Want a dessert that looks and tastes decadent but is secretly pretty good for you? I've got you covered with my Healthy Fudgy Chocolate Raspberry Tart!
Some of my best recipes are as a result of accidents. My No Churn Rhubarb and Custard Ice Cream was one of them. It was supposed to be ice pops but they didn't work out and got recycled. My Raw Christmas Fruit Cake was supposed to be a festive Larabar type treat but was too like Christmas cake to call it anything else.
This Healthy Fudgy Chocolate Raspberry Tart was also not planned. It came about after an epic raspberry haul at the weekend (you might have seen my photo on Instagram) and a semi-failed recipe. I say semi-failed because the recipe didn't turn out how I wanted it to, but it still tasted great and ended up evolving into this. Sometimes recipe fails actually end up being a good thing!
My Healthy Fudgy Chocolate Raspberry Tart has a deliciously crisp, cocoa infused and gluten-free pastry case which is brimming with the richest, thickest, fudgiest chocolate filling. That gorgeous chocolate fudginess is then crowned with beautiful crimson red, sweet-tart raspberries. It is a combination that only dreams are made of. You just can't beat chocolate and raspberries together!
As decadent as this tart sounds, it hides a healthy secret in the filling. Can you guess what it is?
That wonderful fudgy chocolate filling is made from something pretty unexpected. An ingredient that you would usually find in hummus or in my very popular Creamy Curry Chickpea Soup.
I'm sure you've guessed it now!
The secret ingredient which gives this filling it's incredible rich fudginess is chickpeas (or garbanzo beans as you might know them)! You might be surprised by this and even perhaps have recoiled slightly when you read that but please trust me. This Healthy Fudgy Chocolate Raspberry Tart does not taste of beans. No-one will ever know except you. I promise!
Traditional tarts like this are usually filled with a chocolate ganache type filling which is generally made from cream or coconut cream when it's a vegan recipe. In this recipe the chickpeas replace the cream. That saves a huge amount of calories, lowers the fat content and adds a heap of healthy protein. What with the lovely fresh raspberries and the heart healthy oats, this is a dessert that you can feel good about eating.
It might look like it is complicated to make but this Healthy Fudgy Chocolate Raspberry Tart is actually really easy. To make the case you just need to blend up all the ingredients in a food processor then press into a tart tin. You don't even need to roll it out! Then it needs to be baked. The filling then gets blended up in a food processor and when the case is cool, spooned in and levelled out then topped with the raspberries. Then it just needs to set up in the fridge. This doesn't actually take very long. An hour or two at the most. Then you are all set for dessert heaven!
Healthy Raspberry Chocolate Fudge Tart
Author:
Ingredients
For the crust
- 200g / 2 cups rolled oats
- 4 tablespoons cocoa
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 45g / ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar , I used coconut sugar but any kind will do
- 5 - 7 tablespoons cold water
For the filling
- 330g / 2 cups cooked chickpeas , (or contents of one 540ml can drained)
- 5 tablespoons cocoa
- 100g / ½ cup semi sweet dark chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons non-dairy milk
Decoration
- 1 large punnet of raspberries , enough to cover the top
INSTRUCTIONS
For the crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Place the oats into a food processor or a bender and process until they are a coarse flour
- Add the rest of the ingredients (except the water) and process until well combined (a minute or two)
- Gradually add the water. Start with 5 tablespoons and process again for a minute or two then open and try to squeeze the mixture together in your hand. If it stays together easily then it's done. If not add one to two more tablespoons of water then process again. It should press together easily but not feel very wet.
- Tip the mixture into the tart pan and press down with your hands across the bottom and up the sides evenly.
- Prick the bottom all over with a fork then line gently with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans/rice.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes then remove the weights and paper, return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
For the filling
- Add all ingredients to the food processor (no need to clean it as it was only used for the crust) and process until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides once or twice. Make sure it is really, really smooth.
To build the tart
- Spoon the chocolate filling into the pastry case and level the top.
- Decorate with raspberries then refrigerate until the filling is firm. It doesn't take too long. One to two hours max.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Jane says
Hi there, just made this tart and while I got it to taste ok in the end I have to say that it definitely tasted of beans! Followed recipe exactly so maybe it depends on brand of chickpeas/ brand of cocoa/choc chips. I threw a ton of extra cocoa in, and more maple syrup, and more vanilla, but then it was toooo runny so i soaked some dates and added them, and more cocoa and finally got there!!! I'm not criticising by the way, I get that things turn out different to what you expect sometimes. But just wanted to say practice this one first if you want to make for a special occasion. and it wasn't just me either - 16 yr old daughter 'guessed' the secret ingredient before i added to and amended the mixture. Thanks anyway for your blog, I enjoy reading it!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Jane, You are the first person who has said this and this tart/my brownie batter hummus (which is basically the same recipe minus the pastry case) get made a lot. Funnily enough I shared some remake pictures on Instagram and Twitter yesterday. I have personally never detected beans when I have made it and feed it to my bean hating husband and son with no issues. They still don't know! ;O)
Perhaps it does depend on the cocoa/chocolate you use, or perhaps your beans are more 'beany' than my beans, or perhaps you are extra sensitive to beany flavours. Who knows? I'm glad you got it how you liked it in the end though and I'm so glad you are enjoying my blog! ????
