Tart Cherry & Chocolate Tart

When a friend sent me a picture of a Cherry and Chocolate Tart from a UK magazine called Delicious asking if I could rework it to make an ‘eat2run’ version – of course I happily accepted the challenge. Anything with chocolate and cherries and I’m pretty much automatically sold!! This would make a lovely holiday dessert – because don’t get me wrong, it may be using ‘eat2run’ approved ingredients but it is most definitely a decadently rich treat for a special occasion 🙂

Serves 12

Ingredients (filling)

• 1½ cups dried tart cherries (I used Eden brand)
• ¾ cup pure tart cherry juice
• 1 Tbsp 100% pure maple syrup
• 1 cup grass fed heavy cream (whipping cream) OR coconut cream
• 1¼ cups dark chocolate (I used Enjoy Life 69% dark chocolate chips)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 pasture raised eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup tart cherry jam (such as Morello cherry jam, a type of tart cherry) (I used Crofter’s morello cherry jam)

Ingredients (crust)

• 6 large medjool dates, pitted (½ cup)
• ½ cup melted grass fed butter (I used Kiwi Pure) OR melted coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp chia seeds
• ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1½ cups oat flour (ground oats – I grind instant oats in my blender)
• ½ cup raw cacao powder
• dash of sea salt

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F.
2. Place the first 3 filling ingredients in a small saucepan and heat them (the dried tart cherries, tart cherry juice and maple syrup) until just hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and let sit overnight (or 8 hours).
3. For the crust, place the dates, butter (or oil), chia seeds and almond milk in a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Add the oat flour, cacao and salt. Mix until combined (goes into a ball of dough – add a touch more oat flour if it’s too moist).
4. Push the dough into a tart pan (or if you’re like me and you don’t own a tart pan, just use a pie plate), patting the bottom down smooth and working the dough up the edges evenly (crimp the edges if using a pie plate). Using a fork, poke many small holes in the pie crusts bottom and edges (prevents it from puffing up when baking).
5. Bake the pie crust for 25 minutes. Set aside and let cool completely.
6. Back to the filling – in a small saucepan, heat the cream until hot but NOT boiling. Remove from heat.
7. Add the dark chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has melted into the cream. Add the vanilla.
8. Add a small amount of this chocolate mix into the 2 beaten eggs and whisk. Pour this into the chocolate mix, and whisk everything together well.
9. Taking the cooled crust, spread the jam over the bottom of it.
10. Drain the cherries, and then arrange the cherries over the jam (there’s a lot, it will fill the bottom).
11. Pour the chocolate custard mixture over the cherries.
12. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely.
13. Store in the fridge (or freezer if it won’t be eaten within 2-3 days).

To deliciously healthy food and stronger faster running… Cheers,

Sarah J Cuff, RHN