Salted Chocolate Truffle Oat Shortbread Tart

Salted Chocolate Truffle Oat Shortbread Tart (vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free)

Tarts are wonderful inventions – typically no-bake or semi-baked (still easy!), full of nutrition, familiar ingredients, and not many recipe steps. My kind of recipe!

This one is ever more dear to my heart because I managed to fit in two healthy flours – almond flour and oat flour. These flours really hike the nutrition here. Both are full of vitamins, loaded with protein and fiber, and high in antioxidants.

Almond flour – of course I used Bob’s Red Mill’s brand here – is also uniquely high in vitamin E, so important for skin and other cell processes.

Oat flour – again, I used Bob’s Red Mill’s – adds iron and calcium to the recipe.

This is an awesome nutritional start for a decadent dessert, don’t you agree?

I just remember always being the one to order the most luscious chocolate dessert from the restaurant menu out with family and I also remember not feeling so great after I scoffed down that mess of heavy cream and processed sugar. I’m not trying to be holier than though, I just really believe it’s just too easy to make a decadent chocolate dessert healthy, so why the heck not?

Did Someone Say Chocolate?

Speaking of chocolate. Since this particular recipe is mostly chocolate, let’s guess what nutritional gains this popular ingredient contributes, shall we? Oh, all right I’ll just tell you..

Generally quality dark chocolate holds fiber, iron, magnesium, and a slew of other minerals as well as being high in antioxidants.

Okay, enough nutrition-gloating. Let’s move on to why this particular tart recipe is “easy”.

In general, making tarts is stressful. I was stressed when I first decided to make this one. The crust needs to end up a certain way. The filling, too. And how to get it out of the pan?

This Recipe Has Ground-Rules

So I set some ground-rules for this recipe:

1. It had to use healthy yet familiar ingredients

2. It had to have an easy and not-lengthy step-by-step process.

3. It had to be easy to get out of the pan.

And I am delighted to say I met the challenge. This recipe is pretty simple so variations in outcome probably aren’t an issue if you follow my steps.

And the tart-removal-from-the-pan challenge can be met with my one simple tip for you:

Grease and flour the tart pan even though it has a removable bottom. That really increases your chances of releasing the finished baked tart intact.

And here is how: Melt some coconut oil. Grab a paper towel, and rub the entire inside, using your finger to be sure the flutes get greased. Then, pour a few tablespoons of flour – it can be the same flour you baked with or it can be a simple all-purpose (gluten-free if need be) flour. Tip the pan to and fro to get that dusting everywhere! Finally tip it over the sink – but don’t let the removable bottom fall off! – and give it a tap to release any loose clumps of flour.

Isn’t that a good trick? My mother taught me that, ha! In fact, she also taught me how to mince parsley without removing finger tips and to keep frosting moist by covering it with a soaking wet paper towel and, oh, so many other tricks. Mothers can be great like that, am I right?

So, back to the recipe. Once the recipe is complete and you have before you a glorious tart successfully removed from the pan and just sitting there waiting to be photography eaten, sprinkle on some flaked salt and slice into triangles! Keeps refrigerated up to four days. Enjoy!

Print

Salted Chocolate Truffle Oat Shortbread Tart (vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free)

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 1/4 cup oat flour
• 2/3 cup organic vegetable shortening
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Filling Ingredients:

• 1 (13.5oz) can full-fat coconut milk (not chilled)
• 5 (3.5 oz) bars dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• flaky sea salt

Useful Equipment

• 14- inch Rectangular Tart

Instructions

Prep

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare the chocolate by chopping it up.
   
2. Grease and dust with flour the bottom and sides of a 14-inch rectangular tart pan (with removable bottom) with coconut oil. (This recipe also works in a 9-10 round tart pan or even a traditional pie pan although with a pie pan, you'll have to serve the tart in the pan).
3. Do not chill the can of coconut milk overnight or it will separate. And to ensure the fat is not separated out, shake the can hard before making the chocolate.

Make The Crust

1. Use a blender or food processor to combine the crust ingredients. Stop as soon as the mixture resembles a dough.
2. Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the greased pan. Start forming the edges first, and then smooth out the center with a flat-bottomed glass.
3. Puncture the crust on the bottom in several places with a fork to ensure air bubbles don't form.

4. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes. Watch it carefully as oven temperatures vary. You want the overall color to be brown, but of course, not burned.

   When it's ready, remove from oven and sit the pan on a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Do not remove the tart from the pan yet or it will break. If the bottom has bubbled up at all, gentle press flat while it is still warm with the bottom of silver measuring cup or other flat bottle.

   I set the crust still in the pan into the freezer while I make the filling.
   

Make The Chocolate Truffle Filling

1. When the crust is cooled, make the chocolate filling:

   Shake the room-temperature can of coconut milk, open it and pour the contents into a sauce pan. Heat the milk on the stove on medium heat until simmering. Don't boil.

2. Chop the chocolate bars into chunks. Place the chunks in a pile in a mixing bowl, and pour the coconut milk over the top and wait 10 seconds.

3. With a metal (very dry) spoon, stir the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
4. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt until combined.

Remove & Fill Tart Crust

1. When the chocolate filling is ready, it is time to remove the tart crust from the pan in order to fill the tart.

   Remove the tart by pressing upward on the center (removable) panel, and gently transfer it to a cookie sheet.

2. Pour the chocolate mixture into the baked yet cooled crust, and smooth the top with a spoon until it is even. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until firm.

3. Serve chilled, sprinkled with flaky sea salt.

Thank you Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post. The recipe, ideas, content and opinions expressed here are all my own. I do recommend you try Bob’s Red Mill products, you will be so inspired by all their healthy unique products!