chocolate

My love for baking began when I was young, I enjoyed spending time with my mother in the kitchen cooking. I think that’s how I developed the passion that I have for cooking today. Well, I must admit that my style has changed, I try to alter recipes to create healthy treats that my family and I can enjoy, while ultimately feeling good about what I’m putting in my body.  My Vitamix E310 Explorian Series blender makes creating healthy and delicious recipes, easy! So if you’re looking for the perfect gift for mom, look no further!

I can’t wait for Rania to be my little helper. It will be a nice activity to do together and who knows, she might develop the same love for cooking that I have!

I made some chocolate tartlets, but these aren’t your traditional tarts, as these do not require the use of an oven. I used a 75% dark chocolate but if you or your children don’t enjoy the taste of dark chocolate, feel free to adapt the recipe by using chocolate with a lower concentration.

Here is what you need for this recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Crust
1 cup of nut mix of your choice: walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, etc.
¼ Medjool dates (they are easy to mix).
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Pinch of salt.

Filling
1 cup of coconut cream (I only used the part at the top of the can, Brand used: Cha’s organics),
½ cup of soft dates,
3 ounces of melted dark chocolate,
¼ of melted coconut oil,
2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Steps
1. To make the crust, pour all the ingredients into your Vitamix (dates, nuts, cinnamon and salt) and blend until you get a soft texture.
2. Transfer the mixture to a mold and spread the mixture at the bottom and all around the sides.  I used small pie dishes.
3. Rinse your blender.
4. In a small saucepan, heat the coconut cream over low heat.
5. In a blender, mix the coconut cream, dates, chocolate, coconut oil and vanilla extract until the mixture becomes homogeneous.
6. Pour the result on the crust.
7. Cool on the counter.

For serving, add nuts as decoration, a scoop of ice cream or coconut cream.