My friend Amy has celiac disease and a dairy allergy. She says this tart is just perfect, and makes her feel “normal” again. She loves that she can share it with her non-food-allergic husband and kids, and that they gobble it just as voraciously. The shortbread crust is heavenly with the rich chocolate pudding.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 9 1/2-inch tart
Ingredients
Shortbread Tart Crust
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare the Shortbread Tart Crust.
Step 2
Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Add the rice milk, whisking until fully combined. Add the egg replacer, whisking until light and frothy.
Step 3
Set the saucepan over medium heat. Warm slightly, add the chocolate pieces, and cook, whisking, until it comes to a slow simmer and has thickened, about 5 minutes. If it lumps at all, just whisk more vigorously.
Step 4
Once it has thickened to a pudding consistency, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, just below a simmer (a scald), stirring with a wooden spoon, for 20 minutes, until it has thickened almost to a soft ball stage. The pudding should be dark and chocolaty, and should slowly drip off of a wooden spoon. The pudding must reach this thick rich stage or it will not set, so it’s better to err on the side of cooking a little longer than not long enough. Once really thick, remove from the heat, whisk in the vanilla, and pour into the tart crust.
Step 5
Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, 3 to 4 hours. Serve as is or with Vegan Whipped Topping (page 113). Store, covered, in the refrigerator.
Shortbread Tart Crust
Step 6
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk together the flour mix, confectioners’ sugar, xanthan gum, and salt.
Step 7
Add the shortening in tablespoon-sized pieces (be very exact about this measurement, being sure not to add any more than instructed), and mix on medium speed until you have a coarse meal, about 1 minute.
Step 8
Add the orange juice and mix until the dough begins to ball in the center, about 20 seconds.
Step 9
Turn out onto a sheet of parchment paper, form into a ball, top with another sheet of parchment paper, flatten into a disk, and roll out into a circle about 1/4 inch thick and 1 inch wider than your tart pan.
Step 10
Lightly grease a 9 1/2-inch nonstick tart pan with a removable bottom. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper, flip the crust into the pan, and press down with the palm of your hand. Gently peel off the remaining sheet of parchment paper, and finish pressing the dough into the pan, patching the sides as necessary. If the dough crumbles a bit or breaks apart, don’t worry about it, just patch it back together—it will still bake up to be a lovely crust! Trim by running a rolling pin over the top of the tart pan. Prick the crust 8 times with a fork.
Step 11
To prebake the crust, preheat the oven to 350°F and bake for 20 minutes, until set and very lightly golden. Let cool completely on a cooling rack before filling.
