This recipe is adapted from my chocolate orange tart from this past winter, with almond flour used in place of sunflower seeds. 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. You can find a similar recipe for a chocolate hazelnut tart on OE, also with a gluten-free base.
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 gluten-free or vegan recipe for a potluck.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Chocolate: 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, and lower cocoa solids can mean the ganache won’t set properly.
- Almond flour: use finely ground sunflower seeds in place of almond flour for a nut-free option, or try hazelnut flour if you have it.
- Toppings: although these little vegan 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.
Recipe Notes
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. Heating the chocolate risks burning.
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.
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.
See this post on vegan chocolate ganache for troubleshooting, tips, and substitutions for the filling used in these tarts.
How to Store
Storage: the tarts can be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two, but the pastry will soften over time.
Freezing: the tart shells can be frozen for up to three months in a sealed container, but I don’t recommend freezing the filled tarts, as the ganache tends to separate when thawed.
Newsletter
Expert Tips
- Chill the shells: 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.
- Coat in chocolate: if you want to store these in the refrigerator before serving, add a thin layer of melted dark chocolate to the inside of each shell. This will act as a barrier and should prevent the ganache from softening the pastry.
- Sweeten to taste: if you use unsweetened chocolate, you’ll likely need all 3 tablespoons of maple syrup to make it sweet enough. Depending on the cocoa content in your chocolate, you’ll have to sweeten to taste.
- Keep it to a minimum: the almond extract is optional and just brings out the flavour more in the base – but don’t be tempted to add extra, it will be too strong.
More Chocolate Ganache Desserts
Chocolate Banana Babka
Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Vegan Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
If you make these Mini Chocolate Tarts or any other vegetarian chocolate recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Dark Chocolate Tarts with Apricots
Ingredients
Tart Shells
- 110 grams oat flour
- 100 grams almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 70 grams soft dates, packed
- 2 tablespoons solid coconut oil plus extra for greasing
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract* optional
Vegan Chocolate Ganache
- 400 ml full-fat coconut milk one can
- 100 grams dark chocolate**
- 1-3 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Tiny pinch sea salt
- 8 apricots thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease four small removable-base tart tins with coconut oil.
- Add the oat flour, almond flour, salt, dates, coconut oil, milk, vanilla, and almond extract to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until the dates have broken down and a dough forms.110 grams oat flour, 100 grams almond flour, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 70 grams soft dates, packed, 2 tablespoons solid coconut oil, 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk, 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract*
- Separate the dough into four equal parts and press it into the prepared tart tins, trying to make the base and walls an even thickness.
- Poke a few holes in the bases of the shells with a fork, and place the tins onto a large baking sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden.
- Take the tarts from the oven and cool for about ten minutes in the tins before removing and placing the tarts onto a rack to cool completely before adding the ganache. Freeze them for 15-20 minutes before pouring the ganache in to set more quickly.
Ganache
- To make the ganache, chop the dark chocolate and place it into a heatproof bowl. Heat the coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering, then pour it over the chopped chocolate.400 ml full-fat coconut milk, 100 grams dark chocolate**
- Let it rest for a minute before adding the maple syrup, vanilla, and salt, then whisk until mixed and silky looking.1-3 tablespoons maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, Tiny pinch sea salt
- Pour an equal amount of ganache into each cooled tart. Place the tarts onto a board in the refrigerator for about at least 3-4 hours, or until the ganache is fully set.
- Top each tart with two sliced apricots, a spoonful of plain vegan yogurt, and some grated dark chocolate. Serve chilled.8 apricots
Notes
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This post was originally published in September 2018. It has been updated to improve the text and recipe as of June 2020.
Nefeli says
I love this recipe! My only question is will the chocolate have a strong coconut flavor because of the coconut milk or is it subtle and more like a chocolate tart rather than a chocolate coconut tart? I just found your blog and I am in love!!
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Thanks so much! I don’t find that it has much of a coconut flavour at all – my mom loves this recipe, for example, and usually can’t stand coconut. I hope that helps : )
Sheila says
If I use 1 springform pan, instead of 4 small ones. What size should it be? Should I double the recipe?
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I don’t think you’d need to double the recipe – an 8 inch springform should work fine, and it’ll be about the size of my chocolate orange tart recipe.
katja says
Hi! I think I will steal a part of your recipe, ok? 😉 But first… What is the main difference between using a sunfloweer meal or almond flour in the crust? Whick one do you prefer? Which one holds together better? The taste, the stracture? What about coconut milk. If i use the whole part (not just cremay part), will the ganash be hard enough? Thanks so much. Greeting from Europe 😉
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Hi Katja,
Like it says in the post here, these tarts are a bit sweeter than their orange counterparts because almond flour is generally sweeter than sunflower seeds. They both hold together really well, and I love them both. The ganache will be hard enough either way (I wouldn’t post it if it wasn’t) but is perhaps slightly richer if you just use the coconut cream instead of the whole can. I hope you love it either way! And greetings from Germany 😉
Alexandra
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
Love, love LOVE your new logo BTW!! Beautiful!!
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Thank you! I’m so happy with how it turned out, Brooke is amazing!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
As food bloggers we see and are inspired by a lot of recipes. Sometimes while browsing the Internet or thumbing through foodie magazines I’ll get an idea in my head based on a recipe or image I saw, but wont get in the kitchen until many months, maybe a year or so later to experiment and try a combination of flavors I saw. Will I remember exactly where the idea came from? Not always, but I do my best too to give credit when I’m inspired by something specific. I would hope others would do the same for my work. It can be frustrating for sure, and I’ve seen it too. But telling a recipe story through your eyes is why people visit your blog, Alex. I try not to let it get the best of me and just keep doing my thing with integrity.
But I get it. Just like your vegan ganache here.. I make one too using a recipe I created on my blog (that vegan chocolate hazelnut cake)… but there’s only so many ways to make vegan ganache, ya know (among so many other things).
This tart is gorgeous and the chocolatey goodness has my attention! Beautifully captured. xo
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Thank you so much for your thoughts, Traci. I am so often inspired by your recipes, especially as your technique mastery is second to none. Those vegan sugar cookies! I hope no one doubts your integrity – and I do have a recipe on my site (somewhere…) with a whipped ganache inspired by that cake. Thank you <3