Tarte aux Fruit (a healthier fruit tart)

Yes... I have a sweet tooth and I make a lot of healthy alternatives for pies and tarts, I hope you don't mind. This is my personal favorite dessert that I make - I try to save it for special occasions. The last time I made this tart was for Zach's firehouse holiday party. I didn't tell any of the firefighters that it was vegan, gluten-free, no sugar added and all natural. There was not a crumb left over and one of the members even asked Zach the next day where I bought the tart from so he could go and get one. I was very flattered and I don't even remember if I ended up telling anyone the truth about the wholesome tart...

Yesterday my family and I were invited to my brothers friends house for Easter dinner. I thought it would be nice to bring something special, so I made three of my fruit tarts.

You can make this tart completely raw and it would taste just as good. I personally like to bake the crust off before I fill it, but it's not necessary. This would work with any fruit of choice. You can also fill this tart with my pudding recipe for a fat-free version instead of using the cashew cream I'll mention below. I don't know if you can make the cashew cream in any other blender besides a VitaMix... The VitaMix blades work so fast that air blends into the cashews to give it a whipped and creamy consistency - if you try it on a regular high powered blender, let me know how it works!

Tart aux Fruit - Fruit Tart
By Sarah Farsh, April 9th 2012

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 4 tbsp pressed dates
• 2 tbsp steal cut oats
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened organic soy milk (or non dairy milk of choice)
• 1 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (or non dairy milk of choice)
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 vanilla bean (insides scooped out, skin removed) or 1tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
• 2 kiwis, sliced
• 1 tbsp blueberries

Pre heat oven to 350 (optional if baking). In VitaMix, blend almonds, dates, oats, 1 tsp vanilla extract, cinnamon and 1/2 cup soy milk together until crushed into a sticky paste like consistency. I have a video demonstration for the crust here. Scoop crust mixture into a tart or pie pan. Using fingers, press and spread the dough evenly - wetting your fingers lightly really helps this process. Using a fork, poke holes around the base of the pie shell and bake for 25-30min - let cool.

In VitaMix, blend cashews, 1/2 cup soy milk, maple syrup and vanilla bean until whipped into a cream. Poor cashew cream into pie shell and spread evenly. Top with fresh strawberries, kiwis and blueberries (or fruit of choice) and keep cooled in refrigerator until ready to serve.