This vegan chocolate tahini tart in a gluten-free almond flour crust gets a flavor boost from sesame tahini and a swirl of coconut whipped cream, all drizzled with vegan caramel sauce. A decadent vegan & gluten-free chocolate dessert everyone can enjoy!
Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.
If you're a fan of tahini in desserts and chocolate recipes, you're going to love this decadent chocolate tahini tart.
This tahini dessert starts with a cocoa almond tart crust, a reader-favorite recipe that I developed for my cookbook. Next comes a layer of rich tahini chocolate ganache filling. On goes a swirl of whipped coconut cream, and it's all finished with a drizzle of tahini caramel sauce.
Though this tart uses a few different components, all are easy to make, with many make-ahead options to ease day-of prep.
Warning: this tart is very addictive, with its salty-sweet flavors and savory notes from tahini. Here's what one reader had to say about it:
Reader Review
“I am so glad that this tart is going on a dessert platter for Teacher Appreciation Week because I could easily polish it off myself over a day or two. Holy smokes, it's good! My husband ate a bite of the sacrificial trial slice and didn't believe me when I said it was vegan. Every part of it is delectable.”
—Meghan
Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions
This vegan & gluten-free tart uses pantry ingredients to turn out a delicious dessert that everyone can enjoy!
- Gluten-free almond flour tart crust forms the base. Make the cocoa option in the recipe notes using vegan butter for this recipe. See the post for ingredients and swaps!
- Bittersweet chocolate forms the bulk of the filling. Be sure to use a chocolate you like the flavor of. My go-to brands for baking are Tcho and Guittard. I tested the recipe with 65% cacao mass chocolate, so look for something with a similar cacao mass for the best results. Brushing the crust with chopped chocolate after it's baked keeps the crust extra-crisp.
- Tahini adds richness and sesame flavor to the filling. Feel free to swap any nut or seed butter you like, such as peanut butter or hazelnut. One reader in the comments made the filling using almond butter and loved the results.
- Maple syrup adds natural sweetness to the filling. Feel free to swap any liquid sweetener you like, such as honey or coconut nectar.
- Canned coconut milk adds moisture to the filling, turning it into a sliceable vegan ganache.
- Salt sharpens the flavors.
- For the caramel, coconut sugar and coconut milk form the base, so there's no actual caramelization required. Tahini, vanilla, salt, and vegan butter add their delicious flavors to the mix.
- Whipped coconut cream finishes the tart, its mild flavor playing counterpoint to the rich flavors of the tart. Be sure to chill the canned coconut cream overnight so it will be ready to whip up.
See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
How to Make Chocolate Tahini Tart
This recipe makes one 9-inch round tart, or 12 small but rich servings. Give yourself a few hours to complete this recipe to allow for baking the crust and chilling the finished tart.
The Easiest Crust
Almond flour helps to create an easy, press-in tart crust that tastes like shortbread cookies. When combined with sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, and a third flour – oat flour for a vanilla crust or, here, cocoa powder for a chocolate crust – along with sugar, salt, vanilla, and butter, it forms a crumbly dough. Just press this into a lightly greased tart pan, chill briefly, bake, and press down with the back of a spoon, and you have a no-fuss tart crust. While most traditional tart crust recipes have you soften the butter only to chill the dough, then roll it out and shape it, then chill again, then bake with pie weights, this crust comes together with much more ease.
No matter how exciting the filling is on any given tart that I make, the crust always gets the most comments! It's slightly sweet with a good dose of salt. The texture melts in your mouth just like a shortbread cookie. The chocolate version has a deep, dark cocoa flavor, perfect for chocolate lovers.
Toppings
The icing on this, er, tart is a billow of whipped coconut cream. Be sure to chill the can overnight so the solids separate from the liquid, then whip the coconut cream with a touch of powdered sugar and vanilla until it holds firm peaks.
No tart pan? No problem!
I like to make this dessert in a tart pan with a loose bottom, which makes the tart easy to slice and plate. But if you don't have one, turn this into a vegan chocolate pie by simply forming the crust in a 9-inch pie pan and proceeding with the recipe. It may be a bit messier to remove the first few pieces from the pan, but it will still work beautifully, similarly to this gluten-free vegan chocolate pie.
Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this tahini chocolate tart recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.
