Blood Orange Tarts with Salted Chocolate and Basil
Simple gluten-free vegan tarts that combine a delicious pastry crust with notes of citrus, salted chocolate and cinnamon. Refined sugar-free.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 tarts
- Category: Tarts
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Crust:
- 5 tbsp unsweetened applesauce (I used my homemade applesauce), at room temperature
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of your choice), at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- 3 tbsp tapioca flour
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Chocolate: {*see notes above recipe for an alternative}
- ¼ cup coconut oil, liquified
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1½ tbsp maple syrup -- at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp tapioca starch
- ¼ tsp large salt flakes {or just a big dash of salt of your choice}
Top layer:
- 1-2 small blood oranges, sliced into ¼" thick rings
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp melted coconut oil {or any cooking oil}
- 5 fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F. Oil a 6-cup non-stick muffin tray and set aside.
- Place applesauce, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and use an immersion blender to blend the mixture into a smooth consistency {or blend all the ingredients in a regular blender and then pour into a mixing bowl}. Add coconut, tapioca, and cinnamon and mix well using a wooden spoon until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the 6 cups in your muffin tray. Use your hands to press the mixture down along the bottom and up around the walls of the pan cups forming the crust. Set aside.
- Prepare chocolate mixture by stirring all ingredients together -- keep stirring until the mixture becomes completely uniform and all clumps are dissolved. Pour this mixture into each tart shell, dividing equally.
- Top each tart with an orange slice. Stir the maple syrup, cinnamon, and olive oil together in a small bowl. Brush this mixture over each orange slice.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes until the tart shells firm up and the edges brown up a little. Remove from oven and allow the tarts to cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, VERY carefully remove tarts from the pan and transfer onto a serving plate or glass container {they are a little delicate at this stage, so take extra care not to break the shells}. Prior to serving, top each tart with a basil leaf and enjoy! Store leftover tarts in the fridge.