While summer in Greece probably stretches a bit further than in most of Europe, our weather has also turned recently. It is still fairly warm, but really, really windy, which is the taste of impending winter, Greek island-style.
In some ways, winter here is quite tough. After the craze of summer, the place gets so empty and shut down that it would be depressing if not for the amazing nature around us. Winter (and the peak of Greek summer) also tends to sabotage my running plans. Every time I get into a steady running routine and quietly congratulate myself on sticking with it, a week of 24 m/h (40km/h) winds appear on the horizon and I’m back to square one. In other ways though, I’m looking forward to winter. For starters, cooking in relentless heat can be quite challenging so a bit of cooler weather makes it a much more pleasant pastime. Another thing I am looking forward to are cold winter evenings spent under a warm blanket with a cat sleeping next to me, catching up on favourite shows and enjoying some nice wine and food, including more decadent desserts like these vegan chocolate and salted caramel tarts. Ever since I started working on this recipe, Duncan has become a massive fan of these little tarts. Whenever, after a tasting, I decided that I am not 100% happy with the end result (be it looks, consistency or balance of flavours), he was secretly very happy that there will be a few more iterations of this dessert appearing in front of him. He is very particular when it comes to desserts. He hates typical vegan desserts (or what most people think of when they hear ‘vegan dessert’) with a passion. He says all kinds of energy balls, vegan slices and raw brownies (ahem), etc. remind him of baby food. Nice! He loves the kind of desserts that you would have hard time believing were vegan if someone hadn’t told you. He says that the world doesn’t need any more energy balls, it needs elegant and decadent desserts that just happen to be vegan. He reckons that you guys will go crazy for these!
120 g white all purpose flour a pinch of salt 6 level tsp icing sugar 6 level tsp raw cacao powder 40 ml / 2½ tbsp olive oil 20-30 ml / 1½-2 tbsp water (at room temperature)
CARAMEL SAUCE
½ cup sugar (I used brown raw cane) ½ cup full fat coconut milk + ¼ cup (see instructions) ¾ level tsp fine salt
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
100 g / 3.5 oz dark (70% cocoa) chocolate 60 ml / ¼ cup full fat coconut milk 30 ml / 2 tbsp water 2 tsp maple syrup (optional)
CARAMEL CHOCOLATE GANACHE ASSEMBLY
