Fresh Coconut & Roasted Cashew Caramel Tart

Are you drooling yet?

salty + sweet caramel
roasted nutty cashew
light + luxurious coconut cream
fresh sliced toasted coconut piled on top...

How about now?

{Pats myself on the back} If I only got to eat one thing for the rest of my life, this just might be it...
Yes, it was that good.

The coconut topping is fresh coconut that you shave yourself and toast in the oven. And there's nothing else like it! In order to get thick, meaty slices, I used a mandolin slicer A regular knife just won't cut it. Haha, get it, it's a slicing joke! For this recipe I used one thin and one thicker setting because I like both the thick meaty slice of coconut and the thin kind-of-curly ones too.

Fresh Coconut & Roasted Cashew Caramel Tart

ROASTED CASHEW TART SHELL
1/2 cup toasted unsalted cashew halves and pieces
1 Tbs brown sugar
½ cup + 2 Tbs flour
3 Tbs cold butter, cut into pieces
5 tsp cold water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind cashews in a food processor until a coarse meal is formed, add in brown sugar and flour; pulse until combined and then add in the butter and continue to pulse until the mixture forms a coarse crumb. Slowly add in the water while pulsing until it comes together in a ball.

2. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, making sure to leave some hanging out of the top (to lift the baked tart out when it is done). Press mixture into bottom of the loaf pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until starting to turn golden brown. Remove from pan and let cool completely.

SHAVED COCONUT TOPPING

1 whole coconut

1. Remove coconut meat from the shell in large pieces; see instructions here if you need them.  Use a mandoline slicer on both the larger and smaller settings to slice the coconut meat to get both thicker and thinner more curly slice. You will need about two cups for the dessert. Place the shaved coconut on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. (The thinner slices browned quicker, so I removed those first.) 

I always slice and toast extras while I'm at it because I looove toasted fresh coconut as a snack and also on yogurt with fresh pineapple! But I digress...

COCONUT CREAM

1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled, not shaken

2 Tbs powdered sugar

1. Open the can and take the top cream layer, in the bottom will be left a clear milky liquid, save that for a rainy day. With an electric mixer, beat the cream layer along with the powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Keep this in the refrigerator on stand-by. 

CASHEW CARAMEL

½ cup granulated sugar

1 Tbs light corn syrup

1 vanilla bean

2 Tbs water

¼ cup plus 2 Tbs heavy cream

1½ Tbs unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

½ tsp fleur de sel (crushed finely)

1 cup toasted unsalted cashew halves and pieces

1. In a small to medium saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup, seeds scraped from inside vanilla bean, and water; add the ingredients carefully and try not to get any sugar on the side of the pan. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil without stirring. Continue cooking just until the syrup turns amber in color.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble up, carefully stir until it is uniform. Quickly add in the butter and stir until melted and well combined.  Transfer the caramel to a dish and then stir in the salt and cashews. Let it cool completely.

ASSEMBLY

Top the baked and cooled tart shell with the cashew caramel; you should use almost all of it. Top that with almost all of the chilled coconut cream and then top that with lots of toasted shaved coconut slices. Store in the refrigerator; I think this was best served slightly chilled. Keeps wonderfully for several days; you can eat a slice for breakfast three days in a row if you want.... :/

Enjoy!

-Crystal