Vegan Chocolate Tahini Tart in a Gluten-Free Crust
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Crust:
- 1 gluten-free tart crust, fully baked (cocoa variation made with vegan butter)
- 2 ounces (55 g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
Topping:
- 1 recipe whipped coconut cream
Filling:
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 65% cacao mass), roughly chopped
- ½ cup (130 g) tahini
- 3 tablespoons (58 g) maple syrup (more or less according to how sweet your chocolate is)
- 1 cup (222 g) well-shaken full-fat canned coconut milk
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
Caramel Sauce:
- Remaining coconut milk from above (¾ cup / 175 ml)
- ¼ cup (35 g) coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter or coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- Big pinch fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Instructions
Whipped Coconut Cream:
- Chill the can of coconut cream overnight as instructed. When you're ready to serve the tart, whip the cream as directed.
Crust:
- Make the vegan cocoa-almond crust as directed and bake it fully.
- Remove the crust from the oven and, while it’s still hot, press the sides and bottom with the back of a spoon. This will help it hold together when cool.
- While the crust is still hot, scatter the chocolate in the bottom and let sit a few moments to melt. Use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to spread the chocolate over the bottom and sides of the crust. Let cool completely.
Filling:
- Place the chocolate and tahini in a medium-sized heatproof bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the maple, coconut milk, and salt.
- Place over medium heat and bring to just below a simmer. Pour the hot coconut milk over the chocolate and tahini. Stir until melted and smooth.
- You can either pour the warm filling directly into the baked tart shell. Or chill the filling for about 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so, until cool enough to hold a shape, then spread evenly into the baked tart shell.
- Chill until set, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
Caramel:
- In a small saucepan, combine the remaining coconut milk and coconut sugar.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lower to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and darkened in color, 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vegan butter, tahini, salt, and vanilla. Use warm or chill until needed; rewarm to serve.
Finish:
- Remove the sides from the tart pan and use a small, offset spatula to release the tart from the bottom of the pan. Place on a serving platter or cutting board. Swirl the whipped coconut cream over the top of the tart and drizzle and swirl with some of the caramel. Top with chopped chocolate and flaky salt, passing more caramel sauce at the table.
- Extra tart will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.
Notes
- The crust can be frozen airtight (baked or unbaked) for up to 1 month.
- The crust with filling keeps well, refrigerated airtight, for 1-2 days.
- The caramel can be made up to 1 week in advance, refrigerated airtight.
- The whipped coconut cream can be made 1 day in advance, refrigerated airtight.
Aysegul D Sanford says
Tahini + Caramel + Chocolate ... I am drooling.
So SO beautiful and yummy, as always.
Cheers!
Alanna says
Aw thanks!! I wish we lived close enough to share. <3
Kasey Goins says
I'm so in love with this recipe! This tart looks so scrumptious!
Alanna says
Aw thank you!!
Jan says
Thanks for all your beautiful recipes. I’m wondering, in this one, are you using raw tahini or toasted? Also, have you found a packaged organic almond flour that you like? Thanks so much!
Alanna says
You're very welcome, thanks for the sweet note! I used Artisana raw tahini here, but I usually use Sadaf brand - I'm actually not sure whether it's raw or roasted as it doesn't say on the jar! But I think it will work fine with whatever you have on hand. :) I always use Bob's almond flour which isn't organic, so I'm afraid I can't advise. I do wish it were organic like some of their other products!
Marilyn says
Congratulations on your partnership. Love your blog even though I don't bake or cook.
Alanna says
Aw thanks Marilyn!
Sarah @ Snixy Kitchen says
I can confirm that this is just as delicious as it is beautiful!
Alanna says
Aw thanks! Even for a "boring" chocolate dessert? ;)
Madeline Taylor says
Um, is one allowed to make just the caramel sauce and eat it from the pot?
Alanna says
For you, yes! ;)
Madeline Taylor says
^..^_______)
/ / Mwah!
Julia says
I cannot wait to make this tart for my sister who is GF! Looks absolutely amazing!
Alanna says
Aw, what a nice sister! Please let me know if you do. :)
Meghan says
I'm not vegan but I'm still making this (using Spectrum shortening since I am allergic to soy) because everything you create is amazing. I'm still telling everyone about the pancakes I had this morning!
Alanna says
Aw thank you Meghan! I believe Miyoko's vegan butter is soy-free too, just FYI! ;)
bella says
You never cease to amaze me Alanna...yet another beautiful creation <3
Alanna says
Awwww thank you Bella! It's VERY mutual.
Sarah @ Snixy Kitchen says
Love these photos! Also this tart is delicious! I tried to eat just a bite but couldn’t stop...
Alanna says
That's how I feel about all your treats. Thanks!! <3
Anita Sabados says
I made this using hazelnut flour as that's what I had and it matches chocolate so nicely. Your recipes are always a cut above. I can always count on something special. Thank you.
