Vegan Black Forest Tart – Recipe
Just because something's vegan, gluten-free and free from added sugar, it's not necessarily healthy. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the ultimate loophole for a sugar-free challenge.
Of course, this also means that I have to limit myself on how much I actual eat: dates are still full of sugar, and the nuts and coconut are full of fat. Nutritious fats, but still fats; natural sugar, but still sugar. The most important thing to remember is that this kind of recipe is not low-calorie or low-fat... however, it is packed full of good nutrients: so you're not eating empty calories at least.
Now that I have the boring responsible stuff out of the way... ohmygosh the vegan chocolate mousse. Usually raw chocolate mousse involves avocados, which I love but unfortunately make me extremely ugly-sick. The other option is using silken tofu, which I love even more... but I've used a few times before, and wanted to try something different.
Then I came across this recipe by Adriana of Vegan Magic: a coconut cream-based chocolate mousse, sweetened with dates.
Yaaas.
Here I've adapted her recipe a little, using fewer dates (the crust is already sweet) and adding soya lecithin for extra smoothness (check out this raw recipe to see how I made powder out of granules). It's not essential though, so don't worry if you can't find it. Either way, it's pretty wicked.
The crust itself is raw and much like that of my raw fruit tart, only I used a higher pecan-to-almond ration this time, added cocoa powder for a chocolate kick and cocoa nibs for extra crunchiness.
Before we get started, let me explain why you need to leave a couple of cans of coconut milk in the fridge: the fat will float to the top, creating a solid layer of coconut cream and leaving coconut water at the bottom. This makes it super-easy to separate the two, so you can use the cream in the recipe (which also whips up well to use as a vegan alternative to whipped cream). You can keep the coconut water to cook with later or discard it. I tried to drink it but thought it was kind of funky in a bad way (this coming from a person who loves coconut water). It's entirely up to you.
Ready? Let's go!
Ingredients for Raw Crust:
-250g nuts (I used 100g pecans and 150g almonds this time)
-8 medjool dates
-2tbsp coconut oil, melted
-2tbsp cocoa powder
- 2tbsp cocoa nibs
Ingredients for Chocolate Mousse:
-1 can full fat coconut milk, stored in the fridge overnight
-14 medjool dates, soaked in cold water overnight and drained
-4tbsp cocoa powder
-1tbsp soya lecithin powder (optional)
-Vanilla bean seeds
Ingredients for Topping:
-1 can full fat coconut milk, stored in the fridge overnight
-Fresh pitted cherries
Method:
1) Line the bottom of a loose-bottomed tart tin with a disc of baking parchment and grease the sides with a little of your melted coconut oil (sound familiar?)
2) Throw the nuts into a food processor and chop until crumbly-looking. Then add the dates and the coconut oil and continue to blend until just starting to stick together. Now add the cocoa powder and nibs, blending until just combined.
3) Pack this mixture evenly into your tart tin.
4) To make the raw chocolate mousse, open a can of refrigerated coconut milk, carefully scoop out the top cream, leaving the water behind (I poured it out halfway through).
5) Blend the coconut cream with the other mousse ingredients until smooth.
6) Spoon the mousse into your prepared tart tin and smooth out evenly.
7) Pop in the fridge for four hours or overnight to set a little.
8) To make the coconut whipped cream, repeat the same process of scooping out the coconut cream from the second refrigerated can. Simply place the coconut cream in a bowl and whip with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.
9) Spread this on top of your chocolate mousse tart, top with cherries and you're done.
10) Slice, serve and enjoy.
Have fun!
Of course, this also means that I have to limit myself on how much I actual eat: dates are still full of sugar, and the nuts and coconut are full of fat. Nutritious fats, but still fats; natural sugar, but still sugar. The most important thing to remember is that this kind of recipe is not low-calorie or low-fat... however, it is packed full of good nutrients: so you're not eating empty calories at least.
Now that I have the boring responsible stuff out of the way... ohmygosh the vegan chocolate mousse. Usually raw chocolate mousse involves avocados, which I love but unfortunately make me extremely ugly-sick. The other option is using silken tofu, which I love even more... but I've used a few times before, and wanted to try something different.
Then I came across this recipe by Adriana of Vegan Magic: a coconut cream-based chocolate mousse, sweetened with dates.
Yaaas.
Here I've adapted her recipe a little, using fewer dates (the crust is already sweet) and adding soya lecithin for extra smoothness (check out this raw recipe to see how I made powder out of granules). It's not essential though, so don't worry if you can't find it. Either way, it's pretty wicked.
The crust itself is raw and much like that of my raw fruit tart, only I used a higher pecan-to-almond ration this time, added cocoa powder for a chocolate kick and cocoa nibs for extra crunchiness.
Before we get started, let me explain why you need to leave a couple of cans of coconut milk in the fridge: the fat will float to the top, creating a solid layer of coconut cream and leaving coconut water at the bottom. This makes it super-easy to separate the two, so you can use the cream in the recipe (which also whips up well to use as a vegan alternative to whipped cream). You can keep the coconut water to cook with later or discard it. I tried to drink it but thought it was kind of funky in a bad way (this coming from a person who loves coconut water). It's entirely up to you.
Ready? Let's go!
Ingredients for Raw Crust:
-250g nuts (I used 100g pecans and 150g almonds this time)
-8 medjool dates
-2tbsp coconut oil, melted
-2tbsp cocoa powder
- 2tbsp cocoa nibs
Ingredients for Chocolate Mousse:
-1 can full fat coconut milk, stored in the fridge overnight
-14 medjool dates, soaked in cold water overnight and drained
-4tbsp cocoa powder
-1tbsp soya lecithin powder (optional)
-Vanilla bean seeds
Ingredients for Topping:
-1 can full fat coconut milk, stored in the fridge overnight
-Fresh pitted cherries
Method:
1) Line the bottom of a loose-bottomed tart tin with a disc of baking parchment and grease the sides with a little of your melted coconut oil (sound familiar?)
2) Throw the nuts into a food processor and chop until crumbly-looking. Then add the dates and the coconut oil and continue to blend until just starting to stick together. Now add the cocoa powder and nibs, blending until just combined.
3) Pack this mixture evenly into your tart tin.
4) To make the raw chocolate mousse, open a can of refrigerated coconut milk, carefully scoop out the top cream, leaving the water behind (I poured it out halfway through).
5) Blend the coconut cream with the other mousse ingredients until smooth.
6) Spoon the mousse into your prepared tart tin and smooth out evenly.
7) Pop in the fridge for four hours or overnight to set a little.
8) To make the coconut whipped cream, repeat the same process of scooping out the coconut cream from the second refrigerated can. Simply place the coconut cream in a bowl and whip with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.
9) Spread this on top of your chocolate mousse tart, top with cherries and you're done.
10) Slice, serve and enjoy.
Have fun!
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