COCONUT + ROSE CITRUS TART (VEGAN + GLUTEN-FREE)

When I was little, my mom taught me how to needlepoint. My child mind remembers her needlepointing this large, elaborate floral pattern and thinking it was the coolest, prettiest thing. So she got me a small bunny pattern to try myself. The bunny wore a blue shirt and held a carrot. I always thought it was an illustration from Beatrix Potter, although I’m now sure it actually wasn’t. Either way, I remember loving sliding the needle and yarn through the pattern over and over again, down each row. I don’t think I ever finished the pattern, but it’s not always about finishing, right?

One of my new year’s resolutions was to do more (in purposely broad terms). As part of that, I thought that picking back up a hobby like needlepoint would be fitting. I have been feeling restless, antsy, unsettled lately, so I really wanted a hobby to keep my hands and mind busy. I came across the cutest family cross stitch patterns on Etsy and decided that I would teach myself to cross stitch. As it turns out, I love it – it’s incredibly therapeutic and keeps my idle hands/mind occupied. I’ve stitched a few things so far and am just trying to figure out how to avoid becoming the crazy lady with cross stitch hoops handing all over her house…

In sticking with my tried and true hobby, I made this tart last weekend. It’s one of my favorite tarts I’ve made. The rose water coconut pastry cream was sort of an experiment and turned out amazingly good, especially considering it has no dairy or eggs. The consistency and texture is just like the real thing, and the nutty and floral flavors marry perfectly with the bright citrus. And it has a sort of floral look to it, which means I just might have to make it again for Valentine’s Day.

Do y’all have plans for the Day? Dale and I are going out for french fries. Because I swear there is nothing better than a salty fried potato, and I never feel particularly excited about Valentine’s Day anyway. Doing something overly romantic just feels kind of silly to me. So I choose french fries with Dale, since Valentine’s Day is a Day for love, and I love french fries, and Dale too. Win-win.

COCONUT + ROSE CITRUS TART

Note: Martha has a good and short video on how to supreme citrus here. Although this tart is super beautiful all assembled, it is less so once you slice it. It didn’t really matter to me since I made this just for us, but if you want individual servings that are prettier, I might suggest making this into smaller tartlets. Just decrease the baking time on the crust. This recipe should make about five tartlets. You could also freeze the tart for longer than called for, although I’ve not tried that, so I’m not how it would affect texture/flavor.

Crust

• 70 g (1/2 cup) raw sunflower seeds
• 120 g (1 cup) millet flour
• 120 g (1 cup) oat flour
• 60 g (1/2 cup) almond flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 56 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil
• 8 dates, pitted and halved
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup

Rose Coconut Cream

• 1 can light coconut milk
• 100 g (1/2 cup) pure cane sugar
• pinch salt
• 30 g (3 Tbsp) cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp rose water
• 1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
• 1 large grapefruit
• 3-4 blood oranges

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a food processor, pulse sunflower seeds into small, crumb-size pieces. Add flours and salt and pulse to combine. Add oil, dates, and maple syrup and pulse until thoroughly combined and evenly moistened. Mixture should be moist but crumbly and should stick together when pressed between your fingers. Dump into a 9-inch tart pan or pie plate and press into the bottom and up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes, rotate, and bake another 8-10 minutes, or until edges are browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, whisk together 250 ml (1 cup) of the light coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and set over medium heat. Whisk together remaining light coconut milk with cornstarch. When saucepan mixture is hot, whisk in cornstarch mixture. Cook until thickened, whisking frequently, about 5 minutes. Whisk in coconut oil until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in rose water. Let cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes then cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap down flush with the cream to prevent a skin from forming, and place in the fridge to continue cooling.

Scoop separated coconut fat from the full-fat coconut milk into a bowl. Beat until smooth and light. Fold into cooled rose water cream. Pour this mixture into the cooled crust and chill tart for several hours. When you are ready to assemble, supreme citrus to remove all peel and pith (see note above). Arrange citrus beginning on the outer edges and moving inward. Place tart in the freezer for 45 minutes or so to firm up the filling for slicing. Enjoy.