Vegan Strawberry Vanilla Custard Tart

Every year I cross my fingers and hope there are local strawberries for my birthday, which usually falls on Memorial Day weekend. So when the strawberries showed up at the Greenmarket right on time this year, I wanted to make something super special. I turned to a recipe that I have had dog-eared for over a year - Amy Chaplin's Strawberry Vanilla  Custard Tart from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen.

I haven't made a ton of creamy vegan tarts like this one, and it was a super fun little project that made good use of the first gorgeous local berries. The oat, barley, and spelt crust comes together quickly in a food processor and is patted in the pan, then while the crust cools, the filling is briefly cooked on the stovetop before being chilled and topped with a big 'ol pile of  fresh strawberries - it's a perfect Springy treat. In the photo from the book, Amy's tart is covered with the tiniest  tristar strawberries. Tristars are my absolute favorite too, but they don't show up at the market until later in the summer here in NY. This doesn't really need to be said, but use the tastiest, cutest berries you can find here.

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EVENT ALERT! I'll be at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday, June 18th with the folks from Food Book Fair, signing copies of Sweeter off the Vine and handing out treat samples. Come say hi!

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Vegan Strawberry Vanilla Custard Tart

from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin

makes one 8 or 9-inch tart

This tart was originally made with a glaze that the strawberries are tossed in before arranging them on the tart, but I skipped it in favor of sliced strawberries tossed with the tiniest bit of honey. Also, Amy suggests using a high speed blender to mix the filling, but I used my food processor which worked fine. I just made sure to soak the nuts the full 6 hours and gave them a good long mix to ensure the mixture was as smooth as possible. I also used honey from my friends at Old Blue Raw Honey instead of the maple and brown rice syrups the recipe originally called for, which I know isn't strictly vegan so choose your own adventure there.

Crust

3/4 cup rolled oats

3 tablespoons barley flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup spelt flour

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil

3 tablespoons maple syrup (I used honey)

Filling

3/4 cup raw macadamia nuts, soaked 2-6 hours in 2 cups water

1 vanilla bean, split

1/4 cup brown rice syrup (I used 3 tablespoons honey)

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I used 2 tablespoons honey)

2 teaspoons agar flakes

pinch sea salt

2 teaspoons arrowroot powder

Topping

2 pints strawberries, washed, sliced, and lightly sweetened

Make the Crust

Preheat oven to 350ºF and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom of an 8 or 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and lightly oil the sides.

Add the oats, barley flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor; blend until the oats are ground. Mix the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla together. Pulse in the spelt flour and salt, then with the processor running, drizzle in the coconut oil mixture and mix until the flour is moistened.

Press the crust onto the bottom and sides of the prepared pan, about 1 1/4-inches up the sides.

Bake the crust for 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside while you make the filling.

Make the Filling

Drain macadamias and place in a blender along with the 2 cups water. Blend on high speed for 2 minutes.

Add the macadamia milk to a medium saucepan along with the vanilla bean seeds, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, agar, and salt. Whisk until the mixture comes to a simmer. Then loosely cover and simmer for 15 minutes, whisking every 5 minutes or so.

In a small bowl combine the arrowroot with 2 teaspoons of water then whisk it into the simmering custard. Remove the mixture from the heat then let it cool for 10 minutes. Whisk to smooth, then pour into the prepared crust. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes on the counter (until it stops steaming), then chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Just before serving unmold the tart then top it with a pile of lightly sweetened, sliced strawberries. Enjoy immediately. 

A Very Simple Chocolate Cake

We are hitting the point in our New York tenure when it feels like everyone is starting to migrate to greener pastures, literally. They are leaving for new jobs, and new cities, because their visas ran out before new ones could be processed, for a change of pace, or more space to raise their babies alongside backyard summer tomatoes and chickens. We went to two going away parties last weekend, and I’m sure there will be more to come as more babies are born and circumstances change. While I am not quite ready to write my own “why I’m leaving NY” thinkpiece (which has become it’s own subgenre of internet writing) I read them often and nod in agreement. This city is too competitive, too expensive, too dirty, there is not enough space, and on and on…Sometimes it feels like everything is just a little bit, or a lot harder than it needs to be to live here. I understand when people decide to call it quits. 

I made this cake a couple of weeks ago for some friends who were packing up to head out of town for good, and packing up an old life to start a new one is an occasion that requires at least a little chocolate cake. I am always on the hunt for treats that can easily survive a trip on the subway, and this cake is perfect for just that because you can frost it in the pan, shower the top with enough sprinkles to make it look festive, slap a plastic wrap or aluminum foil lid on, and you are ready to go. Better yet, bake it in a cute pan and it would make a perfect housewarming gift for some friends settling in to a new place.

A Very Simple Chocolate Cake

adapted very slightly from Smitten Kitchen’s The ‘I Want Chocolate Cake’

This is a simple cake, a weeknight cake. Something that you could throw together in a fit of chocolate desire after dinner. 

Cake

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup (145 grams) firmly packed dark or light brown sugar

2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons strong coffee (or 2 tablespoons water mixed with 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup (170g) sour cream

1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (40 grams) cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting

2 ounces (55 grams) unsweetened (or bittersweet) chocolate, melted and cooled

1 1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar

1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoons milk, plus more if necessary

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

fat pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. Butter and flour the paper and exposed pan.

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and coffee then add in the sour cream.

Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined, then use a spatula to spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until puffy and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

Set the cake on a rack to cool.  While the cake is cooling, make the frosting.

Add all of the frosting ingredients to a large bowl and beat until smooth and fluffy, add a bit more milk if necessary. Alternately, Deb makes the frosting in a food processor.

Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake and decorate with a shit-ton of sprinkles. Enjoy immediately! This cake keeps for a couple of days, covered at room temperature.