Indulgent Dairy Free Chocolate Tart

You can never go wrong with a chocolate dessert – a guaranteed people pleaser, they’re the ultimate way to end a meal. I’d never made a chocolate tart before today, but since we had friends round for dinner, it seemed like a good time to try.

I didn’t have much in the way of ingredients to hand but amazingly this tart is made using just pastry, cocoa, dates and coconut milk. And you’ll be pleased to know that not only does it taste incredible; think crisp flaky base topped with rich, silky filling, but it’s ridiculousy easy and quick too. But best of all, this decadent delight is dairy, sugar, egg, soya and nut free – some things aren’t too good to be true!

You will need…

Ready to roll shortcrust pastry

Tin of coconut milk (we use Lidl’s own brand as it contains 91% coconut extract!)

Approx 75g dates

2.5 tbs cocoa

Dairy free spread for greasing

How to…

1. Remove pastry from the fridge 45 minutes before using. Preheat oven to 200 °C (180°C fan). Grease a 20cm ovenproof dish with dairy free spread.
2. Line with pastry then blind bake (cover the pastry with baking paper then weigh it down with baking beads or rice/lentils) for 10 minutes.
3. While the pastry is baking, remove stones from the dates then soak in boiling water.
4. Remove the baking paper from the pastry. If the pastry has shrunk, use a flat spoon to spread it out a little then put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until it is golden brown.
5. Heat the coconut milk in a pan on a medium high heat. Drain the dates then add the cocoa powder and blend until smooth. Add this paste to the coconut milk and stir thoroughly.
6. Allow the mixture to boil for 5 minutes then simmer for 7-10 minutes stirring frequently. The chocolate filling should thicken and stick to the spoon.
7. Pour the chocolate into the pastry case then allow to set in the fridge until firm. (If you’re impatient like me, try setting in the freezer, it should take about an hour and a half!)