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This creamy vegan coconut custard tart has an easy-to-make crust and a topping featuring the four symbolic types of fruits in Tu Bishvat seders and observances. The holiday, also known as the new year of the trees, has become an environmental celebration as well. It starts at sundown Feb. 12 and ends the evening of Feb. 13.
When making your own tart, you can substitute your favorite fruits to represent the four symbolic types, shown below.
1. The first fruit eaten during the seder is hard on the outside and soft on the inside, such as coconut, almonds, walnuts, pistachios and citrus fruits with inedible peels.
2. The second fruit is soft with a pit in the center, such as dates, apricots and peaches.
3. The third fruit is soft throughout and completely edible, such as berries, figs, seedless grapes and raisins.
4. The fourth fruit has a tough exterior and a sweet interior, such as bananas, mangoes, and sabras (cactus pears).
Coconut Custard Tart with Tu Bishvat Fruits
Serves 6-8
- 1 tart crust (recipe below), baked and cooled
- 1 Tbs. date syrup (silan) or agave
- 1 recipe Vegan Coconut Custard, chilled (recipe below)
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds or raisins
- 1 cup tangerine or orange segments
- 1 cup pitted, dried dates halved lengthwise, or peach or apricot slices
- 1 cup blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or sliced fresh or dried figs
- 1 cup banana slices (tossed in lemon juice to prevent browning) or mango slices
Coconut Crust Tart Shell: In a food processor bowl, combine 1 cup flour, ¼ cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut, ⅛ tsp. salt, 1 stick (4 oz.) chilled vegan butter or parve margarine cut into small pieces, 2 Tbs. sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Process until a shaggy dough ball develops. Scoop up the dough, roll into a uniform ball and flatten. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Press pieces of dough evenly on bottom and up sides of an ungreased 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Pierce bottom and sides of crust all over with fork. Place pan on baking sheet and bake for about 16-18 minutes until light brown. Cool in tart pan on rack.
Vegan Coconut Custard: In a saucepan, add 1 can (13.5 oz.) coconut milk, 6 Tbs. sugar, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, 2 Tbs. stick vegan butter or margarine, ¼ tsp. crumbled saffron threads (optional, for color) and ⅛ tsp. salt. Stir over medium-low heat until simmering. In a small bowl, mix 3 Tbs. cornstarch with 3 Tbs. water until dissolved. Whisk into liquid until it becomes glossy and begins to thicken (about 1-2 minutes, do not overmix). Pour into a medium bowl. Stir in ⅓ cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut. Place plastic wrap directly on top of custard. Chill 4-6 hours until thick and cold.
To prepare tart: Brush the bottom of the cooled crust (still in pan) with date syrup. Whisk chilled custard to soften. Fill tart. Using pomegranate seeds to draw lines, divide the top of the tart into four rectangular or wedge-shaped sections. Top one section with tangerines, another with dates, a third with berries and the fourth with bananas. Remove tart pan outer ring. Serve immediately.
Notes: Bake shell up to 2 days ahead. Store at room temperature. Make custard up to 5 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If desired, substitute any 9-inch store-bought or homemade pie crust for the coconut crust tart shell. Use solid, stick vegan butter or margarine, not tub or soft style. Custard recipe adapted from “The Vegan Pantry” by Miyoko Schinner.