Chocolate and tahini cream tart

The sweetness of this tart is offset by a rich, savoury-sweet tahini cream that sits on top of it. The cream is incredibly versatile and would work really well as a cake frosting or a cheesecake filling (you’ll know what I mean when you  experience the flavour and texture). Make sure you use a smooth, good quality tahini like Belazu or Al Arz, many other brands are grainy and bitter. Smooth peanut butter would work very well in place of the tahini.

Ingredients Serves 4

Biscuit base

50g coconut oil

170g ginger nut biscuits

50g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

25g cocoa powder

Pinch of fine salt

Filling and topping

1 x 397g tin condensed coconut milk

200g dark cooking chocolate, roughly chopped

2 tsp tangerine (or orange) zest

2 tsp white miso paste

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

20g coconut oil

200g unsweetened coconut yoghurt (The Coconut Collaborative brand is the perfect thickness for this)

90g good quality, smooth tahini (I use Belazu, shake the contents vigorously to combine the solids and fat before measuring)

1 tbsp cocoa powder

Edible gold dust (optional)

Method

Line the bottom and sides of a 20cm cake tin.

For the base, first gently melt the coconut oil, then set aside to cool for a few mins. Add all the remaining ingredients for the base to a food processor and pulse to a coarse crumb. Make sure you don’t over process- you want small chunks of biscuit and dark chocolate throughout. Add the cooled oil and pulse a few more times to combine. Tip into the lined tin and press to evenly cover the bottom and 3cm up the sides of the tin. Refrigerate while you make the filling

For the chocolate filling, place 230g of the condensed coconut milk and all the chopped chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Once the chocolate has nearly melted, remove from the heat and add the tangerine zest, 1 tsp of miso and ½ tsp vanilla bean paste. Whisk until the mixture is completely smooth. Spoon into the tart tin (it will be quite thick so work quickly) and level the top with the back of a spoon, or by banging the tin down on the surface. Refrigerate until completely cool and set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

For the tahini cream topping, gently melt the 20g coconut oil, then leave to cool for a few mins. To a medium mixing bowl add the coconut yoghurt, tahini, the remaining 100g of condensed coconut milk, 1 tsp miso, ½ tsp vanilla bean paste, the cooled coconut oil and a pinch of fine salt. Whisk vigorously for 1 minute, until thickened and completely smooth. Refrigerate for at least 40 mins, or overnight if getting ahead.

Release the tart from the tin and put onto a plate. Leave to stand for 20 mins, to come to room temperature. Spoon the chilled tahini cream on top of the pie, creating dips with the back of a spoon. Dust with cocoa powder and gold dust, if using, finish with flaked salt and serve.