Red Velvet Almond Tart

Graduation parties are confusing. I've always thought that if a party's being thrown to commemorate a specific time in somebody's life, you're supposed to bring that person a gift. It get's awkward, though, when you (and just about all of the other guests) have just graduated as well. It get's even worse when there are no less than three of these parties every weekend. That's a whole lot of gifts.
I think I've come up with an answer to this situation: Food Gifts.

These are always my favorite gifts to give because they are home made, different, personalized, and, unless you brought chocolate chip cookies from a tube, you know that the recipient doesn't already have one lying around somewhere.

My go to gift is candy because there are millions of candies that look super impressive   and that only take about 15 minutes to make from start to finish. Candy making gets old, though, especially when you've sworn off caramel making for at least 2 months (or as long as it takes you to get your head when it comes to gooey, salty sugar) so it's always good to have a few non-candy recipes up your sleeve.
Enter the red velvet almond tart.

The Caramelized Malt (I said it's optional, but only in emergency situations)

It's vegan(-ish), and can easily be made gluten free (though the nuts pose a challenge in making it allergy proof) and is amazingly tasty. The light flavor of the chocolate in the crust is the perfect complement to the almonds. Because chocolate and almonds really are amazing together but sometimes you don't really want  a ton of chocolate flavor. It's great for cleaning out the fridge, or making when the fridge is already pretty cleaned out (how I came up with the recipe) and is versatile enough to be served at a barbecue, formal dinner, or packaged and frozen for gift giving.
This lasts in the freezer for a week, probably longer, but I've never had to store it for longer than 7 days.

The tart is extremely chewy and the almond topping sort of sinks into the crust, making it super delicious. The flavor of the chocolate in the red velvet crust is just peeking out enough to complement the almonds, but not nearly enough to make this a chocolate dessert. It is not a tall tart at all, so there's no need to line the edges of the pan with parchment, and if you don't want to bother with a springform, you can use a 9 to 10 inch part pan with a removable bottom and it will work just fine.

For the Crust
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 Tbs vegan shortening
1 tsp red food coloring (more if you want it really red)
2 Tbs light corn syrup
2 Tbs almond milk (may not need all 2 Tbs)
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1Tbs corn starch
1 1/2 Tbs cocoa powder
Pinch of salt

For the Filling
1 1/2 cups raw sliced almonds
3 Tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Tbs malted milk powder (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF, grease and line a 9-10 inch spring form pan with parchment paper.
In a bowl, with a rubber spatula, cream together the sugar and shortening. Add the corn syrup and food dye and mix until evenly combined.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt, corn starch, and cocoa powder. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined, adding almond milk until the mixture reaches the texture of soft cookie dough. Press into the bottom of your prepared pan.
In a bowl, mix the almonds, brown sugar, lemon zest, corn syrup, almond extract, and salt.
Spread evenly over the top of the crust and bake for 10 minutes at 350º.
After 10 minutes, turn the pan and lover the oven temperature to 275º for another 5-7 minutes, until the crust has risen and set.
Turn off the oven, remove the tart and sprinkle with the malted milk powder. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes, or until the malt powder has dissolved and begun to caramelize.
Remove from the oven, loosen the sides from the pan with a knife and cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing into wedges.

Cut it into 16ths for gift bag size slices

If you're going to freeze the pieces, make sure they cool to room temperature before wrapping and freezing, in order to prevent condensation from ruining the texture of the tart.

Not Your Kiddo's Fudgesicle

When I was little, my absolute favorite treat from the ice cream ruck was a Fudgesicle. The were 99 cents, and, in my opinion, were even better than the $2.50 ChocoTaco. I was, and still am, a purist at some levels, though when I do find a magical combination, I cling to it like my life depends on it. This recipe is one of hose combinations. The tang from the greek yogurt paired with the soft sweetness form the Dutch cocoa is amazing! It doesn't even need salt.
The simple syrup and Dutch cocoa are hugely important if you want to really simulate the flavor of the chocolatey pops from when you were a kid. The simple syrup lends a familiar iciness to the texture of the pop and the darker cocoa lacks the tang of plain cocoa powder. This type of cocoa is used in a lot of the super dark and sweet childhood favorites, like Oreos.
Feel free to adjust the sugar and chocolate amounts to suit your fancy, but if you want to make them any sweeter, I'd recommend granulated sugar to prevent the pops from getting to icy once they're frozen.
These would also be pretty darn good if you froze a strawberry at the bottom of the mold, but I made strawberry pops yesterday so I thought it might be a little overkill.

Dark Chocolate Pops
24 oz plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
1/2 Dutch process cocoa (Hershey's Special Dark tastes the most like a Fudgesicle)
1/4 cup simple syrup (depends on your taste)


Mix yogurt, so any liquid is fully incorporated. Sift in the cocoa powder, making sure there are no lumps. Mix in thoroughly. Add simple syrup until you reach your desired sweetness.
Put a strawberry, point facing down, into the bottom of each popsicle mold or paper cup you have. Top the berry with the yogurt mix. If your molds come with sticks that fir securely to the top, fit with a lid and freeze for at least 3 hours, or until frozen solid. If you are using cups, or your own sticks, cover each mold with plastic wrap, stab a stick through the plastic, down into the pudding, so it stands straight up. Freeze until solid.
The popsicles should release from the molds when rubbed with a warm hand. If they do not, hold the plastic mold under warm water, or peel the paper cup away from the fudgesicle.