Vegan, Gluten Free Raspberry & Chocolate Tart

It was April 2020, still early in the days of lockdown during the pandemic. I've always had a sweet tooth, and I often enjoy rummaging for snacks in the evenings. The trouble was, I had been having health problems for MONTHS, so I'd drastically changed my diet in a desperate attempt to get well again. There weren't any ready-to-eat snacks around the house for me to grab that would fit the dietary bill. Going out to pick up ingredients wasn’t really an option during the beginning of the pandemic lockdowns, either.

I had been feeling chronically nauseated and unwell for months. My doctor had not been able to figure anything out yet, and I was tired of feeling poorly all the time. So it was time to take charge and try to heal myself with food. I made a decision in December 2019 that I never thought I would make: I decided to eat entirely plant-based and gluten free for a few months to see if it made any difference to my health.

The only way I was going to figure out what was making me so sick, I reasoned, was to simplify my diet as much as possible. I needed to weed out the culprits that were destroying my well-being on a daily basis. Stepping into the vegan and plant based world, with an added gluten free restriction on top of that, was daunting, to say the least.

I still hadn't found a steady supply of safe snack alternatives for myself. And on that spring evening, I really wanted to eat something chocolatey. I kept checking the cupboards, as if I expected something to appear magically if I opened and shut the doors enough times. I had no such luck.

Then, suddenly, I struck gold! Hidden behind a few cans of coconut milk at the back of my pantry, I found a small bag of dark chocolate chips. I grabbed that crinkly package in a hurry and scoured the back for the ingredients. "Please, don't let there be any milk products," I muttered to myself.

Victory! It was plain old dark chocolate with nothing sketchy in it at all. My creative juices started flowing. The pie/tart hybrid idea sprang into my mind fully formed, like Athena popping from Zeus' forehead. It was time to get to work.

First, I grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled out some basic steps to follow, just so I wouldn't miss something important during the inventing process. Baking had always felt like mixing a magic potion, to me. It was the way ingredients merged together to form something new and delicious. There is something deeply satisfying about creating your own recipe, as well.

This recipe contains two main components: the chocolate ganache-style filling, and the gluten free crust. It uses ingredients that many vegans and gluten-free cooks will already have on hand in the kitchen. The first time I made it, there was not enough sweetness and the chocolate filling was too bitter. So, I added more sweetener into the recipe. I recommend tasting it as you go to decide on your preferred sweetness level!

Now I hope that you, too, can enjoy the results of this spur of the moment, lockdown inspired creation.

Vegan, Gluten Free Raspberry and Chocolate Tart

Serves: 4-6 people

Prep time: 25 minutes

Total time to serve: 3 hours

Ingredients for Crust:

3/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour blend

1/4 cup cassava flour (or substitute more all purpose blend or light gluten free flour such as almond flour)

3 tbsp coconut sugar (or preferred sugar)

1/2 cup cold, vegan margarine or butter (if using butter, cut into cubes first)

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews

Directions for Crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a food processor, pulse cashews until they're coarsely crumbled. In a small bowl, sift together the flours, sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Add to food processor along with butter or margarine and blend together until a soft dough forms. Press dough into a greased, 12" pie plate. It is ok for the dough to reach up the sides of the pan, rather than simply covering the bottom. You want a little bit of an edge for when we pour in the filling! Bake crust for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Ingredients for chocolate filling:

1 1/4 cup coconut cream (the creamy part at the top of a can of coconut milk. I used a 400mL can and a 160mL can and this amounted to about 1 1/4 cup of the cream)

1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips or cocoa powder

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup coconut sugar (or preferred sugar)

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Raspberries for topping

Directions for chocolate filling:

In a saucepan, melt the coconut oil first on low-medium heat, and add chocolate chips. Stir constantly to avoid burning the chocolate. If you're using coco powder, this stage requires more concentration. Stir until it blends together (if using coco powder, it does not need to look melted). Add coconut cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt to saucepan and continue heading and stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk quickly until the surface of the chocolate sauce looks glossy and shiny.

Pour the chocolate filling into the cooled crust. Spread evenly. Top with raspberries or other fruit as preferred. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or overnight. Slice and serve!

**Additional notes about ingredients and possible substitutions.

~If you're using vegan chocolate chips, you can reduce the amount of coconut oil slightly.

~ You can use any type of vegan oil instead of coconut oil as preferred.

~Taste the filling for your desired sweetness. I can tolerate a more bitter chocolate than some! The raspberries help cut through the bitterness of dark chocolate or cocoa powder.

~If you don't have any oil, use melted vegan margarine or butter!

Enjoy!