Raw Vegan Salted Blueberry Chocolate Tart

Raw food is not the norm for me these days. Back when Logan and I first started seriously dating, I would make ice box pies with cashew cream and lemon zest and vanilla. I recall using honey to sweeten it. Curled up next to my love in bed, AC rattling gently, the sheets tucked up to our chins, we demolished a brownie pan full in one sitting. It was unicorn pie. It didn't even taste REAL it was so good. But since those early days playing with raw eats and vegan treats, I haven't messed too much with the raw scene. Sure, I can dig on a salad pretty hard. And I'll never say no to raw dessert, especially one I don't have to make myself. But it's Summer. And I want to eat pie. And turning my oven on right now sounds like an awful life choice. At the time of making this tart, I happened to have half a pan of recently ground chocolate (courtesy of my love), a bowl of fresh-picked blueberries from our yard, and a new bag of mineral-rich, coarse sea salt from J. Q. Dickinson Salt-Works. The chocolate was our best batch yet -- nutty, milky, with a hint of red fruit. And the salt is a treat I bought myself after a new friend (Lauren Stonestreet of Elle Effect) recommended it to me. A raw tart seemed like a good way to get all of those things into one food that I could happily stuff into my face. And Logan's face. You've had chocolate covered blueberries before, right? And you've had salted chocolate. Well, this is their love child. Their raw, vegan, flower-crown sporting love child. If this pie were a person she (yes SHE) would be the hottest hippie chick at Floyd Fest (a Virginia festival that RULES) or a small, less-corporate Bonnaroo (please someone recommend a festival like this to me!). She wouldn't even have to wear a flower crown and she would still be the MOST badass. It's all about substance, amiright? So about that salt: The Dickinsons first drilled for brine in the mountains of West Virginia back in 1817, and in 1851 won the title of "Best Salt in the World" at that years World Fair. The seventh generation descendants of the Dickinson Salt-Works legacy have revitalized their family's company, re-introducing this salt to our world. They harvest the brine from a pre-historic ocean deep beneath the Appalachian mountains, and dry their brine in the sun. It's organic, naturally harvested, and eco-friendly. Do I feel the coolest sprinkling it on my avocado toast in the morning? YES. So in honor of discovering something steeped in history that we can all eat, I'm doing a giveaway today! Nancy, one of the owners of the company, has generously offered to let me give away a 3.5 ounce jar of salt and one of their pretty, salvaged cherry-wood salt cellars hand crafted by Allegheny Treenware. She's real nice, ya'll. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Raw Salted Blueberry Chocolate Tart

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: raw vegan

Author: Renee Shuman (Will Frolic for Food)

Ingredients

• for the crust:
• 70 grams hazelnut flour
• 75 grams almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• pinch sea salt
• //
• for the filling:
• 1.5 cups dates, soaked overnight and drained
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup warm water
• seeds of 1/2 fresh vanilla bean
• 80 grams 70% dark chocolate, melted
• //
• for the topping:
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 30 grams chocolate, melted
• 1/2 tsp coconut oil or ghee
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt (I used J.Q. Dickenson salt)

Instructions

1. In a Cuisinart or blender, combine hazelnut flour, almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, and sea salt.
2. Blend to combine.
3. Remove dough from your blender and form into a ball.
4. Press evenly into a tart pan (mine is irregular at 8 inches wide, but you could use two 4.5 inch wide tart pans).
5. In a blender, combine drained dates, cashews, warm water, vanilla bean, and melted chocolate and blend until creamy in consistency (it took me about 1 minute, total, stopping to scrape down the sides every 15 seconds or so).
6. Spoon out filling over your raw crust.
7. Spread evenly.
8. Top with blueberries, in no particular arrangement.
9. Combine last of the chocolate with coconut oil or ghee, stirring to thoroughly combine.
10. Using a small spoonful at a time, spoon melted chocolate over your berry topping (I used two spoonfuls).
11. Sprinkle coarse salt over.
12. Serve chilled.

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 I'm not being paid or compensated in any way to promote J.Q. Dickinson salt. All words and opinions are my own.