Vegan chocolate mint tart, two ways

Sometimes, life requires difficult decisions. We have all been there. It may be a choice about a relationship. Work. Where to live. Whether to say yes (or no). A medical issue.

Sometimes the decisions are simpler, but feel equally challenging. What to wear. Which To Do list task to tackle. Whether to return that phone call. What to make for Christmas lunch. Whether to get up and run, or stay in bed for another hour.

Decisions are hard because you have to choose. There is the possibility of regretting the choice. You can't live in two countries at once. You can't sleep in and run. You have to pick an option and see it out.

For this dessert, there are no difficult decisions. I have dealt with them already. When faced with the choice of real mint or peppermint extract, I elected to make the recipe two ways, trying both options out. My taste testing may help you to decide which variety you prefer, but if you are like me and can't decide - make both. It's easy.

Whether using real mint or extract, the chocolate filling is silky smooth. It can be stored in the fridge and is soft enough to cut through with a spoon, while being firm enough to hold together and provide a rich, fudgey tart. The creaminess comes from avocado (of course) and the smooth filling is offset by the dense, nutty base.

The version with peppermint extract is minty in the way that candy canes are. Strong, intense, tasting a bit like Christmas. The version with real mint is a little more grown up, but also subtler in flavour. The mint comes through gradually. It is almost an after-taste.

I liked them both, and this is one experience where I am pleased not to have to choose. I can have both. And so can you.

Chocolate mint tart, two ways

Vegan

Makes 2 small tarts, each of which serves 2 (4 serves in total)

Print recipe

Ingredients

Base

1/4 cup (~45g or 10 dates) pitted dates

1/2 cup (~90g) raw almonds

1/2 - 1 tsp water, as required

Filling

1 small-medium avocado (mine was 75g flesh, which would be about 1/2 of a large avocado)

2 tbsp coconut flour

3 tbsp good quality cocoa

3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (or non-dairy milk of choice)

1 tbsp agave or maple syrup

30 drops liquid stevia (or an extra 1 tbsp agave / maple syrup)

Pinch salt

If making both varieties: 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract and 12 fresh mint leaves
If making with peppermint extract only: 2 1/2 - 3 tsp peppermint extract
If making with fresh mint only: 24 fresh mint leaves

Method
Base

Roughly chop the dates and then combine the dates and almonds in a food processor and process until finely chopped and starting to clump together (several minutes). Add water gradually if needed, to bring the mixture together.

Line two small ramekin dishes with cling wrap and press half of the base mixture into each ramekin. Set aside.

Filling

In a clean food processor bowl, combine the avocado, coconut flour, cocoa, almond milk, sweeteners and salt. Process until smooth and the avocado is fully processed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. 

If making both varieties: Remove half of the chocolate filling from the food processor and set aside. Add 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract to the filling remaining in the food processor, and process briefly to combine. Transfer the mixture to one of the prepared ramekins.

Return the remaining chocolate filling to the food processor. Finely chop the mint leaves and add to the food processor; process briefly to combine. Transfer the mixture to the other prepared ramekin.

If you are making just one variety: Add the peppermint extract or finely chopped mint leaves to the chocolate mixture and process briefly to combine. Divide the chocolate mix between the two prepared ramekins.

Set in the refrigerator for approximately 4 hours, or in the freezer for approximately 1 hour. Store in the fridge.

I loved both of these, but should note that Mr Bite did not. He struggled to say exactly why, other than that they weren't quite sweet enough. He also disliked the base, which is to be expected when considering that he doesn't like nuts. I suspect he may have detected the stevia in the filling but not know what the flavour in question was. So - if you like semi-sweet desserts made with natural ingredients, I suspect you will enjoy these as much as I did. If you are used to commercial pies and tarts, you may need to add more sugar or go with a different sort of recipe.

As for my preference? I think I preferred the real mint filling just slightly. Would I still make both varieties next time? It is entirely likely.

Have you been faced with any difficult decisions lately?

