Raspberry Lemonade Tart with a Rosewater & Coconut Crust

So I admit I've been a little MIA lately. There has been a lot going on and to be honest -- I've fallen behind on basically everything. I mean emails, laundry, cleaning out the fridge... pretty much everything but bills*. But there have been a few really exciting things that have happened lately. To paraphrase:

1. Our book Betty Goes Vegan is finally available for pre-sale! There are all these early bird special discounts available on the amazon page -- which is cool.

2. I was able to share some of my favorite vegan baking substitutions on the kitchn. I love this blog so it was a real honor for me. Plus it was great to be able to share with a not-all-vegan community how easy it is to bake vegan. I focused on substitutions you can find in any old grocery store and was really touched by the over 600 likes!

3. The Seed - Vegan Experience conference is this weekend. I won't be able to make it unfortunately but if you're around NYC -- you should really check it out. They have a pretty impressive speaker line-up. I'm also excited because it means my buddy Michelle Schwegmann from Herbivore Clothing Company will be in town. Love that girl.

Michelle & me at The NYC Vegetarian Food Festival - photo credit : The Village Voice

4. I finally posted our photos from Belgium. We spent a few days there around the end of May and you're going to hearing a lot about this trip. I mean this is a country famous for fries, beer, chocolate and comics. What's not to love? Today's recipe is actually inspired (in part) by a tart I saw in the window of a bakery in Brussels.

We didn't glaze ours and didn't add as many raspberries in the photo so you could see the filling. We also played around a lot with some more Mediterranean summer flavors by adding rosewater to the crust. Last summer we made Rosewater Lemonade Sorbet (shaved ice) and it just wouldn't be summer with out dabbling with the rosewater some more.

I'm curious -- what flavors say "Summer" for you?



Raspberry Lemonade Tart with a Rosewater & Coconut Crust
Crust

• 1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour (you'll need more to flour your surfaces)
• 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Pink Himalayan Salt
• 1/3 Cup + 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil 
• 1 Tablespoon Rosewater 
• 2 Tablespoons Water

Filling

• 1 Cup Sugar 
• 2 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
• 1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
• Juice from 1 Fresh Lemon with pulp 
• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil 
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Agar Agar 
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch

Toppings

• 1 Cup Fresh Raspberries
• Powdered Sugar to dust over the top

 Heat oven to 400.

Blend all your crust ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a hand held pastry blender. Continue to blend with the pastry blender and once your dough is moist and pulls away from the sides of  the bowl, gather it into a ball in the center.  

Flour your surface and rolling pin for rolling out your dough. Roll out your dough and then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.  You want your dough to be firm but still pliable. If it gets too solid -- just let it warm to room temperature until you can roll it out.  

After your dough has chilled or thawed, roll it out again to make sure it has stayed even and fix any cracks or splits. Then divide your dough into segments to fit in your tart dishes. Then press your dough into your tart dishes. If there are any cracks or splits that comes up - just take some extra dough and press them into the spots that need a little help. If you smooth out your edges - no one will ever know! Be sure and cut off any extra dough that might hang over the edges.

Bake for 5-10 minutes or until your crust is very lightly browned. Then remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

While your crusts are baking and cooling, make your filling. Add the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh lemon juice with pulp to a sauce pan and heat to a boil. Once it begins to bubble, remove your sauce pan from heat and whisk in your coconut oil, agar agar and cornstarch until it begins to thicken. 

Once your crusts have cooled, fill the cup with equal amounts of filling. Put your tarts in the fridge to chill for 2 hours. Your filling is a tart filling so it's not going to stay more of a jelly or lemon curd** so don't wait for that. Once your tarts have chilled, toss some fresh raspberries on top and dust with powdered sugar.

Pull up a lawn chair... and enjoy your summer!



* I think.

** Seriously grossest name for something so good ever.