It’s Midsummer soon, and we’re celebrating the beautiful white nights of Finnish summer in our summer cottage. 10 years ago Midsummer celebrations would’ve meant a BIG summer PARTY! Now it’s a time of relaxation: sauna, swimming, good food, lovely company, more good food. So these past two weeks I’ve been feeling all sorts of magical pre-Midsummer vibes, and in foodie terms these vibes have translated into cute vegan and gluten-free Strawberry tarts with tahini caramel. This is a super simple treat, which you can easily make in 30 minutes. So let’s get those summer vibes rolling shall we?
Tahini caramel obsession
If you’ve visited my blog before, you’ve probably noticed I have a crush on TAHINI CARAMEL. I simply can’t get enough of the unique flavor, it is unlike any other caramel I’ve tasted. If you don’t like tahini (but wait – how could that be?!), you can sub with nut butter of any kind.
This recipe is a variation of my two other pie / tart recipes – Creamy Citrus Pie with Tahini Caramel and the first ever recipe on the blog my Blueberry Pie with Whipped Coconut Cream. This time the crust has more texture (thank you rolled oats!) and the whipped coconut cream has a citrus tone. Heavenly with tahini caramel and strawberries 🙂
Summer baking with berries
What I really love about recipe creating is that it’s an endless creative process. I could continue creating variations of these mini tarts / pies every week, and in fact I have one or two more similar recipes coming up later this summer (just waiting for the fresh bluebs to pop up).
So for the weekend we’re packing heaps of fresh delicious summer foods to go, these strawberry tarts are all tucked in nicely in our cooler bags. We’re heading to our beautiful lakeside cottage where we are welcomed by happy people and an army of mosquitoes. Oh the joys of Finnish summer 🙂
ps If you would like a more traditional strawberry treat, why not try this yummy Strawberry puree layer cake with a lovely fluffy sponge cake and amazingly flavorful puree.
- Tart crust
- ½ cup gluten-free rolled oats
- ¼ cup white rice flour
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt (Himalayan or other good quality)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil (room temperature, scoopable) + ¼ tsp coconut oil for greasing tart pans
- 3 tbsp cold water
- Whipped coconut cream
- 1 can of chilled coconut milk (use only the creamy part ~1/2 cup, and save 2 tbsp for tahini caramel)
- ½ tsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp-1 tsp lemon juice (depending on how sweet/lemony you want the cream)
- ⅛ tsp vanilla bean powder
- Tahini caramel
- 6 pitted fresh dates
- 2 tbsp coconut cream
- 1 tbsp tahini (I use a slightly salted version)
- ⅛ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- pinch of salt if tahini is unsalted
- Toppings:
- Fresh strawberries (as much as you like!)
- Preparations: Put a coconut milk can in the fridge overnight.
- Tart crust: Preheat oven to 360F / 180 C.
- Pulse rolled oats a few times in a food processor to get a coarse flour.
- Combine well together all dry ingredients: rolled oats, flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- Add coconut oil and mix well with a spoon first and then by hand to make a crumble.
- Add cold water 1 tbsp at a time to get the right consistency: the dough should be soft and moist.
- Grease tart pans with coconut oil. I used 4 mini tart pans (ø ~4 inches / 10 cm)
- Divide the dough roughly into 4 pieces and press each dough piece into the tart pan.
- Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Chill the tarts for a while (at least 15 min) before putting on the fillings.
- Whipped coconut cream: Scoop the creamy coconut milk out of the can. Set 2 tbsp aside to use for the tahini caramel and whisk the rest up with a hand mixer (add sweetener, lemon juice and vanilla). I usually have about ½ cup of cream to whisk into whipped cream. Adjust the amount of sweetener and lemon juice to taste.
- Tahini caramel: Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add liquid (e.g.plant-based milk or water) if needed.
- Making the tart: Fill the tarts with tahini caramel and whipped coconut cream. Add as many strawberries on top (chopped or whole) as you wish and ENJOY this summer treat!
Did you know Myberryforest is also on Pinterest? Come join me for delicious vegan food and beautiful food photography!
These tarts look amazing, Tiina! I can’t get enough of strawberries these days, and the combination of strawberries and tahini caramel sounds terrific. Your photos are also as stunning as ever. I think I’m just speaking in superlatives, but it’s true. You got me amazed!
xx Lynn
Thank you so much Lynn!! I really can’t get enough of strawberries (nor cherries) either. It’s like I’m addicted. Not a bad addiction, I think 🙂 And strawberries are just simply so photogenic. It’s quite impossible to take a bad strawberry pic 🙂 Lots of love <3
I am in love with these photos! That gorgeous blue shade of wooden background + super-sweet shade of red berries + bright coconut white looks so beautiful altogether. Berries, berries, berries everywhere! And the caramel goodness I know to be lurking underneath it all makes me love them all the more. As you know, I’m not the biggest tahini fan on it’s own, but with dates and coconut and cinnamon–I can’t think of a better rich creamy filling to offset all this fresh summer fruity-ness 🙂 A midsummer celebration, that sounds like a lot of fun! I need to start that tradition in my family. We already have the mosquito part down lol. Some relaxation, good company, and Strawberry Tarts would make it much more fun! Have a lovely weekend Tiina <33
Hello beautiful! Thank you for joining my summer (berry) vibes 🙂 We had a lot of fun at the summer house last weekend, but boy was I glad to come home too. Missing my kitchen & gadgets – you know how it is! And I have so many mosquitoe bites it’s making me crazy..not so lol..heh. Hope you’ve had a lovely weekend so far – more berries than mosquitoes 🙂 <3
These tarts!! Tiina, so lovely with all your imagery!. I so will try, and I adore your blog. Take care!
Hi Dee 🙂 Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for such kind words!! These are the perfect little summer berry treats 🙂 Hope all is well and you’re enjoying the weekend! <3
Thank you Tiina! I am! I even went to a kitchen store and tried to find your silicon tarts but to no avail. Also I got a billion mosquito bites too! I read what you wrote to Natalie, but I guess that summer! Take care!
Oh no!! Mosquitoes are everywhere I guess ..grr. Not a huge fan 🙂 Hey totally forgot to write to you – these are actually ceramic tart pans! They’re the perfect size. I hardly ever make large tarts any more, just these tiny ones – one for each member of the family 🙂 Wishing you a lovely week <3