These Rich Salted Chocolate Vegan Tarts are an intense, chocolate-celebrating experience. There has been a lot of recipe experimenting, sharing, and celebrating chocolate around here. Life is beautiful.
Jar Lids Double as Tart Pans
That’s right, MacGyver—jar lids. I’ve used both small and wide-mouthed jar lids because they are mechanically very similar to removable bottom tart pans. You can make one big tart, mini tarts or bars if you don’t have removable bottom tart pans or jar lids. I’ve also made batches with a mix of different sized jar lids—this is a great idea if you want to mess the with people you serve them to.
Vegan Dark Chocolate
Lots of dark chocolate bars are naturally vegan. Cocoa butter is vegan, it’s the plant-based fat taken from the cocoa bean. Just check your labels to make sure your chocolate doesn’t contain dairy milk and you’ll be good to go. I’ve made these tarts with 70-72% chocolate. You could use whatever you think is sounds good. If you go darker you might also want to add an extra date of two.
You could use flavored chocolate bars like orange, raspberry, or espresso—if you are feeling like you want venture into a new flavor dimension.
This Crust is Nuts!
I like to leave this crust a little chunky for contrast. You can also sub some unsweetened, shredded coconut for some of the nuts. I’ve also seen tart recipes that use oats or almond flour. I have found that this recipe is super adaptable.
I love the texture that the cacao nibs bring to this tart crust.
No Bake
For this recipe we patiently melt some stuff in a small pan and use the big food processor a few times. The hard part is waiting for these decadent tarts to set up in the freezer.
Sweet, Sweet Dates
Most of the sweetness in these tarts comes from dates. There is cane sugar in the chocolate bars I used. If you want to make this with unsweetened chocolate and possibly add more dates, I think that would go well. I tend to like chocolate rich, but not crazy sweet.
Coconut Cream
I use two 5.4 oz cans of coconut cream. You could sub silken tofu or plain, unsweetened almond yogurt if you don’t want to use coconut cream.
Chocolate is a Love Drug
Chocolate chemically releases all kinds of things in our brains that give us a love buzz.
Let’s Make Rich Salted Chocolate Vegan Tarts
Make the crust
Add all crust ingredients EXCEPT CACAO NIBS to the food processor. Pulse until it comes together into a sticky dough, some chunks are nice. Fold the cacao nibs into the dough with a rubber spatula or your hands.
Press the dough into 12 – 14 small jar lids or 8 – 10 wide mouth jar lids, the kind of lids with a rim & circle part). Use a jar to press a circle in the center to give the center a more shallow shape. Place tart crusts in the freezer to firm up for 20 minutes.
Clean out the food processor, so that there is nothing chunky left in it.
Make the filling
While the crusts are chilling, heat a saucepan over medium-low heat and add the coconut cream, broken-up dark chocolate, and coconut oil. Whisk frequently until melted and smooth. Allow the chocolate saucepan mixture to cool for a few minutes before adding it to the food processor.
Remove the pits from the final 5 or 6 dates. Add them to the food processor, along with the vanilla, sea salt, and and the melted chocolate mixture. Blend until completely smooth, scraping sides of the food processor with a spatula. Taste add more salt, if desired.
Chill
Pour or use a spoon or measuring cup to add the filling to each of the chilled tart crusts.
Garnish with flaky sea salt. Place the tarts in the freezer for about 2 hours, until set & firm. You may have extra filling, you could chill it in a small jar and enjoy it with some fruit later.
Serve or Store
Carefully push the bottom flat part of the jar lid up out of the rim.
Then, using a butter knife separate the tart from the bottom flat part of the jar lid.
Let thaw a a few minutes & serve or store the tarts covered in the fridge until you are ready to house some rich, chocolate goodness in your belly.
Rich Salted Chocolate Vegan Tarts (made in jar lids)
Ingredients
Crust
- 10 large Medjool dates pitted, soak dates in hot water & drain if dates are hard
- 1 TBSPs ground flax seed a.k.a flaxseed meal
- 1/2 cup raw pecans
- 3/4 cup raw walnuts
- 1/4 cup smooth almond butter
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup raw cacao nibs
Filling
- 10.8 ounces coconut cream (two 5.4 oz cans) consider silken tofu or kite hill plain, unsweetened almond yogurt if you don't want to use coconut cream.
