Coconut Macaroon Tart With Passion Fruit Cream
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Coconut tarts filled with passion fruit creeaaam– these are a few of my faaaavorite things!
Real talk: I like raindrops just fine, am neutral on roses, am allergic to cats, lust after copper kettles, and I’ve never owned a woolen mitten in my life. The only absolutely true part of my (very cheesy) rhyme up there is that this tart? This Coconut Macaroon Tart with Passion Fruit Cream? Is most definitely one of my favorite things right now.
I know Spring talk is so last month, but when I found these drop-dead gorgeous roses, I could not resist making a tart to celebrate Spring, full of fresh, bright flavors, and topped with piles of fresh berries, kiwi, and rose petals.
Oh, and what’s that you say? There’s a little something called Passover concluding this weekend? Never fear, my grain-avoiding friends, this is a perfect Passover dessert! The tart’s crust is made from coconut, egg whites, and granulated sugar—the same ingredients that go into a coconut macaroon! If you’re thinking it basically tastes like a giant cookie crust, you’re so right.
It’s crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and blissfully flour-free. This also makes it a good dessert choice for anyone gluten- or grain-free, although I can’t help you if you’re trying to go sugar-free. (Honestly, you might be in the wrong place for that goal.)
That crispy, chewy coconut shell is filled with passion fruit cream, which is a shorthand way of saying “passion fruit-white chocolate ganache mixed with heavy whipped cream.” It’s intensely fruity, a little bit tart, a little bit sweet, and wonderfully light and fluffy. The passion fruit-white chocolate ganache is good on its own, but it’s a little heavy for a springtime tart filling. Mixing it with some whipped cream, however, makes it a fantastically light partner for some fresh berries.
Speaking of berries, I piled ‘em on like there’s no tomorrow. Picture me skipping around the table, tossing berries on top of the tart and pointing to bare spots like Oprah: “You get a berry! You get a berry! You AAAAAALLLLL get berries!” (I know Ms. O has, like, five different private chefs, but I want so badly to believe that that is how she makes her morning bowl of oatmeal. That would be amazing.)
I also tossed on some kiwi slices, cut into flower shapes with a cookie cutter because I’m darling like that, and some rose petals for the final flourish. If you use unsprayed roses then they’re entirely edible, but you can also treat them as more of a decorative element and take them off before serving, if flower petals aren’t your bag.
I admit that I originally conceived of this as a Passover dessert, but there is no reason this shouldn’t be on your menu year-round. If you are a monster who doesn’t like the passion fruit filling, a plain chocolate ganache would work just fine, or even regular whipped cream! Fill it with fruit salad, or scoops of ice cream. I won’t tell if you go the pudding route, but I won’t exactly endorse it, either. Point being, this is a seriously flexible, seriously good recipe.
Although this is one of those desserts that’s at its peak the day that it’s made, we ate it in slices over the course of 3-4 days, and it held up very well. The crust just gets a bit more chewy, and of course the berries start looking a bit more bedraggled. But if you wanted to turn this into a make-ahead dessert, the crust cream filling could be done several days ahead of time, and then it’s a quick matter of tossing on the berry topping before serving.
Happy Passover! Happy Spring! Happy Friday! Happy I-eat-gluten-but-I’ll-still-nom-a-gluten-free-tart day! Whatever you’re celebrating, I hope you have a good one.