If you were to pick, would you go with peppermint extract or real mint when making mint desserts?

Submitted to Ricki's Wellness Weekend 20th - 24th December 2012.

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Vegan English baking: Dark chocolate tiffin

Of the English baking posts we’ve had thus far, the first one on cherry bakewell tarts was for me.

The second, on fruit digestive biscuits, was for both of us.

This one is all for Mr Bite.

Until last year, I hadn’t actually heard of tiffin. It appeared in our fridge unexpectedly when my (now) sister-in-law made it for Mr Bite, as a way of saying thank you for some thing or other. I was interested to discover that it was quite like an Australia hedgehog slice, but with a solid chocolate top rather than an icing-style one, the addition of dried fruit, and the omission of egg and white or icing sugar. Tiffin can also be called a chocolate refrigerator cake, which I probably had heard of but not thought much about. Cadbury reportedly makes a tiffin bar, but as I have never seen or tried it, I can't comment on how similar it is to the home-made variety.

Whatever name it goes by, tiffin is a rich and chocolatey snack. The core ingredients are biscuits, butter, sugar, golden syrup, dried fruit and chocolate, which results in a product you’d probably like to have on hand if you were stuck in a snow storm and needed to survive for weeks with minimal provisions!

The history of the recipe was actually quite hard to find. In part, this is because 'tiffin' can also refer to an Indian meal involving multiple small dishes, a bit like the Japanese bento box. The chocolate tiffin appears to be of Scottish origin, which may suggest that my thoughts about cold weather provisions are accurate (and means that my post title is actually inaccurate...).  I imagine that similar no-bake chocolate recipes have evolved around the world, and tiffin happens to be the Scottish variety.

As with digestive biscuits, this is an easy recipe to veganise. Indeed, most tiffin recipes seem to include digestive biscuits as the biscuit of choice. From there, it is easy to use non-dairy spread and dark or dairy-free chocolate to keep the ingredient list animal product free. It is a good example of how vegan doesn’t necessarily equal healthy, and underscores my beliefs about vegan stereotypes being very misguided at times!  Although most recipes limit the dried fruit to raisins, I used ginger too as I recalled the vegan dark chocolate and ginger tiffin on the menu of York's Goji Cafe. Mr B likes ginger in chocolate form, at least in moderation, so it seemed a good version to try out.

Note the fifth listing...

Although I have retained ‘baking’ in my post title, this is of course baking free. This means that where we have 'Vegan English baking' we should really have 'Vegan Scottish no-baking'. I apologise for placing wording consistency over wording accuracy! An advantage of the no-bake nature is that this is very easy to make, and can be made ahead and kept in the fridge until required. It can also be adapted to the biscuit, dried fruit and chocolate you prefer.

Dark chocolate tiffin

An easy, rich, high-chocolate dish

Adapted from this recipe

Makes 12 - 14 small slices; double quantities for a bigger batch

Vegan

Print recipe

Ingredients

50g non-dairy spread (I used nuttelex)

1 tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp brown sugar

1.5 tbsp cocoa

100g digestive biscuits

40g dried ginger, chopped small

25g raisins

100g dark (or dairy-free) chocolate

Method

Melt the non-dairy spread, golden syrup, brown sugar and cocoa in the microwave or over the stove top, on low heat and stirring regularly.

Crush the digestive biscuits roughly in a plastic bag, and then add to the melted mixture, along with the dried fruit. Mix well.

Line a loaf tin (or square baking pan) with non-stick baking paper. Transfer the tiffin mix to the tin and press down evenly. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

When the tiffin base has chilled, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or over the stove top and pour over the base. Return to the fridge to set (at least two hours) before cutting into slices.

For something so easy, this is an attractive dish and I have noted it as a good option for entertaining. It could almost be made before work on a day it is needed in the evening - which is a good back up to have to hand.

Have you ever tried, or heard of, tiffin?

This post is part of my Vegan Month of Food contributions for October 2012. 

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