Tart Cherry Tartelettes. A no-bake Valentines Day dessert. Vegan and Gluten Free.
There seems to be a national holiday for every type of food imaginable… I’m usually the last to know until my Instagram feed is chock full of deliciousness for National Chocolate Cake Day (January 27th), National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day (May 15th), and the one I’m most ashamed to have missed, National Taco Day (October 4th).
But this month, I’m covering all my bases because February is not only National Chocolate Lovers’ Month, it’s also National Cherry Month. To celebrate, we’ve partnered with the Cherry Marketing Institute to bring you these decadent (no-bake) chocolate tart cherry tartelettes.
These start with a cocoa walnut crust and are filled with coconut lemon cream… the cherry on top is a scoop of sweet-but-not-too-sweet Montmorency tart cherries (also sometimes called sour cherries). So that everyone can participate in the holiday, this dessert also just happens to be vegan and gluten-free.
Lets talk about tart cherries: were obsessed. Especially with the ones that come frozen. I put them in my morning smoothie, my mom tops them onto her yogurt, and Jack eats them plain like candy. Tart cherries have some major superfood qualities – they reduce inflammation and are a natural source of melatonin, which helps regulate sleep.
The cherry love doesn’t stop here – four other bloggers are participating in a virtual tart cherry-infused progressive dinner. Jelly Toast is making the cocktail, A Couple Cooks is making the appetizer, Cookin’ Canuck, the vegetable, and Love & Zest is making the entrée.
Head over to Choosecherries.com to see the Perfectly Tart Dinner Menu and all of the other recipes!
Tart Cherry Tartelettes
- 2½ cups raw walnuts
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 (14-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon lemon oil (find it in the baking aisle)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- frozen tart cherries, thawed to room temp
- In a food processor, pulse the walnuts into very fine crumbs. Add the cocoa powder, coconut oil, cane sugar, maple syrup, and sea salt and process until a dough forms. Don’t overwork it or it will be too sticky. Spray 6 mini-tart pans with cooking spray. Scoop 3 level tablespoons of crust mixture into each tart pan and press into the bottom and the sides.
- Remove the coconut milk from the fridge and carefully scoop the thick solid part off the tops into a blender or food processor. (Save the remaining coconut water for another use, i.e., tomorrow’s smoothie.) Add the maple syrup, lemon oil, and sea salt and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If it’s too thick, you can add a tiny splash of almond milk.
- Fill each tart shell with the filling and freeze for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight. The crust should be firm enough to be removed from the tart pans.
- Remove tarts from the freezer and use a knife to carefully pop them out of their pans. Let the tarts sit at room temp for about 20 minutes before serving to allow them to soften. Top with tart cherries and serve!
If you have extra filling, save it as a topping for your weekend waffles.
Very important: do not substitute more maple syrup for the cane sugar in the crust ingredients or your dough will be too sticky.
I made this gluten free by utilizing Cup4Cup as an immediate substitute for the flour in the formula. Both outside layer and filling were tasty. I inhabit a quite high height and heated the pie for 55 minutes. It presumably could’ve utilized an additional five minutes, however was VERY tasty and delighted in.
Hi Jeanine, can I substitute cashews or almonds for the walnuts? Thanks!
Oh my goodness, looking so yummy so crispy. My mouth is watering, when I saw your given recipe on your website. I already bookmarked your given page in my laptop. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Holy Wow! We like these “cherry” much! Thanks for sharing!
These are so beautiful, tempted to make these for the girls at the weekend!
I couldn’t find lemon oil in the store. Would lemon extract work instead?
yep – that should be just fine!
to be sure, start with 1/4 teaspoon and add the rest, to taste. (just in case it’s a little stronger in flavor than mine)
Thanks, I will try that!
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Such adorable little tarts! Love the chocolate walnut crust, sounds like the perfect accompaniment to cherry flavors 🙂
good job
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These Tartelettes look fabulous! I always loved progressive dinners and think I may try to get my friends to pick a recipe to make. How fun would that be?! Especially with cherries to reduce inflammation and help me get a good night sleep with that melatonin. So glad I found your blog!
This i so cute! Definetly trying out this Valentine’s! Thanks so sharing
Rabecca I http://www.midnightburnout.com/
With so many health benefits how can we deny ourselves from this recipe! Delish!
Oh my god, this crust looks amazing. Sometimes I get so excited about tartelettes but then the recipe is overly complicated. This recipe is perfect and I love all the elements. Cherries are in my top three favorite fruits so I love this cherry-themed collaboration. 🙂
Those looks extremely delicious. I’m not a big fan of cherries actually (I know, I’m like the only one on the planet) but I can change my mind for those tartelettes 😉
Ha, you should give them a try – I actually don’t love regular cherries in desserts (and I especially hate maraschino cherries), but tart cherries are so delicious!
Beautiful! What size are your tart pans?
thanks! the base is 3″ diameter
So pretty! You always have the most beautiful photos.
These are simply sweet, Jeanine! Perfect for Valentines Day
Do you know how much coconut cream remains in the can after the liquid is poured off? I found 14 oz cans of extra thick and rich coconut cream at Trader Joe’s. I just need to measure the amount of cream I need for your recipe, rather than pour off liquid, but I do not know how much that is. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Sally, 1 can of coconut cream should be plenty – I’d say the coconut solids in my 2 cans filled up about half the can (and I had a little extra filling in the end).
Tart cherries paired with a sweet cream is such a great idea!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
These look absolutely delicious, but I often have trouble tracking down tart cherries (aside from dried cherries). Do you have any recommendations for sourcing? For this recipe, did you use thawed frozen cherries or jarred?
I used thawed frozen cherries – I’ve seen them in grocery stores in the frozen fruit section (usually called sour cherries). Where I live (in Austin), I get them from a store called Wheatsville Coop.
Thanks, Jeanine! I’ll keep my eyes out for them :).