Raspberry Chocolate Tart with Coconut Crust
Summer vacations and celebrations sometimes call for decadence.
It’s been two solid weeks of decadence around here.
Today concludes my (family reunion slash) eating tour of the Midwest: this afternoon Paula and I will fly back to California after spending two weeks doing all of the eating we possibly could in Madison and Chicago.
My personal highlights include all the food at my family’s summer solstice party, not to mention going out for Nepali, Middle Eastern, East African, and Korean food in Madison; deep dish pizza, Costa Rican, and Ethiopian food in Chicago; and, you know, lots of beer, cheese curds, and ice cream.
For those who know Madison, never fear: I made sure to take Paula to the Union Terrace for Babcock Ice Cream (orange custard chocolate chip!) and to Michael’s Frozen Custard—which I’m willing to bet for some people is just about synonymous with Madison (we went three times!).
I also somehow found time to bake this raspberry tart for my mom and step-dad.
My mom can’t enjoy many rich (i.e., restaurant) foods right now because of all the remission maintenance drug (aka chemo) side effects, but I wanted her to be able to partake in just a little of the decadence herself.
I’d packed my 9½-inch tart pan in my carry-on hiking backpack (which has accompanied me to five continents, but has never been used for actual hiking), expecting to make a version of this tart for the solstice party, but the weather was too hot and the oven too in demand, so my baking project got relegated to the second week of my visit.
I think that was for the best, though, since that way my mom (and I) got to enjoy more of the tart.
The recipe is adapted from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert
(Because why not pile on the decadence while you’re at it? That must have been my guiding philosophy, anyway, when I decided to melt a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips together with several pats of butter and a spoonful of triple sec. Although, in my defense, I decreased the sugar in the coconut crust.)
A lovely gooey chocolate layer emerged to balance out the tartness of the fresh raspberries. Yet another recipe success story that I owe to Paula!
I had no bittersweet chocolate in the house at the time, but I’m sure you could substitute bittersweet or dark chocolate, with a tweak here or there, to an equally nice effect.
Alice Medrich suggests dusting the tart with powdered sugar, or serving it with vanilla ice cream on the side… I skipped the chocolate layer for my parents, but we made up for that by pairing it with nothing less than vanilla custard from Michael’s Frozen Custard; it made for a lovely celebration of summer.
p.s. Many of you may have noticed the demise of Google Reader, as of July 1st. Last week, I must have been too busy enjoying my eating tour—and not on top of things enough—to remind you about exporting your RSS feeds into Bloglovin’ or Feedly, but they both seem like excellent Google Reader substitutes, with very nice visual interfaces (despite needing some getting used to…). I encourage you to follow Spontaneous Tomato through Feedly or Bloglovin’ if you prefer an RSS reader to e-mail updates (or sign up for e-mail updates to the right, for a new recipe every Thursday!).
Print this recipe. (PDF)
RECIPE:
Raspberry Chocolate Tart with Coconut Crust
(Adapted from Really Raspberry Coconut Tart in Pure Dessert
(Serves 8-10)
Ingredients for the Crust:
~ ⅔ cup unsweetened finely shredded dried coconut (start with just over a cup if chopping it more finely yourself in a food processor)
~ ¼ cup sugar
~ 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter, melted and still warm
~ 1 tsp. vanilla extract
~ ¼ tsp. salt
~ 1 cup all-purpose flour
For the Chocolate Filling:
~ ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
~ 2 Tbsp. butter, chopped up
~ 1 Tbsp. triple sec or cointreau
For the Raspberry Filling:
~ 12 oz. fresh raspberries (set aside for the topping at the end)
~ 12 oz. frozen raspberries (or use fresh for these as well)
~ 2 Tbsp. sugar
~ 1 Tbsp. flour
~ powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Special equipment needed:
~ a 9½-inch tart pan with removable bottom
~ square of tin foil
How to make it:
1. Place a heavy baking sheet in the lower third of the oven and pre-heat to 425 degrees. Place a medium bowl near the stove, and toast the coconut in a large, heavy skillet (over medium heat until it starts to change color, then over much lower heat) for 4-6 minutes, stirring it the entire time so that it doesn’t burn. Transfer toasted coconut to the medium bowl.
2. Add the sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and salt to the coconut and mix well. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Turn out dough into tart pan and press it evenly around the sides, into the corners, and across the bottom. Place tart pan on a square of tin foil and fold the foil loosely around the edge of the crust to protect it from browning too much during the first part of baking. Place the foil-protected tart pan with crust onto the baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl (the same one if you like, or a clean one), combine the frozen raspberries, with the 2 Tbsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. flour, and gently mix, then set aside.
4. Make the chocolate filling: in a small, heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate, butter, and triple sec over medium-low heat, stirring continuously. (This should only take 3-4 minutes.) Remove the tart crust from the oven– by taking out the entire baking sheet– and prick down any raised parts of the crust with a fork. Then evenly spread out the chocolate filling across the bottom of the crust. Next, gently layer the frozen raspberries onto the chocolate, spreading them evenly without moving the chocolate around too much. Return to the oven– with the tin foil still protecting the crust edges– for another 10 minutes.
5. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and use tongs to completely unfold the tin foil (you can also use them to spread out the raspberries a little more evenly if necessary). Bake for another 25-30 minutes. Remove tart and place fresh raspberries upside-down and close together, pressing them gently into the hot berries. Let cool completely on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar to serve. Enjoy on the first day or store, covered, in the fridge.
Print this recipe! (PDF)
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Trackbacks
- July 2013: A Review | Once in a Blue Spoon
- Cinnamon Coffee Ice Cream | spontaneous tomato
- Blueberry Lemon Tart with a Coconut Crust ( gluten-free and vegan) | Big Sis Little Dish
- Raspberry Blood Orange Bars | spontaneous tomato
- Passionfruit Cream Pie in a Coconut Crust (gluten-free and vegan) | Big Sis Little Dish
spontaneous tomato 
Oh my, this looks delicious! What a wonderful dessert to bring to a summer potluck. Celeste :)
Thanks, Celeste! It would be perfect potluck food, although I’d think it would disappear all too quickly… :)
I wish raspberry would have been so easy to find here :( …. this looks so stunning…
Thanks, the raspberries do make the top look really pretty, but even if you can’t find fresh raspberries, you could still make the layer with frozen raspberries, and then put some other kind of fresh fruit or berries on top! (Blueberries, peaches, mangoes, whatever…)
thank you! :)
Your tart is gorgeous and I can tell it was out of this world. I think it was great you packed your tart pan with you! Awesome. And you placed each and every raspberry so perfectly on top. Beautiful! :)
Thank you! :) Yep, I only used the tart pan that one time while in Wisconsin, but I’m really glad I packed it. Totally worth it! (Unlike the two pairs of yoga clothes I packed, which I didn’t use once! Haha.)
buenisimo !!! me ha encantado,un saludo!
Gracias por su comentario. :)
Amazing looking thing. I love wheat free desserts.
Thanks! The crust is not actually wheat-free, since I also used flour along with the toasted coconut, but you could try substituting a gluten-free flour mix that works well for baking…
Even with the flour mixed in, the crust still has a lovely coconut flavor, but I’d definitely like to experiment with using coconut flour, for a totally gluten-free crust, sometime too!
I’ll definitely try this out because it looks so yummy <3
Glad to hear it! :)
Oooooooooooh this looks so good! Awesome flavours
Thanks! I know; I can’t believe I was ever skeptical of raspberry and coconut together, because I thought *that* might be too decadent, but then I went ahead and added a third amazing flavor of gooey chocolate, and it was even better. :)
This tart looks utterly incredible, what a flavoursome dessert :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks, Uru! It seems like this recipe would be right up your alley. :)
yumm looks amazing! I will have to try make this soon :)
Great; I hope you like it! :)
looks so wonderful!!!
Thanks, Jessie! ^^
This looks beautifully decadent, not to mention elegant. What a great date night dessert.
Yes, it would be a great date night dessert! It’s even more elegant looking if you actually let it cool completely before slicing (which– you can tell– I was not patient enough to do for these photos… haha).
This looks both pretty and delicious! I wish it was berry season in oz!
Thanks! I know, berry season is the best! Hope you can make it till then… :) You could always make the tart with frozen raspberries for the filling, but some other seasonal fruit on top!
Coconut crust?!?! Yes, please! I have some strawberries in my fridge that would probably be a perfect replacement for those raspberries…
Yes, I’m sure strawberries would be great with this, too!
Love this combination! Between chocolate, coconut and raspberries, any two would be divine, but all three? OUTRAGEOUS.
Outrageous is a good word for it. :)
As if you needed another comment telling you how lovely this looks … but this looks lovely ;)
No such thing as too many comments like this one, don’t worry. :)
Oh my goodness!! How gorgeous! I can’t wait to make one. If you omit the little bit of flour and substitute for corn starch, it would be gluten free. My celiac disease ridden friend will be overjoyed when I make him this! Thank you!
Thank you! :) Just wanted to point out that the crust still calls for a cup of flour (even though I’m sure you’re right that corn starch would work well instead of flour mixed in with the raspberries), so it might be slightly trickier to make totally gluten free, but still possible, I’m sure! Let me know if you adapt it; I hope you & your friend enjoy it!
super pretty!
Ooooh! That coconut crust is speaking to me. I will have to try out a gluten-free variation!
Yes, please do and let me know how you end up de-gluten-izing the crust! (Especially because—according to several other comments—there seems to be quite a bit of excitement/potential for a totally gluten-free toasted coconut crust… yum.)
I did it! It turned out to be gluten-free and vegan because coconut oil worked better than butter with the gluten free flours. I used it for a blueberry tart. Here’s the link!
http://bigsislittledish.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/blueberry-lemon-tart-with-a-coconut-crust-gluten-free-and-vegan/
Thanks for the inspiration!
