Today we went to a raw food picnic. It was so exciting & everyone we met was super-friendly, happy, positive & interesting. There were also two other people who had been to Burning Man, which was funny to say the least!

We decided to make something tasty to take along, & I settled on this recipe from Carol Alt‘s book The Raw 50. While it was frustrating to get 4 cups of coconut meat, the tarts were really delicious & were quickly eaten up. (That’s why there’s only four left in the photo!)

If you want to make it yourself, it’s very easy & doesn’t require a dehydrator or any crazy equipment — just a blender & some fridge space. Ours don’t look mind-blowing or anything, but I think we did pretty well for raw amateurs!

The recipe makes 12 to 14 3-inch tarts, & we have none left!

Tart crust
4 cups whole raw almonds
1/4 cup raw agave nectar (we used honey)
1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed to room temperature
1/4 teaspoon fine Himalayan salt

Vanilla cream
4 cups fresh coconut meat
1/2 cup light raw agave nectar (again, we used honey)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
1/2 teaspoon fine Himalayan salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed until liquid

Strawberries
1 quart strawberries
1/4 cup raw agave nectar

How to do it!
To make the crust, grind the almonds in a food processor or blender until fine, but stop before they become too oily. We chopped ours pretty small on a board & then put them in the blender. Transfer the ground nuts to a bowl & add the nectar, coconut oil & salt.
Line little tart pans or a muffin tray (what I did) with tinfoil. Tuck it into the holes, & leave it loose off the sides so that you can pull it out again easily later on.
Put a couple of tablespoons of dough into each pan, & press it down so that forms a crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
Combine all the vanilla cream ingredients (except the coconut oil) in a blender & whizz it until it’s smooth. Add the coconut oil in & continue blending until it’s all mixed well. Chill in the fridge for an hour.
To make the tarts, fill the crusts with a couple of tablespoons of the coconut cream. Slice strawberries & lay them out nicely on the top of each tart. Drizzle with agave nectar, chill for a while, then eat!

Yum!