Chocolate Fig Tart with Almond Cocoa Crust is a coconut fat and chocolate ganache in an almond cocoa crust with naturally sweet fig jam. This was originally made vegan, but if that’s not your jam, it is easy to covert.
The addition of fig jam (a very naturally sweet fruit) with coconut chocolate ganache is divine. I only had Fig Newtons growing up, so I can’t say it was my first go-to fruit for anything. However, chocolate and figs sounded amazing; and it is. Any jam or leftover pureed pie filling (raspberry, strawberry, mixed berry, etc.) would be a beautiful flavor combination too.
The tart is simply delicious with minimal ingredients and for today’s pictures I kept the entire tart vegan. Some folks run the opposite direction when they hear “vegan” but think about it, fruit in their natural form create their own sugars. With the right combination of fruit & nuts, and vegan chocolate you have the perfect naturally sweet “vegan” dessert.
Let’s make this yummy Almond Cocoa Crust. Combine the almond flour, gluten-free flour (or all-purpose), unsweetened cocoa and pure cane sugar (just a tiny bit). I use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. If you cannot find this in your area my Gluten-Free Flour Mix is nearly identical. During this pandemic I had trouble either findings ingredients for my own mix or Bob’s was sold out. Fun year, right?
Melt the coconut oil and water and beat with an egg (detailed directions for a vegan egg substitute is in recipe below). Stir this into the dry ingredients (see above).
The crust dough will be very sticky, so use a spatula to spread it into a 9-inch tart pan. Bake @ 400 F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and she’s ready for the filling.
While the crust is baking, make the coconut chocolate ganache. When you open the refrigerated can of full fat coconut milk, the solids should be on the top. Scoop out the solid coconut fat with a spoon and discard the liquid. Over medium heat, melt the coconut fat and the vegan chocolate.
Doesn’t this coconut chocolate ganache look tasty? I know, let’s get a spoon, am I a right?
Pour the coconut chocolate ganache into the baked crust. Pipe on the fig jam or plop spoonfuls onto filling while still warm.
Run a knife though the fig jam & filling to create a pattern and garnish the edges with the slivered almonds. Pop this nice warm tart into the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours and she’s ready to serve.
The chocolate coconut ganache becomes opaque as it cools. And, of course the hardest part is waiting, always. As all of us pie lovers know, the second hardest part is stashing that last slice for yourself.
Chocolate Fig Tart with Almond Cocoa Crust
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 12-ounce can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated at least 4 hours (or place in fridge the night before making tart)
- 3 oz vegan chocolate, broken/cut up in pieces
- 3/4 cup Fig Jam (about 6 ounces)
- 3/4 cup slivered almonds (for garnish)
Almond Cocoa Crust
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup gluten-free or all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons pure cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 vegan egg (mix 2 tablespoons ground flax seed plus 1/4 cup water, let soak for 5 minutes)
Instructions
Almond Cocoa Crust
- Make the vegan egg: mix 2 tablespoons ground flax with 1/4 cup water and let soak for 5 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400.
- In a large bowl, stir all of the dry ingredients together.
- In a separate microwave safe bowl, heat the coconut oil and water at 15 second intervals, just until the coconut oil is barely melted. Add the vegan egg.
- Pour the egg/water mixture into the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly with a fork.
- Using a spatula, spread the dough evenly into bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven.
Coconut Ganache Filling
- Open the can of chilled coconut milk and discard the separated liquid, keeping the coconut milk fat.
- In a sauce pan over medium heat add the coconut milk fat and the broken up chocolate pieces. Heat and stir just until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the coconut milk, making a chocolate coconut ganache, this will take about 4 to 5 minutes. The coconut and chocolate will melt fairly fast over medium heat.
- Pour the chocolate coconut ganache into the baked almond cocoa crust.
- Place the fig jam into a decorator piping bag or plastic storage bag, cut off corner and pipe the fig jam into a spiral, or circles, on top of chocolate coconut ganache filling while still warm. Or you can plop spoonfuls onto the filling.
- Use a butter knife and pull through the spirals of fig jam in alternate directions to create a simple pattern.
- Add the slivered almonds around the edge of the tart for garnish.
- Place tart into refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours before serving.
