Every now and then you need a little sweet treat. And these Vegan Chocolate Banana Tarts are the answer to your prayers!
Back when I was a freshmen in college, a friend shared this recipe from Self Magazine with me and then when I came home for the summer, I made them for my mom for Mother's Day dinner. And my family completely flipped over them.
My sister and I made them a handful of times after, but over the years, they totally disappeared from our repertoire.
And what a shame, because they really were crazy delicious! Even if you're not a huge banana fan, you're going to love these.
So I can't remember how they popped into my head again, but when I went searching for the recipe, I laughed a bit when I saw the ingredient list. 18 year old me would have definitely thought these were "healthy" compared to the boxed brownies and muddy buddy I used to eat all the time. But current me knows that you can always do a little better.
Not at all to say that you need to. Dessert is dessert and you should never scrimp on the butter/sugar/flour/cream if that's what you want. But I do enjoy a lightened up dessert that can lend all the sweetness without as much of the dairy belly-ache or the sugar crash.
And thus, I set out to make these Chocolate Banana Tarts a touch "healthier"
by swapping coconut oil for the butter and coconut cream for the heavy cream. Which of course, makes them deliciously vegan!
I highly encourage you to make these tarts for a post-dinner snack. Or to double the recipe to bring along to a party. The caramelized bananas on top are tasty, but not entirely necessary if you're looking to simplify a step further!
Vegan Chocolate Banana Tarts
Ingredients
CRUST
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1/2 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 1 1/4 tablespoons water
- 3/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons uncooked rice or dried beans
FILLING
- 3 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk solids only
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 medium banana halved crosswise
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips melted
- 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the flax seed and water. Set aside for a couple minutes.
- In the meantime, combine the coconut oil, coconut sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Beat together, then add in the flax egg and beat well. Add the flour and mix until you get a shaggy dough. Dust a surface with flour, transfer dough to the surface and knead 3-4 times to bring the dough together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 40 minutes.
- At this time, make sure to place your full-fat coconut milk in the fridge so the liquid and solid can separate.
- Heat oven to 350° F. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and press each piece into a cupcake pan or a tart pan, working dough up the sides evenly. Prick pastry along bottom with a fork several times. Gently press a small square of foil into each pastry shell and top each with 1 tbsp uncooked rice or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and rice from pastry shells; discard. Return crust to oven. Cook until golden, about 9 minutes more. Cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate chips and set aside. Remove the can of coconut milk from the refrigerator, open it and spoon 3 tablespoons of the solid into a medium sized bowl. Add the granulated sugar and vanilla to the bowl and beat for 1 minute. Mash half the banana in a small bowl, then beat that into the whipped coconut cream. Fold in the melted chocolate. Divide filling among crusts and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- In a small saute pan, scatter brown sugar evenly on the bottom of a small nonstick pan, then slice remaining banana into pan. Heat on low. When banana slices start to sizzle, stir to coat with sugar. When banana slices become translucent around edges, flip them over. Cook until slices are browned and caramelized on both sides, about 3 minutes. Top each tart with a few banana slices and serve.
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