Raw Strawberry Banana Cream Tarts- Gluten-Free, Vegan Dessert

Raw Strawberry Banana Cream Tarts 

This article was written by our contributor Toronto-based Vegan chef Mariah Craig of Murr's Menu.

This past weekend was a long weekend in Canada, which I spent in Saint Sauveur with my family. Before leaving, my mom had asked me to make a bunch of goodies to bring up for the weekend for the family to enjoy. I used it as an opportunity to get creative and introduce some new things to everyone, which resulted in a ton of awesome new recipes for raw treats, including these raw strawberry cream tarts.
I applied my knowledge from learning how to create raw cheesecakes to create this new recipe. I always make a raw chocolate crust when making raw tarts, so this time I wanted to change it up. These cream tarts paired with a raw 'shortbread' crust is a match made in heaven! This is definitely a new favourite of mine. It calls for very little ingredients, and is so easy to put together. Oh, how I love raw cooking.

Ingredients:

(Serves 6)

*'Shortbread' Crust:

1 C raw unsalted walnuts

1 C shredded unsweetened coconut

6 pitted medjool dates

dash of salt

Banana Cream Filling:

1/4 C raw unsalted cashews

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 banana peeled (fresh or frozen)

Topping:

Fresh sliced strawberries

6 silicone muffin cups

*If you'd prefer a chocolate crust with this recipe, follow my recipe for a raw chocolate crust here!

Directions:

1. Blend the walnuts, coconut and salt in a food processor until almost fine. Add in dates and combine until everything is sticking together.

2. Fill your muffin cups with the crust, spreading it out evenly by pushing it around with your fingers.

3. Place muffin cups in freezer.

4. Blend the filling ingredients together in food processor.

5. Fill your muffin cups with the filling, and place back in freezer.

When ready to serve, remove from freezer and top with some sliced strawberries and you're good to go! If you want to have everything ready to go (already topped with strawberries), you can prepare the tarts and store them in the fridge. They're still really good this way and will hold, I just prefer the texture coming out of the freezer. 

Enjoy!