Alanna says
Hazelnut flour sounds perfect here! I'm so glad it was a hit. Thanks very much for the kind words!
Julie says
We had this tart at a friend’s house and it was amazing! Just melted in your mouth. Will try to make it myself soon!
Alanna says
Amazing! Thanks for the sweet note, and let me know if you give it a go yourself!
Meghan says
I am so glad that this tart is going on a dessert platter for Teacher Appreciation Week because I could easily polish it off myself over a day or two. Holy smokes, it's good! My husband ate a bite of the sacrificial trial slice and didn't believe me when I said it was vegan. Every part of it is delectable.
Alanna says
Aw! Thank you for trying my recipe - I'm so glad you like it! Hope it's a hit with the teacher appreciation crowd too. :)
Meghan says
I'll admit I'd been putting this off because of all the steps but it was really super simple to put together! The teachers loved it!
Alanna says
So glad to hear that it was worth the effort!
Emily R says
What a deluxe tart. The coconut cream and caramel sauce helped with the intense richness of the ganache. My boyfriend said that this one was "up there" in terms of delicious tarts I've made along with the chocolate olive oil tart from your book. It comes together quite easily. I used 70% chocolate and used between 4-5 tbsp of maple syrup (my hand kind of slipped) and Earth Balance in the crust. Thank you for the recipe and developing vegan recipes. I'm not vegan myself but often cook for people who are, so it's nice to have recipes that are specifically formulated to be vegan. :)
Alanna says
Aw thanks so much for trying this recipe and for the sweet review! I'm so glad you guys loved it. I feel you on cooking for vegans! Always nice to have options that everyone can eat. :)
Debi Simons says
This is FABULOUS. I am not vegan or gluten free, but we had a vegan guest coming to a birthday dinner and I wanted to make something she could eat. I didn't bother with making the crust gluten free since she didn't need that, so just used half almond flour and half AP flour. I used coconut oil throughout, as I don't like buying stuff that pretends to be something else. ("Vegan butter.") The whole thing was a total delight--we've fallen in love lately with the chocolate-tahini combo, and this just solidified that attitude. That caramel sauce was amazing! One note: I hadn't read your directions fully about just using the solids from the coconut cream and shook up the can right before I was going to whip it. (I had followed the directions about refrigerating the can the night before.) So it was pretty runny. But the refrigerated leftovers the next morning were the perfect consistency of whipped cream. So that's what I'm going to do from now on. I may even make a long-term substitution of the coconut cream for regular whipped cream. (Although my son and brother-in-law don't like coconut much.) Anyway, I was just thrilled with this!
Alanna says
I'm so glad this was a success and that the AP flour and coconut oil subs worked well. That's so helpful to know! I'm also keen to try your coconut whipped cream method, I can imagine how delicious that would be with a little extra moisture! Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for the note. :)
Ginny says
Had to bake something for a friend who's currently not eating dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, and gluten. That seriously narrows the field and when I came across this recipe I was absurdly excited! So I subbed chickpea flour instead of almond flour (had to add a little water in the crust to make up for the missing moisture) and coconut oil instead of vegetable butter. It was a huge success and my hardly-eating friend was in awe! I did have a snafu though: I'm used to making regular caramel, so I suspect I cooked the coconut milk + sugar for too long, trying to achieve a brown-ish color. That ended up crystallizing and throwing off the texture. Though not the flavor, so I ended up spreading the caramel atop the ganache and covering everything with the whipped cream, which worked fine. Suggestions on how to get the perfect caramel next time please? Thank you again, this is an amazing recipe and I'll make it again!
Alanna says
Hi Ginny!
I'm so glad this tart was a hit! What a nice friend you are! Smart to use chickpea flour in the crust - I'm glad to know that that works.
I'm sorry to hear that the caramel crystallized! I've had that happen with regular caramel sauce, but not here, so I'm not sure what to recommend. If you think you may have cooked it for too long, that could be culprit? Please let me know if you try making it again with a shorter cooking time! With regular caramel, I like to add a little corn syrup or golden syrup to help prevent crystallization, so that could be something to try too? Let me know! :)
Zahra says
I made this with weight measurement. It's delicious however the crust doesn't hold together. It crumbles up when I take a piece out of the tart pan. What do you recommend?
Alanna says
Hm, did you remember to compress the crust when it came out of the oven? Did you mix the dough until it was clumpy? If yes to both, you could try adding more butter in next time. I wonder if the vegan butter you used was maybe more dry than the one I tested this with?
Zahra says
I used real butter. It's interesting that after sitting on the fridge for couple of days, it holds better than the first day. The taste is divine, I love it! Thanks for the recipe!
