I decided I could finally try the Blackberry Coconut Macaroon Tart one weekend while Alex was out of town. Coffee had been my special ingredient the previous time that Alex had been gone, and sadly, I grew a little tired of it. I wanted brighter flavors - lighter and more spring-like, rather than dark and heavy.
This was March, and blackberries weren't in season - but I still had the other ingredients to try it. This was a coconut macaroon topped with pistachios - two of my favorite things that I don't eat all that often. I knew this was going to be fantastic.
Indeed, it certainly was. Deliciously addictive.

A note about ingredients: I had natural, unsweetened flaked coconut, which I had to grind to be finely shredded. Not a big deal, but I can't see using the bagged sweetened shredded coconut here like you might in other desserts, like a generic coconut cream pie or macaroons. This dessert is a slightly healthier than that! I used white whole wheat flour in the crust as called for; it's a good time to use it. I think I used brown sugar throughout the recipe, but I can't be for sure right now. My pistachios were unsalted.
First you make a crust with flour, coconut, sugar, and butter. I patted the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and baked at 350 for about 15 minutes. Don't overbake it or else it will be hard.
Once the crust was baked, I mixed together the filling. Combine coconut, egg whites, and sugar. Arrange berries on the crust, then dollop filling around the berries. I wasn't sure how much the filling would expand while it baked, and actually wished I had a little more filling to thoroughly coat the bottom. I baked the tart for about 20 more minutes. I garnished with pistachios once cool.
It was delicious, but a little bit went a long way. See the wedge above? I could barely eat all of that at once. For the rest of it, I cut it into bite-size squares, which made it much easier to grab a bite whenever I walked by. It also made it perfect to share - I took bites of it to a birthday party later that weekend. It was difficult to stop eating it.
The tart was very crumbly and a little difficult to eat because the coconut and nuts kept falling off of the crust. I always notice the taste of white whole wheat flour when I include it in recipes, but it wasn't overwhelming here; the flavor of the crust worked best in bites without blackberries because there was more coconut flavor that way. I enjoyed the combination of coconut and pistachios - they go together rather well - but was less excited about the blackberries. I perhaps just need to remind myself that blackberries are not, and will never be, my favorite fruit. I think that the combination of finely and less finely shredded coconut, since I ground it myself, gave the tart great texture.
Overall, I think this is a very solid recipe. If I make it again, I would probably use a different berry that I like more- perhaps raspberries or cherries. If I feel like tinkering, I may also try to make it less crumbly, perhaps by scaling up the topping a little. I also might try baking the pistachios into the filling.
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