickened, take it off the heat.
4 Put the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl with the oil. Pour the boiling milk mixture over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, then mix well into one homogenous mass.
5 Pour the filling over the tart base and let chill in the refrigerator overnight. Turn it out of the pan onto a plate just before you are ready to serve it.
NUTRITION NOTE:
Ginger is thought to be one of the healthiest spices on the planet and experimental studies have shown that ginger inhibits the inflammation process.
Recipe via Melissa Sharp’s Super Loaves & Simple Treats is a treasure trove of atypical “healthy” treats. Using high quality, unprocessed ingredients—many of which are gluten-free and/or vegan—you can literally have your cake and eat it too. Melissa began her healthful baking journey, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 36. By supplementing her chemotherapy with nutritious eating, she took control of her wellness and developed a new passion. Enthused with a mission to nourish herself and others, Sharp quit her corporate job and became the owner of Oxford’s hit bakery Modern Baker in the UK.
Reprinted from Super Loaves & Simple Treats by arrangement with Avery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright ©2018, Melissa Sharp.