Light Tart chocolate and coconut: a delicious recipe I would like to bake every day. It’s a cake mixed with coconut butter and bitter cocoa, filled with a coconut cream and enriched with dark chocolate chips and candied orange zest (home made). The result is an almost fat-free tart — just one yolk and no milk. Also, as I always say, coconut sugar is whole and has a lower glycemic index than cane sugar. Overall, the light chocolate and coconut tart is a dessert that even those of us who are chubby can eat without too much worry, and it’s absolutely delicious.
In the notes, you’ll find the small variations needed to make this cake suitable for a vegan diet.
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Day 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 296.56 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 39.70 (g) of which sugars 15.38 (g)
- Proteins 5.38 (g)
- Fat 16.48 (g) of which saturated 12.74 (g)of which unsaturated 1.91 (g)
- Fibers 3.74 (g)
- Sodium 32.64 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup coconut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/4 cups canned coconut milk
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp gelatin (1 sheet)
- 1 tbsp chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp orange zest (candied)
Tools
For this cake, you’ll need a small 9-inch springform pan and an immersion blender which I used to mix the crust and whip the cream
- 1 Cake Pan Tescoma 9-inch Springform Pan
How to prepare the light chocolate and coconut tart
Since we are making a small cake, we will knead the crust in the food processor of the immersion blender: it works perfectly even for small amounts of dough. So, let’s start by mixing the flour, cocoa, and sugar in the glass, then add the softened coconut butter and blend quickly. Finally, we will add the yolk, which should be enough to form the dough. Let’s put the cocoa crust in the fridge while we prepare the cream.
This super tasty cream is prepared in no time. That’s why I like it even more. Separate the liquid part from the more solid part of the coconut milk. Once the cream is done, which we will prepare only with the creamy part of the can, we can use the liquid part to flavor a good curry chicken or any other chickpea or lentil curry preparation
Heat a small portion of liquid coconut milk in the microwave, say two tablespoons, in which we will dissolve the previously softened gelatin in cold water and the sugar. Let it cool and then, before it thickens, add it to the solid coconut cream, stir well and put it in the fridge to cool.
Roll out the cocoa shortcrust pastry between two sheets of parchment paper, cut out a disc of the right size, and place it in the pan. Prick it carefully and bake for twenty minutes at 356°F. With the excess dough, we can cut out cookies to decorate the cake: my favorites are butterfly or sun-shaped.
So let’s take care of the cream. As I said before, once cold it should be whipped with the immersion blender whisk. Work it until it reaches the consistency of whipped cream. Then add the chocolate chips and candied orange zest cubes to the cream. Please note: if you want to use the piping bag to decorate the cake with the cream, all additional ingredients must be small enough to pass through the nozzle.
Now that everything is ready, we can assemble the cake. Remove the well-cooled crust from the pan and place it on a flat plate. Continue by covering the entire shell with lots of identical cream tufts, and finish with chocolate cookies and orange zest.
Notes from the pastry chef
As always, I add a few things. Coconut derivatives, if you like the flavor, are a game-changer in pastry. They make delicious and less caloric desserts: for example, the pudding, which is very similar to panna cotta but isn’t, and it’s good even without sugar, simply garnished with fresh fruit. Coconut milk is also very suitable in savory recipes and pairs well with spices: use the leftovers to flavor spice meatballs, soft and tasty or for curry chicken.
Furthermore, if you want a vegan version of this cake, you can replace the flour with starch and eliminate the egg. Add just a little ice water to the dough to knead. The coconut cream can also be made without gelatin, or if you prefer, replaced with the right amount of agar-agar.
Going back to the HOME, you will find other recipes, sweet and savory, for holidays or every day, and many vegetarian dishes. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram: you will find quick recipes, many useful tips, and you will never be without dinner ideas again. Leave your comments, there is a space just for you here, after the notes. I will be happy to respond.
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