One of my favorite desserts that I’ve ever made were these delectable dark chocolate tarts that I posted back in December. They had this nutty, oatmeal crust that was perfectly browned & then topped up with a smooth dark chocolate filling. It was seriously perfect…well, atleast to me and most of my friends. However- ONE friend in particular (ehm ehm, you know who you are)– was not as enthusiastic about that recipe as much as the rest of us. They loved the filling, but they admitted that the crust was a little too “healthy” for them. They wanted their dessert to be a FULL dessert, no oats or nuts or anything that can be misconstrued as healthy. Now, don’t get me wrong- they still devoured their tart & said it was one of the best they’ve had…but I knew I could make it better for them.
Well weeks came and went after those tarts, lots of studying and real life stuff- and then I stumbled on making those dark chocolate dipped pretzels for a studying session….and the thought popped up: what if I made another version of dark chocolate tarts but with a pretzel crust?? The dipped pretzels were so delicious- why wouldn’t I try converting that into a tart? I scribbled the idea into a note and put it away for a while, knowing I would test it out whenever the time came.
Luckily for me, my friend’s birthday was this past week (and even more luckily, right after exams finished up). And that means, it was the perfect time to whip up this new tart experiment. AND GUYS. It was most definitely a perfect plan.
I left the dark chocolate filling alone because, I mean, it was already perfect and why fix what’s- well you know. For the crust I blended up two cups of pretzels, with about 3 tablespoons brown sugar to counteract that salt, and then butter to keep everything together. Then I crossed my fingers and let them brown for about 10 minutes. The crusts came together better than I could have wished for! Paired up with the dark chocolate…whew. It was definitely a good call and a seriously wonderful birthday treat! My friend was finally 100% on board with this dessert, and quite literally finished his tart as soon as humanly possible. Success!
I even got to share two of these tarts with the family and they loved them as well! My family’s pretty honest so I really appreciate their opinions, especially when it comes to trying out a new recipe. That’s why I wanted a straight answer: what was better, the oatmeal crust or pretzel crust? Now, despite my family being pretty vocal about their thoughts, they couldn’t come up with an answer (go figure). So you tell me, which dessert do you prefer?
- 2 cups pretzels
- 3 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 can cold coconut milk
- 1 cup dark chocolate
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor, chop pretzels, brown sugar, and butter together until a coarse sand-like mixture is formed.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Lightly grease your mini tart ring molds and place on top.
- Drop spoonfuls of crust mixture in tart pan. Press the mixture onto the parchment paper and against the wall of the ring molds to form the crust. Set aside until oven is ready.
- When oven is preheated, place the crusts in the middle rack and back for 10 minutes, or until the crust is browned.
- Set crusts aside to cool.
- Place a sauce pan over medium heat.
- From a chilled can of coconut milk, scoop the cream and place into the pan. (You will not be using the water in the coconut milk for this recipe so you may discard it or reserve it for something else.)
- Add in the dark chocolate as well.
- Whisk ingredients together until the chocolate has melted and you have a rich, creamy sauce.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the cooled tart crusts. Make sure to fill up to the crust brim only, as it will pour over if you pour too much or too quickly.
- Place tarts in fridge for 1 hour or until firm.
- When the filling is set, gently pop the tarts out of the ring mold by pressing with all fingertips at the bottom and working your way around the ring.
Super easy to make and so delicious! I made it in a 9′” springform pan instead using 2 cups ground pretzels [adjust butter accordingly]
You made my day!! & So glad you agree, it’s a deceptively easy but fancy dessert to whip up!
Looks so delicious and I love how easy this tart is to make!
Thank you Natalie!! & yes, totally agree- it was a delicious but easy recipe, I’ll definitely be remaking this one soon!