Chocolate Tart with Macaroon Crust

A vegan, gluten-free dessert even Ross loves. This tart is so rich that even I can only eat one serving (okay, two servings MAX) in one sitting. I got the recipe from The Fitnessista and altered is just slightly.

The full recipe will make 1 large tart or 2 dozen mini-tarts. I usually halve this to just make a dozen muffin-sized tarts.

Macaroon Crust:

1.5 cups almond meal (finely ground almonds) or almond flour
1.5 cups shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 dates
1 Tbs. coconut oil
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt

1. Put dates and almond meal in mixer and pulse until evenly mixed.

2. Add the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla, coconut, and sea salt. Pulse until combined. Add a little more coconut is mixture is too sticky.

3. Press the mixture into a large tart or pie pan (I put mine in lined muffin tins and it worked great... just be sure to let it thaw after the final step below before peeling the wrapper off) place in the oven at 250 for 20-30 minutes

Heavenly Filling:

2 1/2 cups soaked raw cashews (soak for at least 2 hours in the fridge and then drain)
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup melted coconut oil

1. In a high speed mixture or food processor, add the cashews, maple syrup, honey, vanilla, sea salt and water. Blend well until smooth and creamy (you may have to scrape the sides several times).

2. THEN add the cocoa powder and blend until mixture is totally smooth.

3. Finally, add the coconut oil and blend until smooth.

4. Then fill your tart shell and place in the freezer to set for at least an hour. Remove the tart from the tart pan (you can run water on the bottom of the pan to help loosen it) and store in the fridge.