This vegan berry chocolate tart features a silky smooth white chocolate ganache nestled in a melt-in-your-mouth pistachio shortbread crust and is then layered with a gorgeous summer berry curd filling. Finish with a crown of fresh berries for an easy to make elegant vegan dessert!
Thank you to Stahlbush Island Farms for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own.
Tarts and galettes are among the prettiest desserts. They’re such showstoppers, but they’re some of the easiest sweet treats to make! And if you have never made pastry, this vegan tart is one of the best ways to start your pie adventures! There’s no rolling required for the crust, just press and bake! This filling, while two parts, consists of simply melting chocolate in coconut cream and then making berry curd on the stove-top.
How to Make Vegan Berry Chocolate Tart:
1) The Shortbread Crust
I love that this crust can easily be made in a food processor. Simply blitz the ingredients and then press into the tart pan! Don’t worry about any pieces of coconut oil that aren’t blended in. Bits of unincorporated coconut oil, or vegan butter, is one of the secrets to a delicate shortbread crust!
A tart pan with a removable bottom is really key for tarts made with crumb or shortbread style crusts. Being able to remove the sides makes it so much easier to slice the tart, and to then remove each piece from the base. They are inexpensive but really reduce any stress of breaking your tart slices as you’re trying to remove them from the pan!
For an even crust, the mixture needs to be made level and compact. I like using a the back of a flat dry measuring cup. If you’re finding the mixture is sticking to the cup, you can lightly dust the cup with flour. I usually start with the sides, working my way around and then do the bottom last. Poke with holes (so the steam escapes without warping the crust while it bakes), and freeze the crust before baking. This helps the crust maintain its shape and not slouch in the pan, especially if your kitchen or hands are warm.
Pistachios give the crust a nice subtle flavor. Don’t have pistachios? You could use another nut if you like – toasted, skinned hazelnuts work really well. While I haven’t tested it, almonds would be tasty in this recipe, too!
2) The Chocolate Layer
While the crust bakes, melt the white chocolate and coconut cream together for the white chocolate ganache. Note: There isn’t any discernible coconut flavor in this tart despite using a bit of coconut cream!
I really like this brand of white chocolate, but there seems to more brands carrying vegan white chocolate every day! If you can’t get your hands on any, dark chocolate would also be delicious in this tart – the layers won’t be as distinct visually but they will still taste amazing!
Let the chocolate ganache layer chill until completely set before adding the berry curd. If it is still liquid, the thick berry curd being poured over a liquid chocolate ganache is going to do what you might guess – mix together. The ganache needs to chill in the baked tart in the fridge (or freezer) until it’s completely set, about 30 minutes. Then, you can pour in the fruit filling.
3) The Fruit Layer
While a lot of vegan fruit fillings are made with agar agar (a thickening substance made by red algae), I prefer the satiny consistency that cornstarch provides for recipes like this. It creates a mouthfeel more reminiscent of egg-based curds or custards, which are smooth and melt in your mouth.
The berry curd for this tart is simple to make. If you’ve never made curd before, don’t fret! The most important step in making curd is whisking it. If you can whisk, you can make a really nice curd!
Start by cooking your berries down in a bit of water and sugar. I used Stahlbush Island Farms’ Northwest Berry Blend which is an awesome blend of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and Marion blackberries. Cooking gets the berries to release their juices and concentrate their lovely flavors. If this product is not available where you live, you may choose to use a blend of frozen strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, or even one type of berry would work. Fresh berries will also work in this recipe.
Once the berries are nicely broken down and bubbling away, carefully whiz them up in a food processor or blender, then strain them through a fine mesh sieve. From there, it’s back to the stove where we thicken it with a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch dissolved in water). Add a bit of lemon juice to amplify those berry flavors and vegan butter for mouth feel and it’s done!
