Hello, friends of the internet/world!
Most of the time when we post, we feel like we’re sending recipes into the abyss. We’re the kind of people who get off on the creative process – from the recipe developing to the film shoot (read: overeating yummy things) to the writing. But then we click upload, and pretty much forget it ever happened. Like, where did all that content go? Who is reading this? And why? Haha.
And then something quite magical happens. A stranger will reach out from a corner of the earth we haven’t even heard of – like a remote village in Brazil – to say that they loved an article we wrote. Or, a friend in Sydney will tell us that they made one of our recipes for their mother, and that she couldn’t believe it didn’t contain sugar. And every single time, Emma and I are so humbled that we have to go and hide under our bed for like five days due to attacks of joyous, sudden shyness. Seriously. It’s rad.
At a barbecue last weekend, a friend of mine who has recently undergone open heart surgery told me she was looking for ways to ‘clean’ up her diet, and was excited to try the nut milk she’d seen on our blog. I got super excited and blabbed on like I always do about other healthy food bloggers that revolutionised our own ways of eating (namely Green Kitchen Stories, My New Roots, Deliciously Ella, and Kenko Kitchen) and pledged to come over and show her how to make loads of scrumptious healthy foods. I promised her that eating whole foods would totally, hand over heart, one hundred per cent not be the tasteless experience most fear it will, nor that she would feel that she was missing out on anything. Most of all – perhaps most importantly – I promised it would be easy.
This tart perfectly captures the simplicity of healthy cooking – there’s no need for it to be harder than any other dessert-making. Actually, it’s arguably easier than making traditional cakes, because anything involving exact measurements (or any kind of science, let’s be honest) is quickly lost on us. We like our food to be adaptable – in fact, Laura never measures anything. (Except when writing recipes) (I promise) (Most of the time).
So, this beautiful tart is easy as, and of course so healthy that it’s kinda hard to believe. We always love to put a little salt or sourness with our sweet things, which is where the grapefruit comes in. But, if it’s too sour for you, orange would be a beautiful substitute. Or if you’re lucky to be in the Northern Hemisphere spring right now, throw on some stewed pears, apples, or berries instead!
Dark Chocolate and Grapefruit Tarts
Makes 4 mini tarts
Base:
½ cup hazelnuts
½ cup almonds
6 dates
Filling:
270ml coconut cream
½ tsp agar agar powder
2 tbsp coconut sugar (or liquid sweetener of choice)
4 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 grapefruit
In a processor pulse the base ingredients until the ingredients form a sticky dough. Press into tart bases and put in the freezer while you prepare the filling. For the filling put all ingredients in a saucepan except for the grapefruit. Sit for 10 minutes then simmer on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Fill each of the tart bases with the filling and transfer to the fridge to set (this usually takes 20 to 30 minutes). Cut the grapefruit to arrange on top of the tarts. Optional toppings include another dusting of raw cacao, some sprigs of thyme or orange/lemon zest.
