Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart - Birthday Fun

So...it's been a little while. Sorry 'bout that. I was on the East Coast for two weeks! My sister-in-law ran the Boston Marathon and Todd and I went down to surprise her! If you don't follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram you may have been wondering what I could be possibly doing that would warrant abandoning you for two weeks. While I may not have managed to whip out a full-blown blog post, I did do a lot of posting to social media. If you don't follow Produce On Parade on social media already, you definitely should! I think of myself as highly entertaining...maybe.

Anyways, we left on my birthday! Also, the 25th was Todd and my veganniversary and Produce On Parade's one year blogiversary! That's a lot to celebrate and I can't think of a more amazing way, gastronomically speaking, than with this Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart! I've missed you all so much and I'm so excited to be back.

Here's my gift to you, a creamy coconut caramel poured into a rich, chocolate crust all topped with a luxurious dark chocolate ganache and sprinkled with flake salt. A decadent dessert sure to impress anyone, vegan or not! 

Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

Makes 1 9" Tart

• Crust:
• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 10 Tbsp. vegan butter, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 heaping cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• Caramel:
• 1 1/2 cups vegan sugar
• 3 Tbsp. light corn syrup
• 5 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. coconut extract
• 1/4 tsp. rum extract
• 6 Tbsp. vegan butter, chopped
• 1/2 cup canned full-fat coconut milk (give the can a good shake first)
• Ganache:
• 3/4 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
• 8 oz. semi-sweet vegan baking chocolate, chopped
• flake salt (to garnish)

Crust:

In a food processor, using the dough hook attachment, combine all the dough ingredients. Process, pulsing and scraping down the sides occasionally until well combined and collects on one side of the bowl. 

Press evenly into a 9" tart pan, ensuring to bring the dough all the way to the top edge of the pan. Poke with a fork several times and place in the refrigerator to cool for one hour. 

Meanwhile, place all the caramel ingredients except for the butter and coconut milk in a small bowl. No need to combine. Set aside until ready to use. 

When the tart has 10 minutes left for chilling, preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove from fridge and place pie weights or a sheet of aluminum covered with a thick layer of dried beans on top of the crust to keep it from ballooning while baking. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, then remove the weights and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven, and chill until ready to use. 

Caramel: 

Now, in a heavy bottomed soup pot add the bowl of caramel ingredients and bring to heat over medium. Continuously stir until combined, then allow to cook until it's reached 350 F and do not stir. It should boil, without stirring, until it's reached a dark amber color.

Remove from heat, and stir in the coconut milk and butter until smooth.

Pour into the chilled tart crust and place in the fridge.

Ganache: 

In a pyrex measuring cup or microwave safe bowl, heat the coconut milk for 1-2 minutes until very hot. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Pour the ganache over the caramel (careful it doesn't overflow!) and place on a level surface in the fridge to chill, at least 1-3 hours depending on if it was pre-chilled or not.

Remove once chilled and finish with a sprinkling of flake salt. Slice and serve chilled. Store in the fridge as the tart will become oozy if let out of the fridge for too long, but will stay very firm if chilled.

Freeze any leftovers for extended consumption and just place in the fridge to thaw before consuming. 

One human birthday, one blog birthday and two veganniversaries?! Let the celebrating begin! 

Oh...and Easter happened too!

We found a beer in our basket! So here's to being back!

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German Word of The Day: Birthday --> Geburtstag (pronounced: geh-boort-stag)

Good Deed of The Day: Sign this petition to stop gas chamber deaths for dogs and cats in the United States.

[yumprint-recipe id='110'] 

Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole or Burritos

I've never been a big casserole person, we never really had them growing up. I hear they're kind of a midwestern/southern type-ah thang. Casseroles just aren't big in Alaska I guess. Whenever I think of them, for some reason I think one thing...church. I have no idea why, it's not like I went to any casserole brunches at any churches. We did have one exception however; green chicken chili casserole. It was one of us kids' favorite dishes growing up and was regularly requested for birthday dinners. My dad though, hated it. He's never liked chicken.  Anyways, I thought it was about time to try my hand at a casserole. No chicken though, ick. I'll take sweet potatoes instead, doesn't that sound better? Yes. This casserole is kind of like enchiladas for the lazy cook. I've only made enchiladas a few times but I'm pretty sure they might be one of those dishes that are always better when someone else makes them, you know? Or maybe I'm just an enchilada making failure? Either way, this casserole is the way to go. 

This enchilada casserole is an easy way to bring healthy, comfort food to the table. Feel free to pour a bit of homemade or store-bought enchilada sauce over the top of the casserole. I am strictly against tortilla sogginess, plus I don't' really like enchilada sauce so I used one chipotle chili in Adobo sauce to give this casserole a bit of an enchilada flavor without having to use a salty sauce. 

Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole or Burritos

Serves 8

Notes: If you go the burrito route, they will be very juicy. Very good, but messy. I prefer to make the casserole but sometimes life calls for a burrito! Feel free to add more chipolte chilis for a spicier dish! 

