Vegan Passion Fruit Tarts

Ever since I moved to LA from New York, I dreamed about having a garden with tons of fruits, herbs and vegetables. I remember the excitement when I would drive by a house and see a lush tree with hundreds of lemons or limes on them. I still get all giddy inside when I see those fruit trees!

When we moved into our house, we finally had the opportunity to have our very own garden. We started simple with a bunch of herbs, and I just loved it. I often use fresh parsley, cilantro and basil in our food. However, at some point, the birds decided it was their outhouse and I couldn’t get myself to use them, so those plants eventually withered away. I think I’m going to put them indoors next time!

Next we planted (which means my husband and father-in-law planted) a bunch of fruit trees – a 5-citrus tree (how cool is that!), a dwarf avocado tree, pomegranate, mulberry, longon fruit and last but certainly not least – passion fruit!

Most of our other trees are doing quite well, but haven’t produced any fruit yet. Several months after we planted the passion fruit tree we started to get a few fruits at a time, but nothing to rave about.

Then Johann and I left for our 2-month European adventure this past May and when we got back in July, the passion fruit vine was filled with tons of fruit! I mean I counted about 30 on the first day and we probably got close to 50-75 at least this year!

I’ve never felt so happy about fresh fruit in my life! In New York, we rarely ever see passion fruit so I probably only had it a handful of times. It has quickly become one of my favorite fruits, up there with mangoes. It’s been so fun experimenting with different ways to use them from these delicious vegan passion fruit tarts to some homemade passion fruit jam (officially my favorite jam ever – I’ll be sharing that soon!)

I’ve learned a lot about these little guys – like they are typically ready to pick when they fall off the vine on their own (however, some you like to hang on and ripen). They are ready to eat when the outer shells turn wrinkly, but not before or they will be too tart!

So what do these beautiful, strange, jewel like fruits taste like? The seeds kind of have the texture of soaked chia seeds but juicier. They have a tropical taste that is tangy, yet sweet. They remind me of a mix between a mango and guava. All I know is that they are delicious and deserve to be highlighted!

When Johann tasted this tart for the first time, I got one reply – “10 out of 10,” so I feel like this is a true winner! Paired with some whipped coconut cream (or regular whipped cream if you choose) it is an unbelievably special treat that looks just gorgeous. I chose to make these in individual 4″ tart pans and they are the perfect single serving size (or two can split easily.)

Vegan Passion Fruit Tart

admin Ever since I moved to LA from New York, I dreamed about having a garden with tons of fruits, herbs and vegetables. I remember the excitement when I would drive… Desserts tart, dessert, passion fruit, fruit tart European Print This

Serves: Makes 6 Tarts

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.0/5

( 2 voted )

Ingredients

For Crust:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• A pinch of sea salt
• 3/4 cup (168g) cold vegan butter (I used Miyokos brand)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp cold water

For Filling:

• • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup water
  • Juice from 5 passion fruit*
  • Juice 1/2 lime
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup full fat coconut milk, divided
  • 1.5 tsp agar powder
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil
  • Fresh pulp from 2 passion fruit
  • Vegan whip cream (optional)

 

Equipment:

• Food processor
• (6) 4" Tart Pans
• Fine mesh sieve 

*To make juice, I removed all the seeds from the passion fruits and then pressed them through a fine mesh sieve to remove the juice.

Instructions

For crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt and pulse a few times until mixed.
3. Next, add butter (cut into pieces) and water. Pulse until it resembles a fine sandy mixture.
4. Press mixture firmly into bottom and sides of tart pan. Should make 6 4" crusts. It might take some times to press the crusts so I kept them in the fridge after I finished each one until all of them were done. You don't want them to get too soft before you bake.
5. Once ready, prick the middle of each tart with a fork a few times.
6. Place tarts on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

For filling:

1. Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl until dissolved. 
2. Mix 1/4 cup coconut milk with agar powder and stir to dissolve. Set aside.
3. Add passion fruit juice, lime juice, sugar and cornstarch mixture to a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk until sugar has dissolved,  about 3-4 minutes.
4. Next add in reminding 3/4 cup coconut milk, agar mixture and vanilla and bring up to a boil, stirring occasionally with a whisk to incorporate all ingredients. Keep at a slow boil for 2-3 minutes. Mixture will thicken up.
5. Once mixture thickens, turn off heat, stir in coconut oil and let cool for a few minutes.
6. Pour mixture carefully into baked tart shells. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes and then transfer to the fridge. Let it set for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

To serve:

1. When ready to serve, carefully remove tarts from pans.
2. Spread a thin layer of fresh passion fruit pulp on top of each tart and put a dollop of whip cream. Enjoy!