Vegan Chocolate Tarts with Apricots

This post was originally published in September 2018. It has been updated to improve the text and recipe as of June 2020.

This recipe is adapted from my chocolate orange tart from this past winter, with almond flour used in place of sunflower seeds (I made these while at my mom’s and she had a huge bag of almond flour leftover from her paleo kick). The pastry is a bit softer and slightly sweeter than the one in that other tart; more like normal pastry and less of a granola-inspired one.

A half tart will serve one person as they’re quite rich – and I like to top them with vegan yogurt instead of cream to help cut through that a bit. As with most healthy-ish desserts, if you include chocolate, often even the pickiest eaters will like them.

I first served these to picky, white flour and butter family members in Canada and everyone loved them. Now it’s my mom’s go-to recipe for any time she needs a GF or vegan recipe for a potluck.

Ingredients

• Oat flour (you can make this yourself, see below)
• Almond flour
• Sea salt
• Dates
• Coconut oil
• Dairy-free milk
• Vanilla extract
• Almond extract (optional)

For the Ganache and Topping:

• A can of full-fat coconut milk
• Dark chocolate
• Maple syrup
• Vanilla extract
• Sea salt
• Apricots or other seasonal fruit

Method

Start by making the tart shells. You might be tempted to start the ganache first, as it should cool to room temperature before pouring into the shells, but the pastry needs some time to cool fully and it’s very important that it does.

Blend all of the pastry ingredients in a food processor until the dates have blended and a slightly sticky, crumbly dough forms. It should stick together when pressed between your fingers, but not be wet. Press the dough into greased tart tins, poke all over with a fork, and bake for about 15 minutes. They should be a nice golden colour when finished.

Set aside to cool fully (important!) while you make the ganache. Ganache should always be made by heating milk and then pouring it over chopped chocolate, not heating milk and chocolate together on the stovetop, despite what you sometimes see Bake Off contestants getting up to.

Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan, pour it over chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, and let it sit for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients and give it a good whisk. It should be silky smooth and delicious.

Cool the ganache to room temperature before pouring into the tarts. As discussed below, it’s a good idea to chill your tart shells for a little while in the freezer before adding the ganache. Then cool a couple hours in the refrigerator, top with fruit, and serve!

Vegan Chocolate Ganache

To simplify the recipe, a full can of coconut milk is used instead of scooping the cream off the top to make the ganache. This has a caveat, though, in that you need to know your coconut milk brand. It must be minimum 60% coconut cream solids in order to work (and higher is better). Usually this is noted in the ingredients.

If you’re not sure about your coconut milk, then be safe and only use the cream. Just measure out 400ml (about 1 3/4 cups) of cream and use the water in a smoothie instead. If you use a lower-fat cream or sometimes due to additives some brands add, the ganache won’t set properly.

With that in mind, don’t rush your ganache! It needs at least four hours to set properly, so don’t worry if it’s been a couple hours and it’s still a little wobbly. If it’s refrigerated overnight and still isn’t set, then you’ve had a coconut milk problem. On the other hand, if it’s already set after an hour or two, then dig in!

If you’re really unsure of your ganache, another option is to let it set in a bowl in the refrigerator. When it has set (if it hasn’t, see below) you can whip it up with an electric beater and then scoop the whipped ganache into the baked tart shells.

If you go that route and your ganache hasn’t set, melt another 50g of chocolate very slowly and gently to prevent burning, then whisk it into your room temperature ganache. The extra cocoa solids will ensure that it sets.

Tips and Notes

Often when I make this recipe I’ll do it as a big tart in a springform pan instead and cook the base until it’s golden. If you do have small tins, though, let these tarts be your reason for pulling them out of the cupboard! (And dusting them off?)

Make your own oat flour by blending rolled oats in a high-speed food processor or blender until a fine flour forms. You can make your own almond flour, too, but it’s hard to get it to a fine enough consistency without releasing the oils and ending up halfway to almond butter.

Make sure your tart shells are completely cool before pouring the ganache into them. If they’re at all warm, you’ll get a soggy bottom. A good way to navigate this is to place the baked shells into the freezer for 15 minutes before adding the ganache. Benefits are two-fold – it ensures the pastry is cold, and also kick starts the ganache setting.

Substitutions

Although these little vegan chocolate tarts are topped with apricots, you could use any kind of seasonal fruit in its place. Persimmon, berries, pears, the options are endless. Plain is good too, or topped simply with yogurt or coconut whipped cream.

If you prefer something a bit sweeter, you can use milk or a less dark chocolate for the ganache filling. This will make the tarts quite sweet, though. You can also use finely ground sunflower seeds in place of almond flour for a nut-free option, or try hazelnut flour if you have it. I don’t have a substitutions for the oat flour.

More Chocolate Ganache Desserts

Chocolate Banana Babka
Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Chocolate Hazelnut Tart (GF)

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