CHOCOLATE COCONUT HAZELNUT GANACHE TART

This recipe is inspired by the tart from Meet (they have a location on Main and one in Gastown). It's a vegan comfort food establishment that incidentally serves up a killer double bacon double cheese burger. The sweet, dense, crumbly and creamy chocolate coconut ganache tart is a must for me every time I drop in. They drizzle it in some kinda white sugary magic and top it with slivered almonds. #HEAVEN. I decided to make my own version because I was craving a rich chocolate cream cake type scenario. I think I succeeded. And I added some hazelnuts because why not. 

I have been utilizing coconut cream in my dessert recipes a lot lately, and this post is no exception. I am all about how creamy it makes my mixtures. I happen to find coconut and other high fat plant foods hella sexy. I am slowly but steadily learning to keep my recipes even simpler than I used to. I am that guy who always tries to add an extra shot of spirulina, beets, apple cider vinegar, you name it, to my recipes so they can be "super powered" or whatever. I am constantly lookin to increase the nutrition of the food I'm eating. This is all fine, but it often ends up making my recipes taste a bit TOO healthy, if ya know what I mean. (Not EVERYTHING has to have ashwagandha, turmeric and pumpkin seeds in it ALL the time.) It is 100% COOL to just have a recipe be mostly coconut cream, coconut sugar and some hazelnuts. Rich, alluring and elegant. So does this ganache tart secretly pack 50% of your RDI for iron or something? Probably not (although I am too lazy to fact check). And that is OK. It tastes damn good and certainly isn't gonna hurt your bod. At the very least: it will be good for your soul. This is still a raw vegan tart that is made with mostly whole foods. That is a big ole win in my books. Please: enjoy! Oh and P.S. the crust recipe can be used to make some delicious cookies if you have leftovers (me).

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CHOCOLATE COCONUT HAZELNUT GANACHE TART
[ serves 8-16 ]

Crust:
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Ganache:
1 can full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup hazelnuts
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons melted cacao butter

Baobab drizzle (optional):
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons baobab powder
2 tablespoons maple syrup

To make the crust: grind the oats, coconut, hazelnuts and sugar into flour in a high powered blender (I prefer the Blendtec twister jar attachment for jobs like this) or food processor. Add the coconut oil and blend until you have a crumbly dough that holds its shape when pressed between two fingers. Press into the bottom of a lined springform pan (I used a 6"). Leave in the fridge.

To make the ganache: blend everything until smooth and delicious! It will be very liquidy at this point but not to worry: it hardens up. Pour over your crust and leave in the fridge overnight.

If you wanna make the baobab drizzle: melt the coconut oil in a small pot and whisk in the other ingredients; after a moment it will become a lovely caramel mixture. Drizzle this over your cake and decorate with some chopped hazelnuts. Slice and enjoy!