Dates

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If you haven’t heard about Crowd Farming yet, do go and check out their website. It’s a fantastic way to order great produce directly from the farmer. Right now avocados are in season in Spain, and so as a treat, myself and a few friends of mine shared a box. After reading about the different farmers offering avocados, I chose a lady and her farm which I liked the sound of. 3 weeks later a case of avocados were delivered to my door. Having so many avocados in one go, meant I needed to think of something a little more special to do with them, and since it was the birthday of a good friend of mine I felt inspired to make this very indulgent raw plant based tart.

To create the ‘pastry’, I simply used lightly roasted almonds, dates and coconut oil. The avocados create a very creamy mouse texture which makes for a very decadent filling. To give the tart a sweeter edge I mixed dates with almond butter and water to create a caramel cream. It’s very easy to make, and will keep for a few days in the fridge, but if it doesn’t get gobbled up straight away, it freezes really well, so put a couple of slices away for another day.

Serves 10 – 12

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Ingredients

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Method

Start by preheating the oven to 160 °C. Place the almonds of a baking tray and roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare your tin, I used a spring form tin, 20 cm in diameter, line the bottom and the sides with baking paper, and grease with a little coconut oil.

Remove the almonds from the oven and allow to cool. If you are using almonds with the skin on you may be able to remove some of the skins after baking, but it’s not essential. Once the almonds have cooled blend in a small mixer until they are finely ground. Next add in the vanilla extract, the dates, coconut oil and pinch of salt. Blend until the mixture is well combined. Allow to cool slightly in the fridge until it is firmer to the touch. Now evenly press the almond dough into the base of the tin, and 3/4 of the way up the sides to create a tart form. Cover and put in the freezer, if you have one, to allow the almond crust to really firm up. Otherwise place in the fridge.

To prepare the avocado filling, remove the skin and stones from the avocados, and place the avocado along with the lime juice, coconut oil, cocoa powder, salt and maple syrup in a mixer and blend until its thick, creamy and well mixed. Pour the mixture into the almond crust, spread evenly and return to the freeze, or fridge, to firm up.

In the meantime make the caramel by adding the dates, almond butter, coconut oil, water, vanilla extract and pinch of salt and mix until it is creamy and smooth. Once the avocado filling has firmed up (about 30 minutes to 1 hour) carefully spread the caramel on top and scatter with cocoa nibs if using. Place back in the fridge for at least an hour to allow every thing to firm up before serving.

If you take the time to make this recipe do let me know what you think in the comments below or send me a photo or message on Instagram. I look forward to hearing from you.

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