Sweet potato pecan tarts

This was an idea I had a few years back to see whether or not a sweet potato might work as an alternative to a pie crust! Since I posted my idea on instagram in 2016 I have seen it pop up in a few recipes. It is a bit more flimsy, but it does work, and sweet potato is much healthier than making pastry! It has just enough sweetness to taste good in a dessert!

You could make this vegan by using maple syrup instead. The recipe as it stands uses honey.  Honey contains more vitamins, whereas maple syrup contains more minerals. Maple syrup is lower in fructose. Both are healthier alternatives than refined sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato

• coconut oil for greasing

• 12 dates

• 1.5 tablespoons coconut oil

• 1.5 tablespoons honey (could use maple syrup to make it vegan!)

• 200g pecan nuts

• 50g brazil nuts

• Desiccated coconut, crushed pistachio nuts and blueberries or fruit of your choice for decorating

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC

2. Peel the sweet potato and slice in half lengthways

3. Use the chopping function on the food processor to thinly slice the sweet potato

4. Grease a 6 piece muffin tray with coconut oil, and greaseproof paper (cut small circles just to cover the base)

5. Line the tray with sweet potato (see image below)

6. To make the filling put the pitted dates, coconut oil, honey, pecan nuts and brazil nuts into a food processor and whizz together until well mixed.

7. Carefully press the mix into the sweet potato crust

8. Bake in the oven for 30 mins at 175ºC

9. Let the tarts completely cool before trying to remove them

10. Remove the tarts carefully to keep your sweet potato "pastry" in tact.

11. Decorate by sprinkling with desiccated coconut, crushed pistachio nuts, and blueberries