The newest café in Norman Wells has been quite a hit, and a heck of a lot of fun. Improvisation and creativity have become the most powerful tools.

Actually , no – passion has been the most powerful tool, the drive behind taking such a ridiculous risk to try and feed people other than friends and family. People who pay money. And have standards. Eek!

The last week has been an emotional rollercoaster. Each day I cycle the emotions; anticipation for what will be baked that day. Terror that it will be a disaster. Adrenaline to provide for the hungry queue of customers that arrive at 12.05pm. And immense satisfaction to have fed my friends and community with nourishing, real, homemade food.

Baking from scratch for a café is about utilising downtime wisely. Letting dough rise in the fridge overnight. Making the most of no-knead ciabatta doughs. Letting tomatoes simmer into a pizza sauce while mixing up a cake.

Outside of the café, these skills are pretty handy. Like preparing dessert for an evening party first thing in the morning, to save the stress that always comes with running late.

Ever noticed that those with the best food at the party have the worst makeup, and never smell that great? That’s me. Or, was until I realised food prep didn’t have to be left until the last minute. Whip these up in the morning and let them rest the day in the fridge. Curl those lashes, spray the perfume, forget about rushing around the kitchen in a panic, and turn up with a killer treat that will actually nourish your friends. These black bean chocolate mousse tarts offer fibre to clean out unwanted waste (sugars and fats) from the colon, coconut oil (to help overthrow the 50 year trend that fats are bad) and the combo of hazelnuts and dark chocolate ’cause who doesn’t love Ferrero Rocher.

Hazelnut & Chocolate Mousse Tarts
Makes 12

Chocolate Mousse
Inspired by Meghan Telpner

100g dark chocolate (Dark Ghana 72%)
2.5 cups cooked (or canned) black beans
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup honey (or agave syrup, add more to taste)
1 tbsp ground chia seeds (mixed with 1/4 warm water)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a small pot of boiling water. Remove from heat and stir until smooth. Place all ingredients, along with melted chocolate into high powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If too thick add a little water.

Hazelnut Crust
Inspired by Green Kitchen Stories
I did improvise a fair bit here and you can too. If it looks a little wet, add more flour of any sort – I used coconut as these were for a gluten-intolerant friend, but oats or wheat flour would be fine. If it’s super dry and not coming together, add a little water until tacky.

2.5 cups hazelnuts
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 Tbsp coconut flour
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp ground chia seeds (mixed with 1/4 cup warm water)
salt

cacao nibs or roasted hazelnuts, chopped

Toast the hazelnuts on a baking tray on 180°C (350°F) in the oven, for 10 – 15 minutes or until skin cracks. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove skin by rubbing the nuts between a rough kitchen towel. Place in food processor with coconut oil, flour, honey, chia seed mix and a pinch of salt. Once it starts to come together, roll tablespoon-sized balls and push into the holes of a lightly greased muffin tin. Repeat until all the hazelnut mixture is used – it should make about 12. Dollop over the mousse, smoothing it to the edges. Sprinkle over cacao nibs, or chopped hazelnuts and leave in fridge to set for at least an hour (using the freezer will speed this up). Any leftovers freeze well.