So...it's been a little while. Sorry 'bout that. I was on the East Coast for two weeks! My sister-in-law ran the Boston Marathon and Todd and I went down to surprise her! If you don't follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram you may have been wondering what I could be possibly doing that would warrant abandoning you for two weeks. While I may not have managed to whip out a full-blown blog post, I did do a lot of posting to social media. If you don't follow Produce On Parade on social media already, you definitely should! I think of myself as highly entertaining...maybe.

Anyways, we left on my birthday! Also, the 25th was Todd and my veganniversary and Produce On Parade's one year blogiversary! That's a lot to celebrate and I can't think of a more amazing way, gastronomically speaking, than with this Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart! I've missed you all so much and I'm so excited to be back.

Here's my gift to you, a creamy coconut caramel poured into a rich, chocolate crust all topped with a luxurious dark chocolate ganache and sprinkled with flake salt. A decadent dessert sure to impress anyone, vegan or not!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

Makes 1 9" Tart

Crust:
2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
2 Tbsp. water
10 Tbsp. vegan butter, chopped
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 heaping cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Caramel:
1 1/2 cups vegan sugar
3 Tbsp. light corn syrup
5 Tbsp. water
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. coconut extract
1/4 tsp. rum extract
6 Tbsp. vegan butter, chopped
1/2 cup canned full-fat coconut milk (give the can a good shake first)
Ganache:
3/4 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
8 oz. semi-sweet vegan baking chocolate, chopped
flake salt (to garnish)

Crust:

In a food processor, using the dough hook attachment, combine all the dough ingredients. Process, pulsing and scraping down the sides occasionally until well combined and collects on one side of the bowl.

Press evenly into a 9" tart pan, ensuring to bring the dough all the way to the top edge of the pan. Poke with a fork several times and place in the refrigerator to cool for one hour.

Meanwhile, place all the caramel ingredients except for the butter and coconut milk in a small bowl. No need to combine. Set aside until ready to use.

When the tart has 10 minutes left for chilling, preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove from fridge and place pie weights or a sheet of aluminum covered with a thick layer of dried beans on top of the crust to keep it from ballooning while baking. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, then remove the weights and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven, and chill until ready to use.

Caramel:

Now, in a heavy bottomed soup pot add the bowl of caramel ingredients and bring to heat over medium. Continuously stir until combined, then allow to cook until it's reached 350 F and do not stir. It should boil, without stirring, until it's reached a dark amber color.

Remove from heat, and stir in the coconut milk and butter until smooth.

Pour into the chilled tart crust and place in the fridge.

Ganache:

In a pyrex measuring cup or microwave safe bowl, heat the coconut milk for 1-2 minutes until very hot. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Pour the ganache over the caramel (careful it doesn't overflow!) and place on a level surface in the fridge to chill, at least 1-3 hours depending on if it was pre-chilled or not.

Produce On Parade - Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

Remove once chilled and finish with a sprinkling of flake salt. Slice and serve chilled. Store in the fridge as the tart will become oozy if let out of the fridge for too long, but will stay very firm if chilled.

Freeze any leftovers for extended consumption and just place in the fridge to thaw before consuming.

One human birthday, one blog birthday and two veganniversaries?! Let the celebrating begin!

Oh...and Easter happened too!

Produce On Parade - Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart We found a beer in our basket! So here's to being back!

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