Little Dark Chocolate Coconut Lavender Tarts

When I was little I had a board game called "Pretty Pretty Princess" where as you made your way around the board you tried to collect pieces of jewelry all in the same color and when you did so you would proclaim "I'm the pretty pretty princess!"  I just loved it when I was five, and of course what little girl doesn't want to be a princess?  We dressed up, and paraded around the house in our gowns, crowns and shoes that were maybe a bit too big for us (because we stole them from Mom's closet) pretending we ruled an imaginary land of stuffed animals or dolls.  Looking back it was really quite wonderful having such an imagination! 

Although most of us don't really grown up to be princesses...we do deserve to pamper ourselves like one once in a while.  Which is precisely why I decided to make myself a decadent personal sized dessert recently. 

It needed to contain chocolate...so I decided on a rich vegan ganache tart!  I love ganache made with coconut milk, it gives the chocolate such a lovely flavor!  I haven't gone back to heavy cream in ganache since I tried coconut milk in it a few months ago. 

I decided to include a little more coconut as well, in the crust, which would also be chocolate, I used a mixture of cocoa powder, coconut and almond flours for a gluten free buttery nutty base. 

To make the ganache filling a little more fragrant (as if the coconut and chocolate weren't enough...but I was going for over the top here) and a little more special I decided that I needed to include some lavender as well. 

It seriously smelled heavenly once completed and I was photographing it...causing me to become rather hungry.  The lovely aroma of lavender, dark chocolate and coconut was only a hint at how delicious it really was however. 

The crust was buttery and nutty almost like a chocolate coconut shortbread, the filling melted in my mouth and was rich with a hint of lavender and the large flake coconut I topped it off with provided a perfect crunch!  It was amazing, and I definately felt like a princess eating it! 

If you would like to enjoy some for yourself, here is the recipe.  It makes 4 mini tarts, but if you like, you can make one large 9 inch tart to share.  Don't forget to take some time to make yourself feel like a princess!

Little Dark Chocolate Coconut Lavender Tarts

Makes 4 tarts

Crust:

3/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup maple sugar or packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

5 Tbsp Earth Balance vegan butter

Filling:

1 cup full fat coconut milk

12 oz vegan bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 Tbsp dried lavender flowers

1 Tbsp Earth Balance vegan butter

For the crust, in a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, almond flour, maple sugar, and sea salt. Add melted butter and work in with your hands until the mixture starts to hold together when squeezed. Press the mixture into four 4 inch tart pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
To make the filling, heat coconut milk and until very hot and pour over the chopped chocolate and lavender in a large bowl. Whisk until chocolate has melted and is smooth, and whisk in butter until melted. Pour the chocolate mixture into the cooled crusts, and smooth out with a spatula. Place in the fridge until set, a few hours before serving.