Do you ever have one of those days where you go into the kitchen expecting to make one thing, and then mid-way through you do a 180 (or a 360..) and end up with something completely different? That's exactly what happened here. I wanted some cookies, got all my cookie ingredients out, yet somehow ended up with fruit pizza. Loaded with some of my favorite good things, this actually turned out to be quite an unexpected treat, and by the way sooo easy to put together. Tahini, banana, and chocolate fruit pizza, WHY haven't I discovered you sooner?
I used the crust from these cookies which morphed into an amazing crust for a galette or fruit pizza. Sturdy, easy to work with, and yummy. I used bananas, but if you're not a banana fan consider using sliced persimmons. Not a tahini fan? No problem -- use cashew butter or peanut butter instead. Don't like chocolate? Got any biscuits around? Chop 'em up and sprinkle with zeal. Or go with some chopped nuts or seeds if you prefer. Or stir some maple with carob powder together for a carob syrup. Or sprinkle with cinnamon... oh the possibilities..
But really, banana + tahini + chocolate + maple syrup are a magical magical combo you have to at least try sometime. So simple, so good!
I love this because it really doesn't require much skill... it's kinda like a mega giant cookie... with benefits. And it can be made and ready to eat from scratch within 40 mins. Warm, gooey, comforting, sweet, delicious. Did I mention your house will smell AMAZING as it bakes ;)
One note though: see something wrong with the photo above? Something missing? It needs a good dose of sweet stickiness in the form of maple syrup on top. In order to not make it mushy as it bakes I left the maple syrup out of the recipe until the very end. But it's a rather essential component -- don't skip!
Banana Tahini & Chocolate Fruit Pizza
A warm, gooey, vegan fruit "pizza" that's much like a giant chocolate and fruit topped gluten-free cookie. Super simple and quick to make.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: 6 slices
- Category: Tarts
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Crust:
- ¾ cup white rice flour
- 5 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract (optional; omit for nut-free)
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 13 tbsp sunflower seed butter
- ⅓ - ½ cup water, room temp (or warm)
Filling:
- 1 ripe banana, sliced in half and then lengthwise
- 2 tbsp tahini (make sure it's runny, not thick)
- 2 tbsp chopped dark chocolate
- 1 tbsp cacao nibs
- 2 tsp coconut sugar
- maple syrup for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Place rice flour, maple syrup, vanilla, almond extract, salt and 5 tablespoon sunflower seed butter into a food processor and process to combine. Add in another 5 tablespoon sunflower seed butter and process again. Then add the remaining 3 tablespoon and process (this helps the sun butter blend into the dough better than processing all at once). Add ⅓ cup water and process again. At this point you should have a very sticky, stretchy, pliable mixture, but one that can be lumped into a ball. If it seems a little dry still, add a bit more water and process again (I only used ⅓ cup of water with the sun butter for this recipe, but found other nut-butters required a slightly greater amount of water).
- Wet your hands a little and lump the dough into a ball, kneading it lightly. Flatten into a disk and place on a piece of parchment paper (if at this point the ball is cracked all around the edges, you'll need to return it to the processor and add a bit more water and process again -- that's an indication the mixture is too dry. A bit of cracking is normal though). Cover with a second sheet of parchment paper and roll out into an circle that's ¼ - ⅛" thickness. Remove the top piece of parchment.
- Spread the sliced bananas over this dough, leaving a 1" rim all around. Drizzle with tahini, sprinkle with chocolate, cacao nibs, and coconut sugar (again leaving the edges clean). Wrap the edges of the pizza over the center (it helps if you carefully lift the edges up along with the parchment paper underneath) to form a crust.
- Transfer the pizza and the parchment paper it's on onto a baking sheet. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 22 mins. Cool on a wire rack. Slice, and serve drizzled with maple syrup. Enjoy!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
Mmmm you caught my attention with the mega giant cookie comparison...and the gooey melty top, that definitely factored in <3 This is like cookie cake's decadent sophisticated cousin. Plus so many customization possibilities. Except the chocolate part, that needs to be mandatory! Totally my kind of pizza night :)
Audrey says
I know! I wish someone made me this on pizza nights too :) Giant cookies, bananas, chocolate, tahini (or pb2 ?) and maple syrup... ?
Rebecca Strength and Sunshine says
"expecting to make one thing, and then mid-way through you do a 180 (or a 360..) and end up with something completely different?" <---- that happens to me...every time ;) Hahahha! But I don't think it's a bad thing at all! Always leads to even better results ;)
Audrey says
I know. Must be a dilemma for many bloggers :)
Kari (bite-sized thoughts) says
It might not have been what you planned, but it certainly looks delicious. I have those moments in the kitchen too and sometimes they give the best results!
Audrey says
Absolutely :) Some of my best ideas have come about like that too.
Kyra says
Oh my gosh, this fruit pizza looks soooo good Audrey! I love tahini (plus banana and chocolate), but my kids don't, so I'm thinking I could make this and when they declare they don't like the tahini taste, I can just eat it all myself, right? Maybe that's too evil, haha. I'm definitely looking forward to making this either way <3
Audrey says
Haha. I love that plan ? Or, you can make them modified versions -- with pb ;)