Mini Blood Orange Tarts with Coconut Cream

I was so ready for spring produce after a fall and winter full of root veggies, apples, and citrus.  Strawberries are slowly starting to trickle into our markets here, but for some reason, there is still an abundance of blood oranges and other citrus.  Instead of buying early season, somewhat over-priced strawberries, I decided to get some blood oranges.  I'm glad I did because they inspired this delicious little dessert. 

These tarts have a few flavors and textures going on.  The crust is nutty and buttery while the coconut cream is light and sweet in constrast to the bright, tart slice of juicy blood orange.  And, in addition to the wonderful flavors and textures going on, these are gluten free, grain free, vegan, and refined sugar free!  So, enjoy these little cuties without any guilt, even if you eat 2 as your breakfast... 

Mini Blood Orange Tarts with Coconut Cream
notes: make sure your coconut milk is full fat (not lite) and chill it overnight or for at least 6 hours.  Also, I use un-bleached cupcake/muffin liners which release from the tart shells quite easily.   

2 cups almond meal/flour
pinch of fine grain sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tbsp maple syrup (or agave)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 can of full fat coconut milk, chilled
splash of maple syrup
pinch of fine grain sea salt

2 small blood oranges, peel & pith removed, sliced into about 1/4" rounds

Make the tart shells: Preheat your oven to 350F.  In a bowl, mix together the almond meal and salt.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil, syrup, and vanilla until combined.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until the dough comes together.  It should come together into a ball and stick together.  Line a standard muffin tin with 6 liners and then divide the dough evenly between each.  Using your fingers, press the dough in the liners to create your tart shells.  Bake them for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden.  Let them cool completely before using.

Make the coconut cream: Put your chilled coconut milk (it should be very thick) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (you can also do this with a hand mixer fitted with the beater attachments).  Beat the coconut milk on medium-high until it just starts to gain volume and thicken.  Stop the mixer and add the maple syrup and salt.  Start the mixer again on medium-high and beat until the coconut milk has more than doubled in volume and medium peaks form (it should be somewhere between a soft peak and a stiff peak).  Use the mixture immediately or chill until ready to use.

Assemble your mini tarts: Remove the wrappers from the tart shells.  Place a large dollop of the coconut cream in the shell, and then top with a slice or two or blood orange.  If you want to get a bit fancier, you could layer the coconut cream and slice of blood orange twice to give the dessert a bit of height.  Makes 6 mini tarts.  Enjoy!