• Sweet Potatoes: 
• 1 large sweet potato, scrubbed and diced
• drizzling of olive oil
• sprinkle of kosher salt
• dash of ground black pepper
• Filling:
• 1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz. can of sweet corn, drained and rinsed
• 7 oz. diced fire roasted green chilies 
• 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (optional)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella or pepper jack vegan cheese
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 vine-ripened tomato, diced (save half for topping)
• Conclusion:
• 6 large flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or pepper jack vegan cheese
• 1 avocado, diced

Preheat oven to 375 F.

On a baking sheet, scatter the sweet potatoes and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and shake to coat. Bake at 375 F for about 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. 

Meanwhile, combine the filling ingredients in a large bowl. When the potatoes are done roasting, add those to the mixture and combine. 

For the Burritos:

Transfer to a casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes. Brown a tortilla over a low flame and then fill with a portion of the sweet potato mixture along with some diced fresh tomato and avocado. Serve hot and careful, it will be juicy!

For the Casserole: 

In a large (10x14) casserole dish coated with a nonstick cooking spray, arrange two tortillas on the bottom. They should overlap and go up the sides of the dish a bit. 

Evenly distribute half the filling mixture on top. Follow with two more tortillas and then the other half of the mixture. Top with two tortillas. 

Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and scatter with 1/2 cup of vegan cheese.

Turn the oven to broil and adjust the top rack to the highest placement. Put the casserole on the top rack and broil for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Careful to ensure that the tortillas don't burn. 

Remove from the oven and top with half the diced tomato and one diced avocado.

Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, then cut into eight slices and serve hot. 

Listening to: Priscilla Ahn – Dear Sweetheart

German Word of The Day: Casserole --> Auflauf (pronounced: ouwf-laouwf) 

Good Deed of The Day: Help forgotten Romanian horses. No horse should be forced to pull excessively heavy loads while being beaten, neglected, and abused, only to end up in a slaughterhouse or starve to death. Please support this petition and help the terribly tortured horses in Romania live a better life. Sign this petition, here. 

[yumprint-recipe id='109']

Creamy Spiced Cauliflower Soup

News. I'm never eating cauliflower in any other form from now on. Nope. Only in this exact soup, as it's too good to waste cauliflower on anything else. If you've been looking for an extraordinary cauliflower soup recipe you've come to the right place. I don't mean to brag but...ohmygod. How is it that cauliflower can be shaped to taste soooo good? It's straight up magical, you guys.   

I seriously had to put this soup away as soon as it cooled, because I kept slurping it from the ladle as I passed by. That's when you know you've made a great soup. It's luxurious and silky. This coconut-creamed cauliflower soup is infused with aromatic spices like cardamom, cumin, coriander, and turmeric. So good, it's the only cauliflower soup you'll ever want to make. 

On a separate note, it's been almost a week since I've ran! Yoga has taken over my life. I downloaded Yoga Studio (has a lotus flower logo) on my phone (I'm in no way affiliated) and I am obsessed! I did yoga in a studio yesterday and then after work came home and did one on the app too. You should check it out! Also, my compass pose is improving! Hurray! 

Creamy Spiced Cauliflower Soup

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

Luxurious and silky, this coconut-creamed cauliflower soup is infused with aromatic spices like cardamom, cumin, coriander, and turmeric. So good, it's the only cauliflower soup you'll ever want to make.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive or coconut oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• ½ tsp. ground coriander
• ⅛ tsp. ground cardamom
• dash of ground black pepper
• sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 ½ cups vegetable broth
• 1 large head of cauliflower, evenly roughly chopped bite size
• 1 cup canned, full-fat coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• Dash of fresh dill (for garnish - optional)

Ingredients

1. In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-low. Saute the onions through the pepper flakes, stirring occasionally, until the onions become translucent; about 7-10 minutes. Then, add the garlic and saute another few minutes.
2. Add the broth and cauliflower and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for about 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Remove from heat and transfer carefully to a blender (or use hand blender in pot). Blend on high (allowing steam to vent) for a few minutes, until silky and smooth.
3. Transfer back to the soup pot and stir in the coconut milk and vinegar. Bring back to heat over low, ensuring it doesn't boil.
4. Remove from heat and serve hot and topped with fresh dill and ground black pepper, if you like.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Save Money!

I buy my canned coconut milk here.

It’s only $2.20 per can vs $4 per can at my local grocery store Fred Meyer!

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More Creamy Soup Recipes

Herbed Acorn Squash Bisque

Copycat Campbell's Tomato Soup

Sweet Potato & Orange Herbed Soup with Spicy Sausage

Smoky Paprika Pumpkin Soup

More Recipes With Cauliflower

Quinoa with Grilled Veggies & Ginger Nectarine Sauce

Creamy Fettuccine Miso Alfredo

Cauliflower Mac & Cheeze

Vegan Saag Tofu Paneer

I feel like it's important to note that the songs I post here are completely unrelated to my life. I just post what I'm jamming away to during that time. Just, an FYI. I don't want any, "Why's your heart broken!?" comments. It's not. No worries, my dears...it's just a catchy song. Listen and chair dance with me!

Listening to: Rixton – Me And My Broken Heart

German Word of The Day: Cauliflower --> Blumenkohl (pronounced: bloomen-coil)

Good Deed of The Day: Sign this petition to demand that China crackdown on people who buy tiger products and watch their execution, it's just awful.