The curd needs to be poured into the tart crust with completely chilled and set chocolate ganache while the curd is still warm. Once it’s poured into the crust and chilled, it will set up beautifully so you can make nice clean cuts for pretty slices. At this point, cover it with wrap . If you place wrap over it before it sets up, the curd will stick to the wrap and your tart won’t be smooth on top.
Make Ahead:
This vegan tart can be made a day or two in advance. The crust will soften a little bit as shortbread does if stored in the fridge. Once it’s assembled and completely chilled, cover it. Save decorating it with more berries until you’re ready to serve so that the berries remain fresh looking and don’t leak their juices over your pretty tart.
More Vegan Berry Tarts and Galettes:
- Chocolate Raspberry Dream Tarts
- Strawberry Galette with Hazelnut Chocolate Cream
- Blueberry Ginger Galette
- Bakewell Tart
If you make this Vegan Berry Chocolate Tart, please give it a rating in the recipe card and leave a comment below! Follow along on Instagram where you can tag me in your creations using my recipes! You can also follow me on Pinterest for vegan recipe inspiration and on Facebook. Thank you for reading!\
Vegan Berry Chocolate Tart – Gluten-Free Option
Ingredients
For the Pistachio Shortbread Crust:
- ⅔ cup shelled pistachios*
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour may use an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend including xanthan gum
- ⅓ cup refined** coconut oil
- 4 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ tsp salt omit if pistachios are salted
For the White Chocolate Layer:
- ⅓ cup coconut cream***
- ½ cup vegan white chocolate****
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Berry Curd Layer:
- 4 cups mixed berries, frozen or fresh****
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water, divided
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp vegan butter
- fresh berries for garnish, if desired
Instructions
For the Pistachio Shortbread Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a food processor, blitz the pistachios until they have broken down into a coarse flour. Don't over-process or it will become greasy and then into nut butter. And in the flour, refined coconut oil, confectioners' sugar and salt (if using.) Pulse until blended and the dough starts to ball up.
- Press the dough evenly into a 9" round pan with removable bottom. Start with the sides and work your way down ensuring that the crust is even. Using the bottom of a flat dry measuring cup dusted with flour may help. Press and smooth out the surface. Gently pierce the sides and bottom every inch or so with a fork. Freeze for 10-15 minutes to prevent the crust from slumping in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until fragrant and starting to lightly brown.
For the White Chocolate Layer:
- In a small pot, heat the coconut cream over low heat. Once steaming, remove from heat and add in the white vegan chocolate and stir until it melts. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour over the baked tart crust and set in the fridge to chill completely, about 30 minutes.
For the Berry Curd Layer:
- In a medium-sized pot. cook the berries over medium-low heat with 1/2 cup water until they are simmering. Remove from heat. Carefully blend the berries in a food processor or blender. In the meantime, rinse out the pot.
- Press the berries through a fine mesh sieve back into the pot. Turn the heat up to medium. Whisk in the sugar and salt.
- Make a cornstarch slurry by whisking the remaining 1/4 cup of water and the lemon juice with the cornstarch in a bowl. Once all of the lumps are gone, whisk the slurry into the berries.
- Heat and whisk constantly until the pudding has thickened, whisking and cooking one additional minute once it's thickened. Remove from heat, and whisk in the vegan butter. Whisk until completely melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy.
- Pour over the chilled, set ganache in the tart crust. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely, about 2 hours. Cover only once completely chilled and set. Decorate with fresh berries or as desired.
Nutrition Info:
Notes:
The Nutrition Information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the Nutrition Information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
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rose
Sunday 16th of May 2021
made this yesterday as my first time making a tart! it came out so good and even my vegan-sceptic family loved it ❤ thanks a bunch for a fool-proof recipe without agar agar, it will definitely be making a comeback in my kitchen
Crumbs & Caramel
Thursday 20th of May 2021
Hi Rose! I'm so happy you had such a success for your first tart! I'm also excited to hear that it passed the test with your family! Thank you for letting me know :) ~ Bronwyn