Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy's Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
 
Raspberry Ganache Tartlettes
 
Makes 2 ½ cups                          Prep time = 30 minutes
 
A tiny morsel of deliciousness, a healthy chocolately ganache is piped on little chopped nut bases, and topped with a berry. There is no heavy cream or cocoa butter in these wonderfully decadent mini tartlettes. Instead, they are filled with fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants,  calcium and magnesium.
 
To create endless ganache variations, substitute your favorite liquore or flavor extract for the vanilla.
 
1 ½  cups date paste
1 package silken or soft tofu, drained well
2 – 2 ½  teaspoons aged tamari
½ cup cacao or cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or  1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla seeds
1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder or other ground chili 
 
To make date paste, pit 2 cups of dates (any variety), add ¼ cup water & microwave 2 minutes or simmer on a stovetop 5 minutes until rehydrated & well softened. Blend in a  food processor, adding a minimal amount of date soaking water - and only if needed - to facilitate creating a purée. 
Scrape down sides & continue to process until completely smooth & uniform.  To pipe decoratively, this ganache should be stiff, so be conservative with the amount of soaking water you add.   Take your time with creating a uniform paste for the smoother it is, the silkier the ganache.  
Combine all ingredients in a food processor, run, scraping down sides.  The longer it runs, the smoother, lighter the ganache.  Taste to correct for chocolate intensity, sweetness, spiciness, salinity as you like.
Use immediately or refrigerate for 1 hour for denser texture.  Ganache will last about a week in the fridge.
 
To make raspberry- ganache tartlettes on a nut crust (quantities will depend on number of tarts)
In a food processor pulse walnuts or pecans to break them into breadcrumb size. Don't overprocess them or you'll make nut butter.  
Add just enough date paste to for the walnuts to adhere into a crust.  In a mini tart tin, lay down plastic wrap, then press enough walnut-date mixture into the contours of your tin to create a base layer, about 1/4 inch thick.  
Refrigerate the nut-paste-filled tins to stiffen.  
Add ganache to a pastry bag.  Refrigerate the bag to allow the ganache to stiffen.  
To serve, gently tug the nut bases out of the  the tins and transfer to a serving plate. Use whatever tip you like to decorate each nut base with ganache. Top each tartlette with a fresh raspberry.