It was New Year’s Eve, and I had been tasked with making dessert for the party we were invited to. What to make? I wanted to bring something impressive and celebratory. It was New Year’s Eve after all. But after ten days of holiday cooking and hosting, I was in no mood for a project. Plus, I’m eating more plant-based and one of the party hosts is celiac. Wow. A dessert that’s classy, simple, vegan, and gluten-free. That’s asking a lot.
But as I was paging through Joanne Chang’s latest, Pastry Love, her Almond Joy Tart caught my eye. It was, in fact, classy, simple, vegan, and gluten-free. Using her recipe as inspiration, I developed my own chocolate-almond tart and took it to the party.
As we were leaving the event, we headed to the dessert table to pick up our platter. With nowhere to put what little was left of the remaining tart, we grabbed our serving dish and headed out the door. On our way out one of the hosts stopped us and pleaded for an extra slice.
That’s a pretty good endorsement, don’t you think?
PrintNo-Bake Chocolate-Almond-Coconut Tart
You’d never guess this decadent chocolate tart is both gluten-free and vegan. You only need a small piece to satisfy your sweet tooth.
If the canned coconut milk is solid on top, heat the entire can until smooth and then pour off and reserve for another use all but the 3/4 cup called for here. Make sure the coconut milk you’re using is good and hot before pouring it over the chocolate.
Ingredients
2 cups roasted, unsalted almonds, divided
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
6 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
Pinch salt
12 ounces (scant 2 cups) vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon each: vanilla extract and instant coffee
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut for garnish
Instructions
Finely grind 1 1/2 cups of the almonds in a food processor. Add cocoa powder, coconut oil, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt; pulse to combine. Evenly press almond mixture into and up the sides of a 13- by 4-inch or an 8-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom; refrigerate to firm up while making chocolate ganache.
Place chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat coconut milk and coffee to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour hot milk over chips, let stand a couple of minutes, and then whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla.
Evenly distribute the remaining 1/2 cup of almonds over the crust’s surface. Pour warm chocolate over the almonds. Refrigerate to firm up, about 30 minutes. Can be covered and refrigerated a couple of days or frozen for a couple of months. When ready to serve sprinkle coconut flakes around the perimeter and serve.
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