Karen here presenting a vegan and gluten free dessert recipe that was a huge hit at a recent potluck picnic. This year I spent the summer solstice, as I have the previous two years, with a bunch of lovely vegans on the side of a reservoir. This year it was the beautiful Dean Mills Reservoir above Bolton (pics at the end) and it was the perfect space to spend the longest day, which luckily, was calm and sunny.
The organiser of this event, is vegan and has to eat gluten free which can be a tricky combination, so I wanted to make something that she could have. I knew which books to reach for. Deliciously Ella always has a good choice of healthy gluten free vegan recipes in her books. This one I found in her book, Quick and Easy Plant Based Deliciousness. My two favourite words too: quick and easy! Perfect!
This recipe says that it serves 8 people although I cut my round tart into bitesize squares for sharing. It was very rich and a full piece would be too much when also faced with a huge picnic of goodies.
INGREDIENTS
For the base
15 Medjool dates (I used regular dates soaked in warm water (previously boiled) for 5 mins and drained)
200g pecans or almonds (I used a mix and also used walnuts)
3 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
For the filling
200g cashews
8 tbsp coconut oil
18 Medjool dates pitted (as before, I used regular dates and soaked them first)
220ml almond or oat milk
75g cacao powder
2-4 tbsp instant espresso powder or instant coffee (I used 3 tbsp and the flavour was there but subtle)
1 tbsp boiling water
sea salt flakes
METHOD
This will fit into a 23cm deep, loose bottomed cake tin. Line it with parchment or brush with some of the melted coconut oil.
Put the cashews for the filling into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for an hour.
To make the base, put all of the base ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the cake tin so that it is compacted and evenly spread.
Put the tin in the fridge so that the mixture can firm up.
In a small cup mix the espresso powder/instant coffee with the 1 tbsp of boiling water and stir till dissolved.
Drain the cashews and put them in a food processor with the coconut oil, dates, plant milk, cacao powder, coffee liquid and a pinch of salt. Process until it becomes a very smooth batter, which could take some time.
Remove the base from the fridge and spoon the filling over it. Make sure the top is neat and even (although this is hard!) and then place it back in the fridge for at least 3 hours so that it can set.
To remove from the tin to serve run a palette knife around the edge. Then sprinkle the top with a little bit of sea salt. Your tart is ready.
This was really rich but really smooth, creamy, chocolatey and delicious. It isn't the cheapest of desserts with all of the nuts and dates but you don't need to eat a lot to be satisfied and it freezes well so you don't have to eat it all! I portioned some up from the edges and stashed it in the freezer so I can treat myself again sometime in the future!
As I say, it was very popular at the potluck picnic and I think it was a good choice as it was suitable for lots of dietary needs and was really easy to make and transport. I can see it could be easily adapted too. Instead of coffee you could add orange flavouring, vanilla or ginger. You could even add crystallised ginger pieces, (although this would introduce some refined sugar where previously there was none.)
A fabulous evening was had by all with lots more yummy creations: a zesty bean salad, some spicy 'chicken' sandwiches and some amazing fruit and seed flapjacks. It's always a fantastic friendly evening.
Well, I hope that you have enjoyed this blog and if you try it, I hope you like it as much as we did.
Thanks for reading
Karen x
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