April 5, 2020 American Recipes

Coconut and Berry Passover Tart

Name: Coconut and Berry Passover Tart
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients: FOR THE CRUST; Vegetable-oil cooking spray; 3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 3 large egg whites; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt; FOR THE FILLING; 1/2 vanilla bean (halved lengthwise); 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 2 large egg yolks; 2 teaspoons corn starch (for the Jewish community that does not consider corn starch kosher, you may use potato starch); 2 tablespoons almond paste; 1 cup almond flour; 1/2 cup soy cream cheese (preferably Tofutti); 7 tablespoons apricot jam; 4 cups assorted berries

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This Coconut and Berry Passover Tart has a macaroon like crust and delicious almond filling. The stunning spring berries on top make this the perfect dessert for any occasion. It’s also totally gluten and dairy free!

I am invited to a Passover dinner this weekend and I was asked to bake a dessert. I tried out the dessert I am going to bring for this month’s #berrylove. I brought it to a birthday party last night at our neighbor’s house and it was a huge hit!

Originally published April 1, 2012 and updated on April 5, 2020.

This is a gorgeous spring tart that I absolutely love. I had originally made it for a Passover dinner with our best friends. It is perfect for anyone that is gluten-free or even dairy-free. Elegant and simply delicious!

Part of the family that we are joining is Jewish and I thought it would be nice to make something kosher and delicious for their holiday. It is fun for us to get to celebrate Passover with our friends that celebrate the holiday. Then on Sunday they celebrate Easter with us! Not too bad;)

For #berrylove month my head was spinning with recipes I could make. I was thinking of strawberry cakes and pies. In looking through one of my favorite Martha Stewart books, I found this recipe that I slightly adapted. For my friends that aren’t celebrating Passover and are dairy-free or gluten-free…this is the dessert for you!

What exactly is Passover? Passover commemorates the biblical story of Exodus, when Hebrew slaves were released from bondage in Egypt. The Passover holiday is a joyous celebration of freedom.

4/12/12 *I need to say something about this post and Passover. Apparently it takes a village to do a Passover recipe. Before you go down to my nifty Passover tips, let me warn you: This recipe may be OK for some Jewish communities to make on Passover and not for others. If you eat soy products during Passover, you can make this tart. If you do not and you are not mixing dairy and meat, go ahead and use regular cream cheese. Some of you may be cool with using corn starch. Some will not and I did make this recipe with corn starch. I have no clue what it would be like with potato starch as a replacement.

Now go ahead...keep reading. Share your thoughts. If it is not fine with your Jewish community to follow the recipe as is and you do make it with some changes, PLEASE let me know how it turns out. I'd love to see the link to your post or email me a photo and tell me all about it. 🙂

I’ve always wondered what you can and can’t eat during Passover. I am not Jewish and I am by far not trying to be an expert on what to eat during Passover or if you are following kosher guidelines. Please forgive any errors here.

If you are celebrating Passover, here are the foods you should avoid. I found some info on Shiksa in the Kitchen.

During Passover, Kosher guidelines are followed with some tweaks. Some in the Jewish community stay Kosher all year round…here are the guidelines:

Because of the prohibition against unleavened bread, raw flour cannot be used during Passover. In order to be used for Passover, dough has to be thoroughly cooked within 18 minutes of the flour being mixed with water. When pasta is made, water is mixed with flour and the formed pasta is left to dry without being cooked and therefore is not allowed.

I know it must be challenging for the Italian Jews that love pasta. Luckily, there are kosher for Passover pastas that are made with potato starch/flour.

Certain meats may not be eaten. Forbidden meats include (but are not limited to): pork, shellfish, lobster, shrimp, crab, rabbit, and seafood without fins or scales (like swordfish and sturgeon). Also, any products made with ingredients from these meats (example—pig ingredients in non-kosher gelatin) cannot be used.
Meat must not be eaten in combination with dairy. That means no butter, or cream sauce on your beef or chicken dish.

My friend Judee from Gluten Free A-Z blog pointed out to me (4/13/12) that corn starch is not kosher. She suggested I change that from the recipe to potato starch. Martha Stewart has corn starch in the recipe and has it titled as a Passover tart.

