Vegan Blueberry Tart

Earlier this week I asked Shana to go to the store to pick up an ingredient we'd forgotten for that night's dinner. While she was there, I called and asked if she would bring home some blueberries (I planned to make some overnight oats). Shortly thereafter, Shana walks into the kitchen carrying a giant 5 pound box of blueberries! Since 5 pounds was just a bit more than I'd been anticipating. I had to figure out how to use all of those blueberries.

As I thought, I kept popping blueberries into my mouth. As ideas began to form, I looked down, certain I'd eaten at least a pound of them already. HA - not even close. Here's what I've done so far. We gave some to our neighbors. We ate some. I made a blueberry buckle. Then I decided I wanted to make a tart. I've never made a tart before, so I was nervous. However, I invited some friends over and the seven of us polished it off. It was delicious!

This recipe wasn't particularly hard, but it has multiple steps and is a production. You need to plan ahead, as many of the steps take multiple hours (or overnight). But don't let the steps and planning deter you! The result was awesome. My friends literally licked their plates clean!

Vegan Blueberry Tart
This recipe is slightly tweaked from the one as found on about.com.

Ingredients
Dough
2 c. all purpose flour
2 T. almond meal (see Helpful Hints)
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. vegan butter
3 T. ice water
1 T. cold soymilk
1 T. cold maple syrup

Custard
9 ounces silken tofu
4 ounces vegan cream cheese
1/3 c. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt

Fruit
4 c. blueberries
3/4 c. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
3 T. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions
Dough
1. Put flour, almond meal, and salt into a food processor and process until combined.
2. Add vegan butter, cut into chunks, then process until it looks like sand.
3. Combine the ice water, soymilk, and maple syrup, then slowly add to the food processor while it is running.
4. When the dough is just holding together, stop the food processor. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
5. The next morning, preheat oven to 400 and leave the dough out at room temp until easy to roll. Roll on a floured surface until about 1/4 of an inch thick. Place in tart or pie pan, removing excess dough.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

Custard
1. In a blender, combine all custard ingredients and blend until perfectly smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of your blender once or twice.
2. Spread custard into cool crust and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Fruit
1. Put the berries, sugar, and salt into a medium/large pan.
2. Combine the cornstarch and lemon juice, whisking or shaking in a jar to combine.
3. Pour the cornstarch/lemon juice over the berries and cook over medium heat until the berries are starting to dissolve and there is a nice syrupy consistency.
4. Let cool then pour over the custard. Chill another 2 hours until set.

Helpful Hints

• I liked the inclusion of the almond meal in this crust. I simply ground some sliced/blanched almonds until they were sandy and used those. You can also buy almond meal at some stores. Alternatively, use any pastry crust you like. 
• The original recipe called for only silken tofu in the custard. I liked the inclusion of the vegan cream cheese, but you do not need to use that if you can't find it. Instead, use a 12.3 oz. container of silken tofu. 
• My blueberries were on the tart side. If your blueberries are very sweet, you can probably cut down on the sugar in the fruit topping. Maybe 1/2-2/3 c. would work. 
• I borrowed a tart pan from some friends (and gave them my buckle recipe in exchange). You can just as easily make this in a pie pan. The scalloped edges were fun, but not necessary. 
• I bet you could make this with other fruits, too! Try various fruits or mixes of fruits and see what you like.

The post "Vegan Blueberry Tart" first appeared on Maggie's LesVegan Kitchen.