Vegan Chocolate Cherry ‘Black Forest’ Tart by Alphafoodie

Images and recipe by Alphafoodie

*Servings 1 tart (8"/20cm)

A perfect chocolate cherry tart recipe that is sugar-free, vegan and Delicious!

• For the tart base:
• 5 cup hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 5 tbsps. coconut oil
• 2 dates
• Pinch of salt

For the cherry chocolate filling:

• 400 gr full-fat coconut milk
• 150 gr unsweetened dark chocolate
• 1 cup pitted cherries (add more for more pronounced taste)
• 1 tbsp. agar powder
• 5 tbsp. corn flour
• 2 tbsp. Maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
• Pinch of salt ( optional - to bring out the chocolate flavor more)

For decoration:

• a handful of cherries
• a handful of dragon fruit balls
• crushed hazelnuts
• edible flowers (optional)
• or any of your favorite fruit or topping

• The first step is to prepare the hazelnut tart crust. Do this by blending the hazelnuts and the desiccated coconut in the Nutramilk processor, and blend till a fine crumb.
• Add the rest of the crust ingredients, and mix well until you obtain a uniform sticky mixture.

• Add the crust dough to a tart tin (8"/20cm) and spread it evenly across the whole surface. I usually use something with a large, flat round base to help press the crust down evenly. Something like a large glass base will work well.

• Bake at 160ºC (fan assisted) for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure that the sides don't burn - you can cover them up with some aluminum foil after 5-7 minutes if they are browning quickly to allow the rest of the crust to bake.

• To prepare the filling, first, remove the pits from the cherries and mash or blend them to obtain a purée like consistency. I used a glass straw to remove the pits - however, you can just chop them in half and remove the pits if preferred. If you want a more pronounced cherry flavor, add more than just 1 cup (around 1 1/2 cups).

• Melt the chocolate. It's best to do it over a double-boiler, but you can also melt it in the microwave. Just make sure to keep an eye on it so you don't burn the chocolate as that will affect the taste of the entire tart.

• Add all the chocolate cherry filling ingredients to a saucepan and cook over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir well, bringing to a slow boil and cook for a few minutes until the mix thickens, stirring continuously.

• When the mixture has become thicker, remove from the heat and pour through a sieve to remove any remaining lumps from the cherries.

• Pour the filling over the crust and set aside for it to cool completely to room temperature (or set in the refrigerator) Once cooled down, proceed with decorating. You will notice, that depending on how much corn flour (and agar agar) you've used, the filling sets at different levels.

• Decorate your black forest tart with cherries, dragon fruit balls, shredded coconut and edible flowers or with your favorite toppings. This can include coconut whipped cream, dairy-free chocolate shavings etc.

See full recipe and tips here: https://www.alphafoodie.com/vegan-chocolate-cherry-black-forest-tart/

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A post shared by Samira Kazan - London (@alphafoodie) on Jul 24, 2019 at 8:05am PDT