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This guy is gonna sell itself. Grab your dark cherries, season them a little on the stove, then pile them into an entirely lovable chocolate crust—with little hits of salt strewn throughout—that just happens to be the very definition of forgivable.
And because glossy fruit begs to be paired with creamy things, take a minute to whip up a combination of nondairy cream cheese and silken tofu for a dreamy effect that's stiffer than whipped cream, but fluffier than cream cheese. It's a really handy combination, and you can likely expect to see it here again in other applications.
Top the whole thing with fruit, swirl it around for a nice presentation, and you'll be one happy summer camper. And because you need to make this tart in advance, anyway, it's a seriously easy way to entertain.
Cherry Tart with a Dead Simple Salted Chocolate Crust
serves 6-8
For the crust:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (to measure, spoon in and level off)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, such as Equal Exchange brand
1/3 cup natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt
1/4 cup refined coconut oil
For the cherry filling:
1 lb pitted dark cherries, frozen or fresh
2 TBSP natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)
juice of half a lemon
2 TBSP quick-cooking tapioca
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the creamy filling:
6 oz firm silken tofu (half of an aseptic pack)
4 oz nondairy cream cheese, such as Tofutti brand
2 tsp natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Heat oven to 375.
Begin with the crust. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt. Add coconut oil and mix until sandy and uniform. Press into a 14x4-inch nonstick rectangular tart pan. Bake 8-10 minutes. The crust will go from done to burned with speed, so watch—and smell—carefully. Transfer pan to a wire rack to let cool.
Prepare the cherry filling. Combine cherries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and let cook until cherries have released their liquid and begin to break down, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat slightly (to avoid splashing) and add tapioca. Cook, stirring frequently, five minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and set aside to let cool a bit.
Finally, prepare the creamy filling. Puree all ingredients until very smooth.
When the crust has cooled, add all but one-half cup of cherry filling. Dollop and smooth creamy filling over the top. Dollop reserved half-cup of cherry mixture over that, and swirl with a chopstick by making infinity marks up and down the length of the tart. Chill at least a couple of hours before removing tart pan side piece and serving. During this time, the cherry filling will become more sliceable and the flavor of the creamy filling will come together. Fillings will continue to firm up over the next six to eight hours.
Tart will keep in the fridge, covered, for a few days.