Vegan Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Tart

Yield: 8 servings


Vegan Chocolate Ganache:

1/2 cup soy creamer
9 ounces vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
pinch of coarse sea or kosher salt

In a small saucepan over medium-high, heat soy creamer just until bubbles barely start to appear around the edges. (You may also heat it in a microwave-safe bowl at 20-30 second intervals in the microwave.) Remove and quickly whisk in chocolate chips until satiny smooth. Cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally. This takes a while, so be patient. When it gets close, I have been known to speed the process in the freezer/refrigerator, but you don't want to do that while the mixture is quite hot, as it will raise the temperature in your freezer/fridge. Meanwhile, continue with recipe.

Chocolate Tart Crust:

1 ½ cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour or a combination
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
6 tablespoons natural sugar
1 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt
½ cup oil + 1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons unsweetened soymilk (plain would be fine too)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center, and add the oil and milk. Stir with a fork or your fingers until all of the liquid is absorbed. Transfer to a fluted tart crust with a removable bottom and, using your fingers and the palms of your hands, press the crust evenly onto the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, and cool crust for just about 3 minutes.

Assembly:

Approximately 13 fresh strawberries, hulls removed and 12 of them sliced in half, lengthwise
Garnish: Optional powdered sugar


Spread crust with custard filling (recipe follows), nudging the batter out to the edges with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula and gently smoothing the top. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove tart from oven to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Arrange berry halves in concentric circles on the surface of the custard, placing the one whole berry in the center. Drizzle chocolate ganache in more concentric circles--or in any attractive design--over the berries either from the tip of a spoon or fork or, my preference, a plastic "squirt" bottle. Cover and chill tart for a couple of hours or more. Remove sides from tart pan and place tart on a serving platter. (Tip: I use a few tiny dabs of ganache on platter to anchor the tart pan and help prevent slipping.) Garnish with an optional dusting of powdered sugar.


Custard Filling and Strawberry Topping:

6 ounces extra firm Silken tofu
1/4 cup granulated sugar (you can use natural sugar, but it will darken the color of the custard)
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (plain, regular or lite, would be fine too)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, or to taste
1 tablespoon nut-flavored liqueur, like Amaretto or Frangelico

Place all filling ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until completely smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.