Okay, I lied. Remember when I said that these coconut macaroons were my “top easiest but equally impressive looking” recipe? Well… Let me introduce these delectable dark chocolate tarts into your life.
I’ve been wanting to make tarts for about a month now, I kept finding these amazing recipes online and…ugh, they just looked beautiful, ya know? I even ordered tart rings because I was absolutely set on trying to make a tart. But even though I kept finding all these different recipes, I kept wanting to tweak so many different ones to satisfy my own palate. I couldn’t find a recipe that was full of the ingredients that I’m obsessed with, so I couldn’t commit to a recipe. Anyways, fast forward to now- exams are rounding the corner which means my stress eating is also increasing- but that means my stress baking is too (still not sure if this a good or bad thing just yet haha). But after spending hours on hours covering anatomy and medical procedures (which I’ll spare you on the details, you’re welcome), I decided I deserved a damn good treat. I wanted rich, ooey gooey, delicious dark chocolate AND I wanted it balanced with a nutty and crumbly crust. And, let’s be real, I wanted it to be freaking beautiful.
So I set out to make my own crust. I didn’t want a plain crust, no no- I needed texture and crumbs and something that would toast to perfection. I grabbed a handful of almonds, a handful of oats, and threw em in the food processor. And I think grabbing those oats reminded me of the dark chocolate oatmeal cookies that I made earlier this year, which was the first recipe that I left out eggs and subbed in coconut oil & honey instead. Those oatmeal cookies were an absolute hit. Sooo why not try my luck again? I added in honey and coconut oil and then prayed that the crust would come together in the oven. Safe to say I think it held up wonderfully!
The filling was whipped up in about 5 minutes, just chilled coconut cream and dark chocolate chunks melted together to form a delectable dark chocolate heaven (you think I’m joking but, seriously, I almost poured myself a mini mug of this and drank it as hot chocolate…shh, there’s no judgement when it comes to the kitchen, okay?)
Since this was my first time making tarts, I was super nervous about it. Half way through it, I was getting paranoid & annoyed that I ventured into concocting a creation instead of following a tried & true recipe that I knew wouldn’t fail. I checked on these every 30 minutes in the fridge because I didn’t know if the filling would set, if the crusts would shatter somehow, or if I should just get rid of the evidence before someone came over and saw my super sad/failed attempts at tarts. But I’m SO grateful that I just trusted my uh..instincts? cravings? baker’s obsession? Whatever it was, it definitely did not leave me astray. These were the perfect balance of rich chocolately love and crumbly, toasted crust. I made 5…I split one with a friend as soon as the tarts were ready (to taste test & make sure they were good, ya know). I promised one tart as a birthday treat to a friend & another tart to treat my friend before exams. When I was baking the crusts, I was planning to give the other two away as well. Hilarious. Because that being said, I’ve already made my way through a second one as I write this up. What can I say? Nothing stands between me & dark chocolate heaven.
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 2/3 cup flour
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 can cold coconut milk
- 2/3 cup dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup almonds, chopped
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor, chop almonds and oats until a coarse sand-like mixture is formed.
- Add in flour and quickly process to blend evenly.
- Add melted coconut oil and honey. Mix with spatula until it begins to come together.
- 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 15 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 2 hours or until firm.
- Once tarts are cooled, add a thin layer of almonds to the inner border of the tarts.
- To drizzle dark chocolate, use a double boiler method to heat up the dark chocolate in top pan.
- Once thoroughly heated, pour chocolate into a ziploc bag & snip the corner.
- Quickly drizzle back and forth on the tarts to get the desired effect.
This seductive dessert has you falling in love at first bite!
Girllll, I think know the dessert to your heart <3