Vegan Yum Yum (41 page)

Mini Blueberry Tarts with Lemon Cream

W
hoa-my-god. I love tarts! The secret to the lemon cream is coconut milk. Shh! It gives it a rich, fatty feel (like cream), but it's not enough to make it taste too coconutty. Discerning palates will still taste the tofu, but it's really not bad. I wouldn't include it if it was bad, would I? (I've included instructions for 8 mini tarts or 1 large one.)

Mini Blueberry Tarts with Lemon Cream

Makes 8 mini 4-inch tarts or 1 large tart

step 1
To make the dough, mix the whole-wheat pastry flour, sugar, and salt together. Cut the margarine and shortening into the flour mixture with a food processor, in a bowl with a pastry cutter, or with your hands. You want every flour grain coated with the fat. It should look like wet sand with little pea-size lumps in it when it's ready. Do your best not to overwork the dough.

step 2
Add in the water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together. It's easier to add more water than to add more flour, so be conservative.

step 3
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and
gently
knead (or really, press) it together. Adjust with more water or flour as needed. Shape into a flat round, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

step 4
Make the lemon cream by blending the tofu, powdered sugar, coconut milk, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest in a food processor or blender until very smooth. Scrape the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed. The cream should be very soft, but not drippy. You should be able to bite into the tart and not have it pour out all over you, even if the tart is at room temperature.

Ingredients

Special Equipment Needed

Individual mini tart pans with removable bottoms or large tart pan with a removable bottom (can be purchased at most kitchen stores or online)

Tart Dough

1½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour (218 g)

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup Earth Balance margarine

¼ cup shortening

3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Lemon Cream

1 package Mori-Nu Silken Extra Firm Tofu, drained as much as you can

½ cup powdered sugar

½ cup coconut milk

4 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Zest of 1 lemon

Other Ingredients

Fruit jelly, any flavor

2 pints organic blueberries

Powdered sugar

Mint sprigs

Lemon zest

step 5
Lightly oil your mini tart pan or one large tart pan, taking care to oil each of the ridges on the sides. I know—it's a pain, but it's more of a pain to break your tart shells because they stick.

Making Mini Tarts:

step 1
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out onto a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch (or slightly less) thick. Cut out rough squares or circles a little larger than the tart pan.

step 2
Gently lay the dough over the tart shell and ease it in, paying attention to the sides. Pinch off the overhanging dough.

step 3
Using a finger with a short nail, press the dough into each of the ridges around the shell. Lightly prick the surface and edges with a fork.

step 4
Repeat for all shells. If needed, gather scraps, form into a ball, and roll out again until your shells are made.

Making One Large Tart:

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out onto lightly floured parchment paper or plastic wrap to ¼ -inch (or slightly less) thick. Gently lift the dough by the parchment or plastic wrap and overturn it onto your tart pan. Ease the dough into the mold, paying attention to the sides. Pinch off the overhanging dough. Using a finger with a short nail, press the dough into each of the ridges around the inside of the tart pan. Lightly prick the surface and edges with a fork.

Baking instructions (for both sizes):

step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 ºF.

step 2
Place parchment paper on top of your tart(s). Fill the shells (or shell if using a large tart pan) with dried beans (I used garbanzos because that's all I had), making sure that they fill the molds. Place tart(s) onto a cookie sheet (that way you won't accidentally pop the bottoms up and mess up your dough when you're moving them) and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

step 3
Place the pan(s) directly into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then take the pan(s) from the oven, remove the parchment paper and beans (don't burn yourself!), and place back into the oven for another 5 to 7 minutes or until the tart shells are just beginning to turn golden. Be careful not to burn your shells! They will go from golden to burned in the blink of an eye.

step 4
Remove the tart shells from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack until cool enough to handle. Then
gently
remove shells from their molds by lightly pressing up on the bottom of the mold. Then slide the bottom piece off to the side and place the tart shells back onto the rack to cool completely.

step 5
Put a couple of tablespoons of jelly into a bowl and mix with a small amount of water until it looks like a glaze. Brush your tart shells with the glaze. This will give them a shiny, professional appearance, as well as prevent them from drying out as fast. Apricot is traditional, but I used violet jelly. The jelly glaze should be thin enough not to affect the color of the shells, and perhaps that's one of the reasons why apricot is traditional—it's pretty much the same color as the curst.

step 6
Fill your tart shell(s) about halfway with the chilled lemon cream, and then pick over your blueberries—you want only pretty berries for your tart! Begin placing the berries, “ruffled” side up in the shell along the edge in a circle. Try to pick berries that are the same size. Continue to place concentric rings of berries into the shell until you reach the center. Add the last berry.

step 7
Using a brush or your fingers, lightly coat the berries in the jelly glaze as well. Chill until ready to serve. Before serving, lightly dust the tarts with powdered sugar, add a sprig of mint, and plate with fresh lemon zest.

Sheera

S
heera is an Indian dessert or breakfast that is similar to American Cream of Wheat, but it's thicker and a lot more fun. The base is called “sooji” or “semolina” and is easily substituted for quick-cooking Cream of Wheat. I'm not entirely convinced that there's actually a difference between the two.