Gluten-free Mini Coconut Tartlets with Mung Bean Paste (or Dark Chocolate Ganache) and Toasted White Chocolate & Palm Sugar Crumbs

I have worked in a cafe at Miss C's school on and off for about 2 years in 2008/2009. It's a tiny alfresco cafe that operates once a week, primarily to enable school parents to get together to have a cuppa and a slice of cake after dropping off their kids at school. It's also popular with teachers who like to have a cup of freshly brewed coffee. By working there as a volunteer once a month, I got an overview of how to operate a cafe.

Often we were presented with an array of wonderful freshly baked goods from our local family run suppliers. One particular supplier has always excited me with her wonderful and creative gluten-free baked goods. One of them was a beautiful looking chocolate tart with a gluten-free coconut tart crust.

I fell in love with the crust because it tastes really good and it so easy to make. Most importantly, it only requires 3 ingredients: desiccated coconut, egg white and sugar.

This tart crust came to my mind when I wanted to make some mini tartlets that are inspired by the ingredients used in the Malaysian dessert Cendol: coconut, mung bean, pandan and palm sugar.

Instead of filling them all with chocolate ganache, I decided to make another batch with mung bean paste and added some white chocolate and palm sugar crumbs to give the tarts some extra crunch.

Mung bean paste is commonly used as filling in Asian desserts such as Ang Koo (Malaysian Nyonya style mochi) and Mooncake. It tastes similar to azuki bean paste but it has a slightly more delicate and nutty flavour.

The mung bean paste can be easily made at home by soaking the mung beans in cold water and by subsequently steaming them, mashing them and then finally by frying them with sugar and butter in low heat until a paste forms.

You can buy mung beans from most of the Asian grocers but you will have to spend lots of time removing the hulls after soaking them overnight before steaming.

A quicker way is to buy dehulled mung beans that are available in most of the Indian grocers. They are usually called mung / moong dal.

The white chocolate and palm sugar crumbs are inspired from the Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Petits Fours by Quay restaurant head chef, Peter Gilmore. The process involving toasting
white chocolate in the oven which has intrigued me so much that I needed to make it asap!! It turned out to be a great finishing touch to this tartlets. Although not as visually stunning as I liked them to be due to the high humidity in Sydney lately, the taste is wonderful.

These tartlets make a great alternative to the usual Christmas baking. Perfect gifts for your gluten intolerant family members and friends. I hope you enjoy baking them as much as I had.

Gluten-free Mini Coconut Tartlets with Mung Bean Paste / Dark Chocolate Ganache and Toasted White Chocolate and Palm Sugar Crumbs Recipe
Makes 24

Ingredients

180 g desiccated coconut
100 g caster sugar
2 egg white, lightly beaten
Mung bean paste (recipe follows) or dark chocolate ganache (recipe follows)
Toasted white chocolate and palm sugar crumbs (recipe follows)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 140C.
2. Grease a 24 x 5cm mini muffin pan.
3. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
   

   

4. Use 1 tbsp of the mixture, press in the hole of mini muffin pan to form a tart case. Repeat with the rest.
5. Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
   

   

6. Remove tart cases from pan and let cool on wire rack.
   

   

7. Fill them with either mung bean paste or dark chocolate ganache.
   (Note: refrigerate tarts if filled with chocolate filling in fridge for at least 2 hours)
8. Sprinkle with Toasted white chocolate and palm sugar crumbs.

Mung Bean Paste Recipe

Ingredients

170 g dehulled mung beans
3 pandan leaves, tied in a knot
80 g caster sugar
2 tbsp butter

Method

1. Soak the dehulled mum beans for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Steam the soaked dehulled mung beans together with pandan leaves in steamer under medium heat for 40 minutes.
3. Remove from steamer. Discard pandan leaves and mash the mung bean with fork or potato masher.
   

   

4. Heat a non-stick fry pan under low heat, add mashed mung bean, sugar and butter and fry until a thick paste is form, about 8-10 minutes.
   

   

5. Remove from heat and cool.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Recipe

Ingredients

250 ml thicken cream
100 g dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
50 g butter
1 egg yolk

Method

1. Heat the thicken cream in a saucepan until just below boiling point.
2. Stir in chocolate and butter until well mixed.
3. Let it cool for 5 minutes and then add the egg yolk. Stir and mix
   well.

Toasted White Chocolate and Palm Sugar Crumbs Recipe

Ingredients

50 g white chocolate, chopped into small pieces
50 g palm sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Spread the chopped white chocolate on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
3. Bake in oven for 5 minutes or until golden.
4. Cool chocolate in tray until firm.
5. Break white chocolate into pieces and put in a food processor with the palm sugar and pulse until fine crumbs.