This is one of those ‘WOW’ dishes that no one would suspect is dairy-free. Even if you take the easy route by topping with fresh raspberries instead of the fancy shmancy spiced figs, this will easily be the tastiest tart you’ve ever made!
You will need
Serves 12
Pastry
- 200g all-purpose flour
- 125g plant-based butter (e.g. Nuttelex)
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons ice-cold water
Filling
- 200g 85% dark chocolate or any dairy-free chocolate
- 300g silken tofu
- 50ml soy milk (or any other nut milk)
- 60g coconut sugar
- Pinch salt
Spiced figs*
- 5 figs
- 100ml water
- 20ml balsamic vinegar
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
To garnish
- Dried rose petals (optional)
Recipe: Simon Toohey
Directions
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
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Step 2
For the pastry, chop the plant-based butter up into manageable chunks, then pulse in a blender with the rest of the pastry ingredients until it comes together to a crumbly dough. If it doesn’t, add another tablespoon of water. Alternatively, mash it all together with your hands, squeezing the cold butter between your fingers until it’s all broken up and the dough is looking a bit like cornflakes mixed with bread crumbs. Do not overwork the dough, or the butter will melt and the gluten will start to activate (we want the pastry dough to stay short!).
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Step 3
Form a sort of ball shape with the dough, wrap in baking paper, and set in the fridge for 30 minutes.
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Step 4
Place the dough between 2 pieces of baking paper, and use a rolling pin to gently roll it out until it’s about 2 mm thick. You might want to place your 22-cm tart tin upside down over the dough to get the size right, and trim a bit around the edges if necessary. (Don’t cut too close to the tin — you’ll want it to sit along the vertical edges of the tin, too!)
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Step 5
Carefully slide the rolled and cut dough into the tin, gently pushing it down into the edges of the tin to cover all the available space. For best results, place the tart tin with the pastry in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
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Step 6
Scrunch up your baking paper into a ball to make it more malleable. Then lay it flat on top of the dough and pour dry rice or grains (or baking beads) over it to weigh it down — make sure it hits all sides. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until it’s golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
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Step 7
To make the filling, set a bowl over a pot with water and place on the stove on high heat. Chop up the chocolate into small chunks and place it in the bowl along with the sugar, a pinch of salt and the soy milk.
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Step 8
As the chocolate melts, keep stirring until it’s all melted and the sugar is dissolved. Place the tofu and the chocolate mixture into a blender (or a bowl with a stick blender) and blitz until smooth. Pour the chocolate ganache into your pre-baked tart pastry and place in the fridge to set.
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Step 9
*If you can find spiced figs at a local shop — perfect! If not, they’re easy to make: slice a cross in the top that goes halfway down the fig. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the liquid by 3/4 and stir gently, careful not to break them up too much. The syrup should be sweet and sticky. Remove the figs from heat and reserve the syrup!
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Step 10
Top the set tart with the spiced figs, a few spoonfuls of the fig syrup and a scattering of rose petals.
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Recipe: Simon Toohey