Yay! Amazing!! Thanks so much for remembering to stop back with a link and an update. :)
Now I want to try making your version, too! (And not just when friends who eat vegan/gluten-free come to dinner; I actually have a ton of coconut oil that I won in a giveaway that I need to make good use of…)
Girl, you are speaking my language! (No, not English, I mean my native tongue, Obscenely Delicious Dessertish.) I am so into this tart. And actually, someone just asked me if I had any great recipes for using a lot of berries on my site (to which the answer is sadly no) so I pointed her to this recipe instead!
Wow, thank you! I will make sure to re-pay the favor someday and point some of my readers to your blog, especially if anyone needs a native speaker/translator of Obscenely Delicious Dessertish, because experts like you are probably hard to find!
Chocolate and raspberry are always a perfect combination, this recipe looks super delicious!
Thanks! I know, I was skeptical about raspberry and coconut, but I was 100% sure about chocolate and raspberry (and chocolate and coconut). :)
What a beautiful tart!! Chocolate, coconut and raspberries??? Yes please!! :) :) Love love love it!
xox Amy
Thanks, Amy!
Just gorgeous, Allison! I wish I had a slice now =) Thanks so much for sharing, as always, lovely! xo!
Thanks, Christina! I wish I could mail you a slice. :)
Hi Allison! I’m in Japan right now and oh my fruits are super expensive! I look at your ABUNDANT raspberries and started to drool… They are impossible to find (saw blueberries but cost twice) and I wish I have a piece of this gorgeous and delicious tart right now… :)
Hi Nami, oh man I know how expensive fruit in Japan can be, but I’m still jealous that you’re there right now! (Despite the 蒸し暑い weather!)
Actually, the first time I made this tart, I was so impressed with how fancy the fresh raspberry topping looked (thanks to Alice Medrich’s cookbook) that it really reminded me of some of the fruit tarts I’d seen & eaten in Japan at a cafe/bakery called Qu’il Fait Bon. Do you know that shop? There are a few locations in the Tokyo/Yokohama area, but fewer in other parts of Honshu… Anyway, you should try to go if you get a chance!
http://www.quil-fait-bon.com/
Some of the whole fruit tarts cost over 一万円 (!!!) but if you just get a slice or two to sample, it’s more affordable. :)
I’d sub in almond flour to be gluten free but can you imagine adding almond? I think it’d be a win! This looks DIVINE. Great job!
Ashley, yes, I think the flavor of almond flour would be lovely, even with all the other flavors this tart has going on already! :) I’m not sure it’d work one-for-one to substitute almond flour for AP flour (almond flour has sometimes made tart crusts or cookies more moist and fragile than I want them to be…) but with a little tweaking I’m sure it’s possible. Let me know if you figure something out with that, since I’d love to be able to bake a gluten-free variation! Thanks! :)
Gorgeous, gorgeous recipe! I love the almond crust and it’ll be great for a lot of other tarts too. Those raspberries are beautiful and I can’t wait to pick them from my backyard soon! Loving your pictures too!
Oo, you have raspberries in your backyard! That’s so awesome. My childhood house’s backyard was almost entirely raspberry bushes (plus a cheap swing set), with very little grassy yard to spare. I used to love to go out there during the two mini raspberry seasons (July and then again in Sept. I think) and pick baskets of raspberries that I’d then dump onto my bowl of cereal. I preferred a very high raspberry-to-cereal ratio. Those were the days. :)
ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!!!!!! *drools on computer* :D
I know; I have trouble looking back at this post without wanting to make it again… immediately.
Coconut, chocolate and raspberries – woah! Clearly delicious, and looks beautiful too.
Thanks! The presentation is straight out of Alice Medrich’s cookbook, but I definitely fell in love with it, especially the hidden chocolate version. :)
Since you brought up feed readers, and since that’s how I follow your delectable blog, I thought I would mention the less-known InoReader [http://www.inoreader.com/] because it’s the most comfortable fit and the least-unlike-GReader replacement that I have found so far.
Thanks; I’ll check it out! :)
I am now going to go make a shopping list for tomorrow so I can make this tart ASAP. Coconut with chocolate and raspberries…I have to say…this is basically all my favorites in one spot! Thanks for posting this recipe! Yummy, yummy.
Yay; I’m so glad to hear it! Sorry for my super delayed response… I hope you got to try out the recipe already and that you enjoyed the tart!? :)
Oh no problem :)
Yes I have tried it out, I really loved it!
Wonderful! This comment made my day. :)
This is all I want in my life right now. YUM!
Not a bad life aspiration. Not bad at all… :)
Literally the most PERFECT way to use up by newly picked raspberries straight from the farm! Coconut, chocolate, and fruit – the only thing that could make this ingenious combination better would be a little bit of coffee on the side :)
Yes! I like the way you think! And I know; this really is a great way to use fresh-picked raspberries, since the whole top layer of the tart is just plain, fresh, unadulterated raspberries, which of course go so well just as they are with coconut & chocolate (& coffee). :)
this is gorgeous Allision!
Thank you!