- 4 ounces vegan dark chocolate I use 70 – 72% chop or break it into pieces
- 1/4 cup refined coconut oil if you use virgin/unrefined it will add coconut flavor to the chocolate. This gives a nice decadent texture, but you could skip it if you are aiming for refined oil-free tarts.
- 5 or 6 large Medjool dates pitted, soak dates in hot water & drain if dates are hard
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- A few sprinkles of flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
Make the crust
- Add all crust ingredients EXCEPT CACAO NIBS to the food processor. Pulse until it comes together into a sticky dough, some chunks are nice. Fold the cacao nibs into the dough with a rubber spatula or your hands.
- Press the dough into 12 – 14 small jar lids or 8 – 10 wide mouth jar lids, the kind of lids with a rim & circle part). Use a jar to press a circle in the center to give the center a more shallow shape. Place tart crusts in the freezer to firm up for 20 minutes. Clean out the food processor, so that there is nothing chunky left in it.
Make the filling
- While the crusts are chilling, heat a saucepan over medium-low heat and add the coconut cream, broken-up dark chocolate, and coconut oil. Whisk frequently until melted and smooth. Allow the chocolate saucepan mixture to cool for a few minutes before adding it to the food processor.
- Remove the pits from the final 5 or 6 dates. Add them to the food processor, along with the vanilla, sea salt, and and the melted chocolate mixture. Blend until completely smooth, scraping sides of the food processor with a spatula. Taste add more salt, if desired.
Chill
- Pour or use a spoon or measuring cup to add the filling to each of the chilled tart crusts. Garnish with flaky sea salt. Place the tarts in the freezer for about 2 hours, until set & firm. You may have extra filling, you could chill it in a small jar and enjoy it with some fruit later.
Serve or Store
- Carefully push the bottom flat part of the jar lid up out of the rim. Then, using a butter knife separate the tart from the bottom flat part of the jar lid. Let thaw a a few minutes & serve or store the tarts covered in the fridge until you are ready to house some rich, chocolate goodness in your belly.
Notes
Jar Lids Double as Tart Pans
I’ve used both small and wide-mouthed jar lids because they are mechanically very similar to removable bottom tart pans. You can make one big tart, mini tarts or bars if you don’t have removable bottom tart pans or jar lids. I’ve also made batches with a mix of different sized jar lids—this is a great idea if you want to mess the with people you serve them to.Vegan Dark Chocolate
Lots of kinds of dark chocolate are naturally vegan. Cocoa butter is vegan, it’s the plant-based fat taken from the cocoa bean. Just check your labels to make sure your chocolate doesn’t contain dairy milk and you’ll be good to go. I’ve made these tarts with 70-72% chocolate. You could use whatever you think is sounds good. If you go darker you might also want to add an extra date of two. You could use flavored chocolate bars like orange, raspberry, or espresso—if you are feeling like you want venture into a new flavor dimension.This Crust is Nuts!
I like to leave this crust a little chunky for contrast. You can also sub some unsweetened, shredded coconut for some of the nuts. I’ve also seen tart recipes that use oats or almond flour. I have found that this recipe is super adaptable. I love the texture that the cacao nibs bring to this tart crust.No Bake
For this recipe we patiently melt some stuff in a small pan and use the big food processor a few times. The hard part is waiting for these decadent tarts to set up in the freezer.Sweet, Sweet Dates
Most of the sweetness in these tarts comes from dates. There is cane sugar in the chocolate bars I used. If you want to make this with unsweetened chocolate and possibly add more dates, I think that would go well. I tend to like chocolate rich, but not crazy sweet.Coconut Cream
I use two 5.4 oz cans of coconut cream. You could sub silken tofu or plain, unsweetened almond yogurt if you don’t want to use coconut cream. www.planttestkitchen.comNutrition
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Recipe adapted from these talented folks
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also enjoy
- Creamy Silken Chocolate Vegan Pudding
- High-Altitude Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Small-Batch High-Altitude Vegan Brownies
- Banana Coconut Chia Pudding
- Decadent High-Altitude Vegan Banana Bread
- Easy Vegan Cream Cheese Stuffed Dates
- Easy Stovetop Maple Pecans
Did you make Rich Salted Chocolate Vegan Tarts?
Did you use tart pans, make bars or use jar lids? Any variations or substitutions? How did it go? Tell me about it in the comments section below. If this recipe went well for you, please leave a 5-star rating on the recipe card to help others find it.
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