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Vegan Lemon Tart

Vegan Lemon Tart

This plant based lemon tart is mad with a bright yellow vegan lemon curd that's set with agar agar and topped with a mixture of berries and raspberry filled white chocolate shells. Substituting agar for gelatine and changing recipes up to make them plant based is a lot easier than you might think. Try your hand at making desserts like this that are bright, fresh and summer

Ingredients
  

Flaky Vegan Pie Crust

  • 300 g flour
  • 15 g sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 125 g coconut oil
  • 175 ml ice water

Bright Yellow Vegan Lemon Curd

  • 150 g sugar
  • 12 g corn starch
  • 1 tsp agar agar powder
  • zest of two lemons
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 250 ml coconut cream
  • 125 ml lemon juice

Raspberry Gel

  • 150 g raspberries
  • 300 g water
  • 200 g sugar
  • 1 tsp agar agar

Instructions
 

Pie Crust

  • For the pie crust, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt until combined.  Then, add the coconut oil and using your hands, roughly mix the oil into the flour until the mixture becomes a crumbly, sandy consistency.  Pour in the ice cold water and stir together with a spatula.  The dough will look quite rough but you should be able to easily press it together into a firm dough with your hands.  
  • Pour the dough out onto a floured work surface and roll out until about a centimetre thick. Line the base of a tart shell with parchment and lightly oil the sides with coconut oil.  Roll the dough gently up onto your rolling pin and then simply roll it back out over top of the pan.  Pass the rolling pin over the top of the shell to remove the excess dough.  Pierce the bottom of the tart with a fork then set in the fridge to chill until firm for about 20 minutes.  
  • Once chilled the tart shell should be firm to the touch.  Bake at 350 F or 175 C for 20-30 minutes until it’s a light golden brown.  Once baked, set aside to cool completely before making your lemon filling. 

Lemon Curd

  • For the lemon filling, in a bowl, mix together sugar, corn starch, turmeric, and agar and set aside.  In a pot, combine, the lemon zest, coconut cream and fresh lemon juice then whisk in the dry ingredients.  Get this onto the heat and boil for 1-2 minutes.  Anytime you use agar agar you need to make sure to boil it in order for it to gel properly.  Pull that off the heat and pour it into your tart shell.  Then, set this in the fridge to chill until completely set up.  

Raspberry Gel and Chocolate Shells

  • For the white chocolate shells filled with raspberry gel you’ll need to start off by making your gel.  In a pot, combine water, raspberries, sugar and agar and boil for 1-2 minutes.  Pour the raspberry filling into a bowl lined with a strainer to remove any seeds, then pour into a container and chill in the fridge until set.  Once set, transfer the raspberry gel to a blender and blitz.  This will give you a silky smooth and shiny finish.  Pour into a piping bag and set aside.  
  • For the chocolate shells, melt some white chocolate in the microwave.  If you find that it is too thick you can thin it out with a bit of coconut oil or cocoa butter.  You can find vegan white chocolate online pretty easily online or in the health food section of larger grocery stores.  To coat the shells, fill them up completely with the melted chocolate, tip them over and pour out the excess then place them upside down on top of a rack to dry. 
  • If once the chocolate has set you think they need a second coat, just repeat by filling up the mold, dumping out the excess and placing onto the rack to set upside down again.  Once your shells are set, pipe in the raspberry gel leaving a small amount of room for the final layer of chocolate.  Pop these into the freezer to set up for about 15 minutes.  Once the gel is slightly set, pour some chocolate over the gel and then use a knife or bench scraper to gently scrape off the excess.  Set these aside to set up.  Once the chocolate is totally set, remove them from the molds and place onto a sheet of parchment. Finish the shells off with pearlised lustre spray if you want to add that shimmery, pearlescent look of real sea shells. 
  • Now that the tart and chocolate shells are ready, you can really decorate you however you like.  Add the sea shells to the top, some fresh edible flowers or some berries.

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