Nana's Coconut Tart

Nana, Dorothy Lewis Donadelle was my dad’s grandmother. She was the family matriarch. Born in 1894 on the island of St. Kitts, she grew up during the reign of Queen Victoria. The island was a tropical paradise, but she immigrated to the the United States, first settling in New Jersey before its lack of lights at the time, led her to New York City.

While in Harlem, she raised eight children with my great-grandfather, until his untimely death in 1934 at the age of 39. Nana became a widow with seven children, while pregnant with their eighth child,. Fiercely protective of her children, she taught them the value of family, a lesson we still value today.

Three generations were blessed to grow up with and know her. When she died is 2000, she was 106. The memorial service included surviving children, grandchildren, great-grand children, and great-great grandchildren. In addition to celebrating her love and strength there were memories of her cooking, which was legendary to family. There are so many things she made well, but if I had to choose something spectacular, it was her coconut tart. One of my father's favorite, he like all of his cousins and brothers had to grate fresh coconut if they wanted to get a slice. Nana made one just for my dad when he went away to college at Morgan State in Baltimore. I only had it once, but the memory lingered and coconut cream pie didn't cut it. The recipe is as simple as it is delicious. If you love coconut, you will love this tart. The ingredients in parentheses are the dietary substitutions for vegans, gluten allergies and those who want to make a low or no sugar version.

Nana's coconut tart

Tart crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour (gluten-free all-purpose flour, 1 to 1 baking blend gluten-free flour, sorghum, or brown rice flour)

1/2 teaspoon table salt

8 oz. cold unsalted butter (vegan butter) cut into cubes and well chilled

1 Egg, whole (3 tablespoons Aquafaba, ¼ silken-tofu plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, 1 flaxseed or chia seed eggs, or egg replacer)

Crust Instructions

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter using a knife and fork or pastry cutter until the mixture resembles cornmeal or peas. Add egg and stir together until a dough forms. Don’t overwork it. Put a long piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Turn contents out onto the wrap. Using the wrap, grab each end and form the dough into a circle, and flatten it as quickly as possible. Put the dough in the fridge for at least an hour up to 2 days.

Alternately you can use a food processor. Pulse until the butter resembles small peas. Add egg. Pulse until a dough forms and continues as noted above.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of ¼ to 1/8-inch thickness. Place half of the dough in a pie or tart pan (8-9 inch) Set aside the rest of the dough in the fridge. You can roll it out for a lattice top or to decorate the crust.

Bake crust for 5 minutes in an oven preheated to 425 degrees F. Set aside.

Coconut filling:

· 2 cups fresh grated or desiccated coconut

· 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (Swerve sweetener, Splenda granulated, coconut, turbinado, or raw cane sugar, pulsed fine)

· 1/4 cup water

· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

· ¼ teaspoon almond extract

Combine coconut, sugar and water in a saucepan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 45 minutes, until mixture turns from milky white to clear. Add vanilla and almond extract.

Spoon filling into cooled par-baked crust. If you want to make a lattice top, cut the remaining dough into 1/2 or 3/4 inch strips. Arrange over the tart as you like. Remember, don't fiddle with the crust too much, the crust wont be as flaky. Bake at 375-degrees for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the crust is a toasty brown. If you don’t cover the tart, keep an eye on the crust, it will take a little less time.

Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.