Vegan Custard Tart With a Thin Mint Crust is the dairy-free dessert you have been waiting for. Chocolate and Thin Mint cookies paired with the smoothest vanilla vegan custard you've ever had.
Soak cashews in water overnight or for at least four hours.
Drain cashews and place in a high-powered blender.
In a small saucepan, heat the milk, dates, sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean. Split and scrape the vanilla bean ahead of time, but also add the cut bean to the milk mixture. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
Add the milk mixture including the vanilla bean to the blender with the cashews and blend until completely smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides a few times during the process. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Thin Mint Crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor pulse Thin Mints until they are a fine dust. Add the melted coconut oil and pulse until it forms a wet paste. It will be very sticky so use a butter knife to spread it to the sides of the pan. I only cover the bottom of the pan and don't bother with the sides.
Bake for 11 minutes. It will not look cooked when you remove it from the oven. The batter will be tacky and you'll be very concerned about my instructions. Give it time and allow it to fully cool. It will become hard; swearsies!
Chocolate Ganache
In a microwave-proof bowl heat the chocolate chips and coconut oil for 45 seconds. Remove from microwave and let sit for 1 minute. Stir. Heat for an additional 40 seconds in the microwave. Remove and let sit for 1 minute. Stir. Return to the microwave for an additional 30 seconds if the chocolate isn't smooth.
Pour the melted chocolate over the cooled Thin Mint crust, making sure the chocolate covers the entire bottom of the crust. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes to set.
Assembly
Remove the crust and ganache from the freezer and spoon in the vanilla custard. Place back in the freezer for at least three hours.
Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes prior to cutting. Store any leftovers in the freezer.
Notes
Milk - use your preferred milk. Dairy or plant-based milk will both work. If using plant-based milk, I highly recommend Califia Farms almond milk. It's super creamy and smooth. Locally, our Target has the best price.If you don't have a vanilla bean, simply increase the amount of vanilla extract to 2 tsp.The yield of the cookie crumb crust is 1 cup before adding the coconut oil.Thin Mints are a chocolate covered mint wafer cookie sold by the Girl Scouts in the United States. They are vegan. You may replace with any chocolate and mint wafer like a grasshopper cookie.The chocolate ganache does make the tart a challenge to just eat with a fork. Give your guests a knife or simply leave off.Pressed for time? Make the crust (without the ganache) a day ahead and store in an air-tight container.