Salted Caramel chocolate tart
-Gluten free, dairy free and delicious
I found this recipe on Eat Drink Paleo; it is great not only because of the end product but also because you can use all three parts of the recipe for other things.
(I used the base for other tarts/puddings – pumpkin for example)
(I used the middle as a raw pudding base for paleo banoffee pie but you could just eat it on it’s own)
(I used the excess chocolate topping to create raw dairy free chocolate, by putting the left over mixture in an ice cube tray and placing in the fridge)
Ingredients
For the base
- 150g cups ground almonds
- 75g cup hazelnuts
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil melted or soft
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract or essence
For the caramel filling
- 150 g pitted dates (about 20 Medjool dates, soaked in boiling water for at least 10 minutes)
- 75g coconut cream (coconut milk was used in the eBook)
- 1 tbsp. soft or melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract or essence
- 1 tsp. sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
- 2 tbsp. crushed almonds
For the chocolate topping
- 100 g coconut oil
- 6 tbsp. raw cacao powder
- 1 tbsp. raw honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Method
Preheat oven to 180 °C/ 355 °F. Grease a tart tin
Start with the base. The recipe uses raw hazelnuts but I decide to do a little toasting beforehand to give them richer flavour. Heat a small frying pan and add the hazelnuts. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, swirling frequently to prevent burning, until lightly browned on all sides. Remove and cool for a few minutes.
Place the hazelnuts in a food processor. Reserve 2-3 tablespoons for later. Grind and process into fine meal, for about a minute. Add the ground almonds, coconut oil, egg, maple syrup (you can use any other natural sweetener) + vanilla. Blend again until the mixture comes together.
Scoop the mixture out and make it into a large ball. Place and flatten between 2 sheets of baking paper (about 50x50cm). With a rolling pin, roll out the base to about 3mm thick (mine was more like 5cmm). When rolling, start from the middle and roll to the edges in different directions. Peel the top layer of baking paper off then flip the base over the tart tin. Be gentle.
Just fill in any gaps with your fingers. Make sure the area where the sides and the base meet is filled, a little thicker if possible. Place a round layer of baking paper over the base and fill with baking beads. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, remove the baking beads and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden brown. I turned the oven to 170°C for the second 10 minutes. Set aside to cool, in the tin.
Now for the filling: Drain the water from the soaked dates. In the food processor, whiz the dates, coconut oil and vanilla until they foam a thick paste. Add the coconut cream or milk and salt, whiz again until really smooth (about a minute, scrapping the sides as you go).
Spread the caramel mixture over the base and place in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. You can sprinkle the crushed hazelnuts over the base before adding the caramel but I sprinkled mine on top of the chocolate layer.
Now to make the chocolate topping: In a bain marie (a bowl placed over simmering water), melt the coconut oil, honey and vanilla. Stir until combined. Sift in the raw cacao powder (I just added it in without sifting) and whisk continuously until smooth. I’d say about 20-30 seconds; you don’t want to overcook it. Pour the chocolate topping over the caramel and spread with a spatula. Sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