I also was speaking today (4/3/12) with my friend Shulie at Food Wanderings and she explained some segments of the Jewish community, while not the majority, do consider corn starch kosher with Passover. I will keep the ingredient list on this recipe with corn starch as Shulie explains the potato starch does not have the same result/consistency as corn starch. Shulie says it becomes goopy. I do not honestly know the result with potato starch as I used corn starch. If you need your recipe to be truly kosher use potato starch instead of corn starch.

(If you want to read why corn starch is a no-no...read it here. )

Fish and eggs are considered neutral. They can be served with dairy or with meat.

What can you eat on Passover?

Matzo in any form (matzo meal, matzo cake meal, matzo farfel)
Any kind of fruit
Any kind of vegetable (there is a list of some veggies that are excluded)
Beef, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, or fish with scales.
Eggs and egg whites
Nuts, nut flours, and pure nut butters (no additives). Excluded on this list is: peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds.
Dairy products, like cheese, yogurt, and kefir, are acceptable as long as they are not mixed with corn syrup.
Dairy products cannot be mixed with meat.
Quinoa. Most sources agree that quinoa is not technically a grain, and therefore it is permissible on Passover.
Spices
Herbs
Broth from kosher meats and vegetable-based broth.

Let’s get back a second to this FABULOUS tart! Can we talk about the crust! Oh, the crust! The chewy coconut crust is like the most amazing coconut macaroons. I was tempted to just bake and eat the crust! The filling is soft and delicious with sweet vanilla and almond flavors. It was my first time baking with Tofutti soy cream cheese and I am very pleased with the results. My friend’s were thanking me for bringing it to the party this weekend.

Whether you are celebrating Passover or are dairy-free, gluten-free…or you just love COCONUT…you need to bake this tart now!

What's needed for this coconut berry Passover tart?

Here is all you need to make this stunning tart.

For the crust:

unsweetened shredded coconut
sugar
egg whites
vanilla extract
salt

For the filling:

vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
vanilla soy milk
sugar
egg yolks
corn starch (for the Jewish community that does not consider corn starch kosher, you may use potato starch)
almond paste
almond flour
soy cream cheese, preferably Tofutti
apricot jam
assorted berries

Pin it to your PASSOVER, HOLIDAY, GLUTEN-FREE or DESSERT Board to SAVE for later! Find me on Pinterest for more great recipes! I am always pinning :)!

Coconut and Berry Passover Tart

source: Martha Stewart Pies & Tarts

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

FOR THE FILLING

1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons corn starch (for the Jewish community that does not consider corn starch kosher, you may use potato starch)
2 tablespoons almond paste
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup soy cream cheese, preferably Tofutti
7 tablespoons apricot jam
4 cups assorted berries

Directions

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch fluted tart pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the coconut, sugar, egg whites, vanilla, and salt. Press into bottom and up sides of pan of a 9-inch round fluted tart pan.

If you don’t have almond flour, simply take 1 cup (100 grams) of almonds sliced (blanched skins off) or natural (skins on) with 1 tablespoon (14 grams) of granulated white sugar and process until finely ground in a food processor (or blender).

Make the filling: Scrape vanilla seeds into a small saucepan, and add pod (I didn’t have a vanilla pod and instead used 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract). Stir in soy milk (I used almond milk) and 2 tablespoons sugar, and bring to a boil.

Whisk yolks, corn starch, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl. Add hot soy milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking until combined. Return to pan, and whisk over medium heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Discard vanilla pod.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat soymilk mixture and almond paste for 5 minutes. Beat in almond flour and soy cream cheese. Spread into the tart crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Cover edges with a foil ring and bake until set (about 15-25 minutes more).

Let the tart cool completely in pan on a rack. Unmold. Heat the jam on medium-low heat with a little bit of water to loosen (about 1 tablespoon). Spread about 4 tablespoons of jam evenly over the tart. Arrange berries on top. Brush on top of the berries the remaining berries and serve. Enjoy!

Some other pies and tarts to enjoy:

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