Alanna says
Interesting, thanks for letting me know! I'm really glad you enjoyed it despite the crust crumbliness on the first day. :)
Joanna says
Really looking forward to making this for my son's birthday this weekend. Do you think it would work with a very smooth almond butter instead of the tahini? Thanks so much!
Joanna says
This was unbelievable! Your recipes never disappoint. I tried it with runny almond butter (Barney butter bare) and it worked beautifully. My daughter said it was the best dessert she ever had in her life. Thank you!
Alanna says
Aw I'm so glad it was a hit! Almond butter sounds delicious here, I'll have to try that.
sarah davis says
truly divine! love your recipes and love your blog! one of the few where I will actually read the entire post. thank you for sharing!
Alanna says
Aw that means so much to me! Thanks for reading and for trying my recipe! <3
Anya says
I'm really looking forward to trying this recipe! Would the caramel sauce turn out alright if I use demerara sugar instead of coconut sugar?
Alanna says
I *think* that should work. Please let me know if you try!
Sherry says
Can’t wait to make this tart! !
Do you think I can use maple syrup or honey instead of the sugar in the crust?
I know it’s subbing wet ingredients for dry ingredients... but I can’t really eat sugar.
Alanna says
Hi Sherry, could you use a dry unrefined sugar, such as maple or coconut sugar? That would definitely work!
Sherry says
Ok! Thank you. Will give those a try.
Anne says
A quick question: did you use canned coconut milk or fresh coconut milk?
Alanna says
Great question - I used canned coconut milk :)
Rose Easterbrook says
I am thinking of making a caramel sauce for gf stroopwafels since I have a pizelle maker and my most recent batch with almond flour and all purpose are just calling for the caramel filling!! Do you think this tahini version is thick enough? Thank you:)
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Um that sounds amazing! I *think* it would be thick enough if you chilled it, and made sure the stroopwafels are cool before filling. Please LMK how it goes - pictures?!
Anne Robinson says
OMG! So excited! I am hoping you have the opportunity to get back to me within the next few days! Sunday, October 22, is our next cooking club dinner. I want to make and bring this (chocolate crust), it sounds great for us, as two of us are celiac and one is dairy free in our 7-person group! Questions:
1. I think this would be good with added texture of toasted nuts. I think sprinkled on top before the caramel sauce is poured on. Any experience with adding nuts, any suggestions when and where for texture in this recipe?
2. Our group likes the boozy desserts. What do you think about adding Bourbon to the caramel sauce? When could it be added?
and
3. I want to make the dessert on Saturday for Sunday? What's the best way to store it overnight? How long will dessert last if there happens to be leftovers Sunday? How should the leftovers be stored? Thank you so very much!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Anne,
Aw I'm so glad you found this recipe - it's one of my all-time favorites!
For adding nuts, I think I would toast them and sprinkle them on top of the caramel sauce just before serving so they stay the crispiest. But if you have a vision for incorporating them in another way, go for it!
I also love boozy desserts. I think bourbon would be great in the caramel sauce or in the filling. I would add it along with the tahini at the end so the alcohol doesn't cook off. (You might also like my maple bourbon pecan pie – some readers complained that it was *too* boozy, haha!)
Let me know what you end up trying and how you like it. Happy baking!
-Alanna
Anne Robinson says
Opps, disregard question # 3 on my previous email. I somehow missed that last line regarding storing leftovers! Sorry about that. Anne
Paula Rothman says
do you think other flours would work? dont have rice but I have quinoa and spelt even amarynth.. saw above someone used chickpea but i think the flavor would be altered as i dont consider that neutral..
trying this today. thanks.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Paula,
I hear you about chickpea flour having a quite strong flavor. It's possible that the chocolate would cover it up, but depends how sensitive you are to that taste.
I think any of those flours could work as they're all fairly high protein, but spelt would be my pick if you can tolerate it (it's not gluten-free). Or if you do wheat flour that would work too. Best to sub by weight if you have a scale (if not you can google to find the volume measurement - let me know if you need any help with this!)
Keep me posted on what you try!
-Alanna
Kristina says
I’m so excited to try this! I was wondering if I could use Mochiko sweet rice flour instead of bobs? I don’t want to buy another flour if I can help it
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Kristina,
Great question! Yes Mochiko and Bob's sweet rice flours are interchangeable. I actually use Mochiko most of the time since it's a touch more finely ground than Bob's. I've made this tart crust with both brands and they work equally well. This post was sponsored by Bob's hence the recommendation here!
Please let me know how you like the tart!
-Alanna