Good day joyous friends, Tis the season for apricots!
And combining them with chocolate - mmm!
While my hubs and I were traveling in Europe there were apricots everywhere, which made me very joyous. I absolutely love their subtle, naturally sweet flavour. And when they are season they are juicy and nutrient-dense.
Upon returning from vacation my first stop was ourlocal farmers market to purchase some apricots which are also in season in Ontario to make this recipe.
Aside from this joyous new recipe, there are many uses for apricots including:
- Crush a ripe apricot with a fork and spread on anything -- toast, cracker, fish or chicken
- Slice up and enjoy with a handful of nuts for a quick snack
- Dehydrate them and enjoy in the winter (if you have a food dehydrator -- no sulfites to worry about!)
- Finely chop and toss in a beautiful green salad
- Add sliced apricots to porridge
- Make jam!
As with any whole, real food, the benefits of apricots are endless!
Here are the nutritional highlights of apricots:
- Helps relieve constipation and supports digestive health. Apricots are a wonderful source of fiber, especially soluble fiber
- Rich in many antioxidants associated with a reduction in heart disease including flavonoids
- Rich in a variety of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich nutrients including: quercitin, proanthocyanidins, catechins (inhibits COX-2 – an enzyme associated with inflammation), epicatechins, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and more. Many of these are associated with a reduced risk of cancer, improved immunity, lowered risk of asthma, reduced pain.
- Protect your peepers! Apricots are rich in eye protective nutrients such as lutein which protects the retina from damage.
If you are a newbie to Joyous Health then I'm pleased to inform you this is a very easy recipe to make. Let's get right to it, shall we!
Desserts
Raw Apricot Chocolate Tart
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Crust
- 12 soft medjol dates
- 2 cups walnuts
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder
- Optional: 3 tbsp mini chocolate chips (gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free. I used the "Enjoy Life" brand)
Creamy Filling
- 10 apricots, pitted
- 2 cups cashews (no salt, unroasted) Soaked for a few hours or overnight and discard the water.
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
Topping
- 4-6 finely sliced apricots
- 2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Grease a 9' spring form pan or a square pan.
- Crust: Place all the ingredients (excluding the chocolate chips) for your crust into a food processor or high powered blender. Blend until it forms a smoother texture, but still a bit crumbly. Press the crust into your pan and refrigerate or freeze until the creamy filling is ready. If you decide to use chocolate chips sprinkle them on top of the crust.
- Creamy Filling: Place the soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla and apricots in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Remove the crust from the fridge and spread the cream on top. When I made this in a square pan the second time I had about 1/3 cup too much cream. So I saved it as topping for a fruit salad.
- Next, place the sliced apricots on top as per the photo and refrigerate for a few hours. If it's well chilled it will slice really nicely.
Notes
Joyous Tip: Give your creamy filling a taste test before you remove it from the food processor. Is it sweet enough? If your apricots are ripe it will be perfect. If not, you could add a touch (1-2 tbsp) of real maple syrup or local unpasteurized honey and blend into your food processor until smooth.
You have two options with this recipe, chocolate chips or no chocolate chips?
I opted for chocolate chips because it added a little crunch. Of course you could also use raw cacao nibs.
Here's a photo of me slathering the creamy apricot spread on top of the chocolate crust. Since I made it in a square pan I did have a bit extra cream so I refrigerated it to enjoy with some fruit salad or on top of a rice cracker.
I hope you love this recipe for Raw Apricot Chocolate Tart! I brought it to a dinner party last night and my friends loved it. I will definitely be making this one again.
Have a joyous day!
Joy
Since you posted the picture on instagram I have been dying for the recipe!! I have some fresh apricots that I have wanted to bake with and this looks perfect! Couldn't be better timing as I just got my vitamix back from lending it to family. Since my apricots are a little underripe, I plan on roasting them before placing on top to amp up their flavour and will probably have to add some honey to the cashew mixture.
ReplySounds like a great idea, Danielle! Let us know how it turns out! Kate - Joyous Health Team
Thank you, Joy! Your website is now working fine on my iPad, and looks really fantastic. Thanks for replying, I know it's not necessary for me to write back once more yet I appreciate the quick response you provided. Just wanted to let you know.
ReplyJust made this for my sister's name day, I hope she will like it, going to serve it in the morning :)
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