Vegan Chocolate Tart with a Walnut Crust

This delicious vegan chocolate tart is the perfect dessert to make for Valentine’s day this year! It’s made with a walnut date crust and has the creamiest four ingredient chocolate filling. This recipe was made in partnership with California Walnuts, but all opinions are my own.

About seven years ago, I used to sell no-bake, vegan desserts to my community in Brooklyn. I loved creating raw cakes that were made from dried fruit, nuts and simple flavorings. 

They tasted delicious and were made with ingredients that were nourishing! This simple chocolate tart packs in so much flavor, and is made with a few of my favorite pantry staples. The base is a blend of walnuts, dates, cacao powder and salt. It’s a perfect dessert to make this Valentine’s day, and a delicious way to celebrate American Heart Month!

American Heart Month

Each year in February, we celebrate American Heart Month to help bring awareness to the leading cause of death in both men and women- heart disease. The American Heart Association dedicates a whole month to heart health in hopes of improving people’s overall health by motivating them to adopt healthy lifestyle changes.

Walnuts and Heart Health

While certain risk factors like age and genetics cannot be modified, our diets-which can greatly affect our risk of heart disease- can 100% be changed! 

Eating walnuts as part of a healthy diet may decrease your risk of heart disease*. One serving of walnuts (about 1 oz) has 4g of protein, 2g of fiber, and 2.5g of plant-based omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which may decrease the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) in those with high cholesterol.

Walnuts can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels and decrease blood pressure, two of the major risk factors for heart disease.

*Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. (FDA) One ounce of walnuts offers 18g of total fat, 2.5g of monounsaturated fat, 13g of polyunsaturated fat including 2.5g of alpha-linolenic acid – the plant-based omega-3.

I love pairing this dessert with fresh berries. I always top mine off with shaved chocolate, crushed walnuts and a light sprinkle of sea salt. 

What you’ll need to make this vegan chocolate tart with a walnut crust

• Walnuts– they make for a perfect base for this cake, but are also a great snack option to keep around! 
• Medjool dates– Medjool dates are a lot bigger and sweeter than other varieties of dates, and therefore preferred for this recipe
• Cacao powder
• Full-fat coconut milk– this one’s important. The lighter versions may not work as well!
• Vegan chocolate chips– I love aiming for a 60-70% cacao ratio
• Pure maple syrup

The ingredients are so simple, but you end up with the creamiest, chocolate filled tart! 

I can’t wait for you guys to try this recipe! Be sure to leave a comment and rating below if you do.

Thank you to California Walnuts for sponsoring this post. I only work with brands I truly love and believe in.

Vegan Chocolate Tart with a Walnut Crust

5 from 6 votes

Course: Gluten-Free, Sweets, Vegan

Servings

8-10

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Chill time

4

hours 

Total time

4

hours 

15

minutes

Ingredients

• Crust

• 2 cups walnuts

• 10 medjool dates (about 1 cup), pits removed

• 2 tbsp unsweetened cacao or cocoa powder

• 2 tbsp water

• Pinch of salt

• Filling

• 1 can of full-fat coconut milk, shaken before using (14 oz)

• 10 oz vegan chocolate chips, about 1 + 2/3 cup. Preferably 60-70% cocoa

• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Toppings

• Fresh berries

• Shaved dark chocolate

• Crushed Walnuts

• Sea salt

Directions

• Starting with your crust, pulse your walnuts in a food processor until they’re finely chopped.
• Add in the dates, and pulse until they’re chopped.
• Add in your cocoa powder and salt and blend together a few times. Pour in the water, and blend the crust until a sticky dough forms.
• Line a 10″ pie dish with parchment paper- I like to cut two thick strips and layer them vertically and horizontally so that the tart is easier to lift once its ready. Flatten the crust to the bottom of the pan and up the sides. The crust doesn’t need to reach the top of the pan, but should be at least 1″ high.
• For the filling, pour your coconut milk and chocolate chips into a saucepan over medium/low heat. Whisk together until the chocolate is fully melted, it should take about 5-7 minutes.
• Once smooth, mix in your pure maple syrup. Let the mixture thicken for a few more minutes, continuing to whisk.
• Remove from heat and mix in your vanilla extract.
• Pour the filling over the crust. Let it set in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
• If you prefer more of an ice cream texture, serve the tart straight from the freezer. If you want more of a pudding-like texture (as pictured), serve from the fridge.
• Serve with fresh berries, whipped cream, shaved chocolate, and extra nuts. Leftovers can be frozen for up to 2 months, or kept refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @somethingnutritious on Instagram- I’d love to see your creations!