Chocolate Prune Tart

 Soft, sticky prunes have a tangy yet deep flavour. Married with chocolate they perfectly contrast the sweet and bitter notes of cacao. With a hint of nutmeg it adds a spicy earthiness  and you find yourself tasting something quite different. Familiar chocolate flavours glide over your tongue and the soft mousse-like textures dissolves in your mouth but
with a depth of flavour that is quite unusual but pleasantly so.

I find this a sophisticated change from a classic chocolate avocado pie. A lovely raw cake to add to your repertoire.

Dietry wise, one cup of prunes has 418 calories, 3.8 g of protein, .6 g of total fat and 111 g of total carbohydrates. Prunes have inherited their reputation rightly as a laxative because a 1-cup serving has 12 g of dietary fibber. Based on the Institute of Medicine recommendations, this means that a 1-cup serving of prunes provides 32 percent of the fiber that men need daily and 48 percent of the amount that women require.
Prunes are a great source of vitamins K and A, niacin, riboflavin and vitamin B-6. One cup contains 103 micrograms of vitamin K and 1,359 IU of vitamin A, an important antioxidant. One cup of prunes also provides .32 mg of riboflavin, 3.3 mg of niacin and .35 mg of vitamin B-6.
Prunes give you a good dose of the bone-building minerals calcium and phosphorus, providing 75 mg of calcium and 120 mg of phosphorus in a 1-cup serving. This serving also gives you 1.6 mg of iron and 1,274 mg of potassium, which is essential for muscle function and to keep your heart beating. Prunes are also a good source of several essential trace minerals. A 1-cup serving contains .77 mg of zinc, .49 mg of copper and .52 mg of manganese.

So this little chocolate prune tart is not bad for you, is it! Sneaking in as many good nutrients into every morsel is the way to go!


Base:
1 1/2 cups cashews
1 cup brazil nuts
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs coconut butter or coconut oil
4 soaked apricots
1/2 tsp good salt

Process the nuts in a food processor until they resemble a fine meal.
Add remaining ingredients and whiz until they have all combines, approximately 10-15 seconds. You want the base to be light and crumbly in texture so be careful not to over process!

Pour base into a pie tin and begin by pressing the mixture into the edges (see photo below), and start to form a rim for the pie case first.

                               Pressing the mixture to the edges first


Then gently spread the remaining mix evenly over the base of the tray and press down to form the base and make 3/4cm neat pie rim so the filling can sit within defined edges. Make sure it is even and firmed pressed down (see 2nd photo below). 

                          Press centre of the base down and neaten up pie case - note 3/4 cm pie rim

 
Chill the pie case in the fridge while you make the filling.


                             
Filling:
80gm cacao butter, shaved
300gm prunes, pitted
1/2 cup maple or raw agave syrup
3/4 cup raw cacao powder
2 medium avocado's
1/2 whole nutmeg, grated (or 1 tsp ground nutmeg)
1 tsp salt
1 tbs vanilla paste

Melt the cacao butter in a bowl, sitting over a bowl of boiling water and place aside to melt.

Put the prunes and avocado's into the food processor and blend until smooth.
Add the remaining ingredients and process until the filling is well blended and silky.

Taste and flavour correct, add extra sweetness or cacao powder to counter any taste of the avocado (they vary in flavour, texture & amount of avocado flesh)

Spoon into the pie case and smooth out to the edges but not over the pie rim.

Garnish edges with almond flakes or coconut flakes.

Chill for 3-4 hours or best to chill over-night!

Serve with a warm chai or dandyline coffee. Yum!