Dark Chocolate Peppermint Tart

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When I was a kid and lay in bed at night, unable to sleep, I always wondered who else was awake like me.  Did they wonder the same thing, or was I alone?  Was someone across the world thinking about how I was still awake as they went about their day?

That's actually what I thought about yesterday.  It was 3am and I couldn't sleep, my mind was racing.  My dorm was quiet.  Was I the only one awake?  Was someone across the hall lying in their bed wondering the same thing?  Was I the only one restless enough to cook something?

Yes.  I know I was.

I originally saw chocolate tarts while scouring FoodGawker, and immediately clicked on every picture I saw.  Most of the tart fillings only had two ingredients: dark chocolate and heavy cream.  But, sometimes simplicity does not mean healthy, and I needed to replace the heavy cream with something.  Coconut milk popped into my head right away.  And, since I was going to use 100% cacao chocolate, I needed other add-ins to balance out the bitterness of the chocolate.

I planned on using 1 cup of light coconut milk, agave and coconut butter.  Unfortunately, I was mesmerized by how silky the coconut milk was and poured the entire can into the chocolate-melting pot.  I didn't even realize that I did this until I saw how 4oz of chocolate wasn't thickening the mixture one bit!  I quickly ran back to my room and snatched another chocolate bar  (I may or may not have an abundance of chocolate stashed around my room).  After the second chocolate bar had melted, I had a beautiful, thick and syrupy chocolate mixture.  Unfortunately, the end product was still a little too dark for me, so in the next trial I added some stevia and peppermint extract to boost the flavor, which also got my roomies even more excited for winter break just sixteen days away!!  :)

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Tart:  [no bake, GF, vegan]

(makes one 4.25"x13.75" tart)

   Shortbread Crust:

       96g (1 cup) Old Fashioned Rolled Oats, blended to a flour (GF if you like)

       48g (1+1/2 scoops) Vanilla Protein Powder

       1/8 tsp Salt

       105g (1/4 cup + 1 tbs) Brown Rice Syrup

       28g (2 tbs) Coconut Oil

       1/4 tsp Butter Extract

       1/2 tsp Hazelnut Extract (or vanilla)

       1/2 tsp Stevia Extract

   Chocolate Filling:

       1 cup - 1 tbs  Light Coconut Milk, canned
       40g (1/4 cup) Coconut Sugar (or dry sweetener of choice)
       63g (3 tbs) Agave Nectar
       5oz 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate
       42 drops Stevia Extract
       1/2 tsp Peppermint Flavor

Directions (for the crust):
1.  Mix all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
2.  Microwave the brown rice syrup and coconut oil at 20 second intervals until melted.  Add the extracts to the mixture and stir.  Pour this into the mixing bowl and fold with a rubber spatula until the mixture is even.
3.  Dust a flat surface with brown rice flour (any other flour will work), press the mixture into a ball and place onto the floured surface.  Roll the crust to your desired thickness.  Make sure to keep your pan handy to see if the crust is in the right shape (I had to rip the sides off and add it to the ends to make the crust long enough for my pan)
4.  Spray the pan lightly with PAM, dust with some more flour and carefully place the crust into the pan.  Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Directions (for the filling):
1.  Add the coconut milk, coconut sugar and agave to a pot.  Heat on medium and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
2.  Break the chocolate into small pieces, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the chocolate.  Occasionally stir with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides to prevent burning.
3.  When all is melted and a solid, smooth texture, take off the heat and quickly add the extracts.  Stir again to make sure the mixture is all even.  Take the crust out of the fridge and pour in the chocolate mixture.  Refrigerate overnight.

To serve, dust with cocoa powder or leave plain.  I would recommend freezing for 10 minutes before serving.

PS:  Do you have a favorite brand of chocolate?  I have always used Ghirardelli, but I would like to try some new kinds, plus, I'm sure you have a go-to favorite!   :)