Want a chocolate tart that looks clean and elegant, deeply chocolatey, lightly sweetened, with silky ganache and a crust that snaps pleasantly when you bite into it? This one relies on two simple components: a gluten-free shortcrust pastry and a dark chocolate ganache.
Sugar stays in the background, chocolate takes the lead, and the tart holds its shape without feeling heavy. It’s the kind of dessert that gets straight to the point, served chilled after a 10-minute rest, perhaps with a few cocoa nibs scattered on top. You’ll find the rest of my gluten-free cakes and entremets all in one place.
What is this low-sugar vegan gluten-free chocolate tart?
It’s a tart made with a gluten-free, vegan shortcrust pastry and filled with a dark chocolate ganache made with plant-based cream. What makes this version special is that it focuses less on sweetness and more on pure, direct chocolate flavor. There’s no need to add refined sugar to the ganache: chocolate already contains some, even when it’s quite bitter, and most thick plant-based creams are sweetened as well.
The pastry used here is a vegan, gluten-free shortcrust, the kind of shell you usually see in savory tarts. It works just as well in a sweet tart because it stays understated and lets the filling shine. The ganache, meanwhile, is designed to be dense, smooth, and almost velvety, with dark chocolate and plant-based cream, and no added sugar.
The main ingredients
For the shell, the flour matters a lot. Use a good-quality gluten-free bread flour, such as Caputo, King Arthur, or Schär, and weigh everything to the gram for accuracy.
One important note: Caputo and King Arthur contain gluten-free wheat, so they are not suitable if you cannot consume gluten at all.
The vegan butter matters just as much as the flour if you want a proper crust. You need a gluten-free vegan butter that is free from nuts and soy; Violife is a solid option. Use it very cold, cut into cubes, so you can rub it into the flour, salt, and a little sugar with your fingertips.
For the filling, use dark chocolate and a thick plant-based cream. All dark chocolate is vegan, but not all of it is soy-free, since many brands contain soy lecithin. Pascha semi-sweet dark chocolate is a good option and is nearly free of the most common allergens. Cocoa nibs are optional and serve only as a finishing touch.
Technical pointers and pitfalls to avoid
The pastry and ganache use very few ingredients, so every detail shows. Temperature, resting time, thickness, and the order in which ingredients are added all directly affect the final texture and structure. Here, it’s best to follow the method exactly as written.
For the pastry
Rub the cold vegan butter into the flour, salt, and sugar with your fingertips. Keep the butter cold as you work it into the dry ingredients. Then add the cold water in 3 additions, not all at once, and stop as soon as the dough comes together and forms a ball.
Once the dough has come together, wrap it and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. To prevent sticking, roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper. Aim for a thickness of 3 to 4 mm, no more, so the shell bakes up neat and crisp.
Cut the dough to fit your molds before lining them. Once the molds are lined, place them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C, then bake the shells for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden. Let them return to room temperature before adding the ganache.
For the ganache
Bring the plant-based cream to a boil. Pour it over the chocolate, then blend with an immersion blender until smooth and glossy. It’s the best tool for properly emulsifying the ganache.
If you don’t have an immersion blender, pour the hot cream over the chocolate in 3 additions, stirring constantly. Here too, adding it gradually matters: don’t pour it in all at once. Keep stirring until the ganache is smooth, glossy, and fully emulsified.
Assembly and setting
Pour the ganache while it is still warm into the cooled tart shells. Then tap the tartlets or the mold a few times to level the surface. If you’re using them, add the cocoa nibs at this stage.
Finish with 10 minutes in the fridge before serving. This short rest is enough to set the ganache without firming it up completely. That way, you get a clean cut and a center that stays soft.
You’ll find the rest of my vegan desserts all in one place.
Recipe developed by Chef Rommel Reyes. Find more of his work on Instagram, his Substack newsletter, and his YouTube channel.
Ingredients
- 50 g cold water
- 250 g Schar gluten-free bread flour
- 3 g salt
- 5 g sugar
- 150 g salted vegan butter, preferably Violife Salted cold, cut into cubes
- 180 g 55% to 70% dark chocolate, preferably Pascha
- 250 g plant-based heavy cream, preferably Califia Farms Heavy Whip Cream
- 25 g cocoa nibs
Instructions
Tartlet shells
- Rub the cold butter into the gluten-free flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl using your fingertips.
- Add the water in 3 additions, mixing until the dough comes together into a ball.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to keep it from sticking to the work surface.
- Roll it to an even thickness of about 3-4 mm.
- Cut the dough to fit the tartlet molds.
- Press the dough into the tartlet molds.
- Freeze for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
- Let the tart shells cool completely at room temperature before filling.
Chocolate ganache filling
- Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in a bowl.
- Blend with an immersion blender until smooth and glossy.
- If you don’t have an immersion blender, pour the hot cream over the chocolate in 3 additions.
- Stir constantly until smooth and glossy.
- Fill the tart shells with the warm chocolate ganache.
- Gently tap a few times to level the filling.
- Sprinkle cocoa nibs over the top.
- Chill for 10 minutes, or until set, before serving.
