What could me more appropriate for starting up my blog again than a recipe involving chocolate? This tart is super easy to make, and will win you cheers and accolades. It’s been my go-to dessert for the past 4-5 months since I have a lot of chocolate lovers in my life. Added bonus: At least in my case, it’s made from pantry staples. It’s also simple to make this dessert vegan by subbing coconut oil for the butter and using vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life‘s are my favorite).
I slightly modified this recipe from one that was in last year’s holiday issue of Bon Appétit–replacing the 2 cups of heavy cream with 2 cups of coconut cream. I’m dairy averse as you may recall, and using coconut cream instead of regular cream makes for a lighter dessert that doesn’t sit in your stomach like a 5-lb weight after you’re done eating.
Ingredients
Crust:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups nuts (e.g., walnuts, pecans, almonds)
6 Tbsp evaporated cane juice (sugar)
3/4 tsp sea salt
Ganache:
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature cut into 6 pieces
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Lightly grease a 12-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Cut a circle of parchment paper for the bottom.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Preparing the crust: Combine nuts, sugar and butter in a food processor until the mixture begins to clump together and is the consistency of coarse sand. Empty into the prepared tart pan and using your hands, press firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake in the center of your oven until the crust turned a golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool.
Preparing the ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the coconut cream or milk in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and immediately pour over the chocolate. Let it sit, undisturbed for 5 minutes. Add butter chunks and vanilla and mix with a heatproof rubber spatula until you get a smooth, glossy mixture. Scrape it into the crust, and smooth out any bubbles using the tip of the spatula. Place the tart in the fridge, uncovered, until set–about 2 hours.
To serve, carefully remove the tart from the pan, sprinkle it with flaky sea salt (Maldon’s Sea Salt Flakes are great!), and cut with a hot knife.
Enjoy!
Eat Well, Be Well, Live Well 