Coconut Lemon Tart

Last night I had plans to visit my two friends Jen and Reagan for a small get together. I felt like bringing something sweet so I thought to celebrate spring, a coconut lemon tart would be a refreshing treat.

I had originally made the filling as a pudding when Zach and I were visiting VT, I knew it would make a perfect tart filling. If you don't have a tart pan, I would recommend getting yourself one that has a removable bottom like this one. You don't have to always use your tart pan to make dessert, I've used mine to make things like vegetable vegan quiche and potato gratin. It's a great investment and makes simple recipes look fancy and special.

To make the crust, I used raw almonds and dates. At my local Middle Eastern supermarket, I found this product called Baking Dates. It's just pitted pressed dates, perfect for cooking with. Of course you can pit and press your own dates, but this would save you a lot of time.

After I made my tart, I brought it with me to Regan and Jen's place. Luckily, it made it across the bridge in one piece. We had a great night eating tart, watching a movie and painting our nails. We each had a slice of tart for dinner and then another for dessert.

Coconut Lemon Tart

by Sarah Farsh March 25, 2012


      Crust (click for video):

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 3 tbsp pressed dates
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (or non dairy milk of choice)

     Filling:

• 4 cups unsweetened soy milk (or non dairy milk of choice)
• zest of 1 meyer lemon (or conventional lemon)
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup pure coconut flakes (dried)

Preheat oven to 350. In VitaMix or high powered blender, blend crust ingredients until consistency resembles a paste. Spread almond paste out onto tart pan, making sure to cover the sides well. Bake tart crust for 20min and let cool.

In a pot over medium heat, cook soy milk, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla and coconut flakes. Stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, mix corns starch with 3 tbsp water. mix until corn starch dissolves into water. Once the mixture on the stove starts to boil, slowly add in the corn starch liquid. Stir frequently and cook until mixture thickens. Ladle filling on top of your tart crust. Let cool for a few minutes before refrigerating. Cool up to 2 hours or overnight. Garnish with dried coconut flakes or lemon zest.