Bec says
Hi! I've made this before and it was amazing (chickpeas! Genius!) and I'm planning on making it for (one of) my Xmas desserts. If I made mini ones in a muffin tin how long do you think the crust would need to bake for? Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you are enjoying the recipe and mini ones is a great idea! I think they will take about 15 mins. I would cook them for 10, remove the parchment paper etc and put back in for another 5. Then just check them, give them a poke and make sure they feel cooked through and hard like cooked pastry. If they still feel a little soft then just pop them back in for a few minutes. If you love desserts with chickpeas check out my New York Cheesecake! Have fun and merry Christmas!
Sue says
Wow, this is an amazing filling. I made a less-healthy no-cook version using a basic digestive biscuit base (100g digestive biscuits and 50g melted dairy-free spread) to cover the base of a 15cm quiche dish. I then made half quantity of the topping using carob syrup [and honey, sorry if that offends...) rather than maple syrup, and added a bit of aquafaba from the chickpeas as it was quite thick.
Oh, and I used a broken 50g bar of chocolate rather than chips, which did leave a few small solid lumps of chocolate in the mixture... but that was NOT a problem! No fresh raspberries so I sliced some fresh peaches to put on the top right before using... and it worked very well, making four good sized portions.
I will probably blog about it at some point, but anyone looking at my recipe blog below, be warned that I'm not actually vegan; my husband is dairy-free, and I'm a wannabe veggie, so I do experiment with a lot of veggie and vegan products, but consider myself 'flexitarian',
Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Sue! I bet it's awesome with the biscuit base, kind of like a cheesecake. Glad to be of inspiration :O)
Laura says
HELP. I'm in the middle, the crust is in the oven. DO YOU DRAIN the chickpeas? It doesn't say either way, that I can see. (ifI do drain them, so, I may make some meringue with the brine..haha)
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes, drain the chickpeas or you'll end up with chocolate soup! lol Good luck...let me know how it turns out :O)
Mari says
Hi! Looks like an amazing recipe! I was just wondering if there's anything else I can use instead of the coconut oil? It's not that easy to get where I live, so I was hoping that there's something else I could use. ????
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Mari. All the coconut oil is there for is to make the filling set up a little so it's sliceable. If you are happy for the filling to be a little softer and not so easy to slice it will be fine for you to leave it out. Good luck!
Anastasia says
What can I use in place of the chickpeas?
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven't tried it with anything other than chickpeas but I expect any cooked white beans would be ok. Black beans would probably also work. Hope that helps!
Anastasia says
Does it have to have any beans? I don't like beans. Also thank you for your reply. I hope to try a couple of your recipes .
A Virtual Vegan says
It really does need to be beans. They make up a huge percentage of the filling and give it it's fudgy texture.I can't think of an alternative.
I do however have a really old recipe which might suit you. It uses coconut cream in the filling. You will have to excuse the pictures. They are absolutely terrible. They certainly make me realize how far my photography has come! The recipe makes 4 mini tarts. For a large tart you will need to triple the recipe. You could use the pastry case recipe from this new tart with the filling from the old recipe perhaps? Hope that helps :O)
Uma says
Amazing recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
Wow you have a lot of making up to do in the raspberry department! This tart is a great way to start ;O)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you. The chickpeas work so well in this and of course, chocolate makes everything better!
Cinde says
Hello, thank you for the recipe! Would it still be good if I omit the chocolate chips and just use the cocoa powder? Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Cinde,
The chocolate chips get ground up into the filling and give the filling much more of a chocolatey taste. The recipe would still technically work without them but it wouldn't taste as good. I did try it with just cocoa in my recipe trials and the flavour wasn't nearly as good. I could taste a slight beaniness too. That's why I ended up adding the chocolate. If you are ok with that then by all means go ahead. Perhaps double up on the cocoa to add more flavour. You might find that it needs more sweetness too as the chocolate adds to that. Be careful with adding extra maple syrup as it might stop it setting so well. Perhaps use a little sugar instead.The good thing about the filling is you can taste the mixture as you go so just add a bit more cocoa and sugar/sweetener until it is sweet enough for you.Let me know how it works out!
Cinde says
Thank you!