Halloween week without chocolate is simply a crime. We must fill our quota! Luckily, I have the perfect solution..
After teasing you with this dessert the other week (and seeing you lose your mind over it) I figured I better deliver the goods. I set a lofty goal of making this chocolate pie as friendly to as many different dietary needs as I could. I always love a good challenge in the kitchen; it keeps me on the brink of crazy town.
In addition to being vegan, this pie is also gluten-free, grain-free, and nut-free. A Halloween miracle if you ask me!
It’s also free of self-control because it’s impossible to have any when this pie is near. Obviously.
Halloween chocolate quota fulfilled. Check, check, GULP.
After drowning myself in chocolate, I’m absolutely thrilled with the final result. Plus, now I have a freezer full of chocolate pie for a couple parties we’re hosting this week. [Eric said, “Well that’s if I don’t eat it all first!”]
And of course, let’s not forget HALLOWEEN. Adriana is going as a carrot to balance out the chocolate. I know…she’s going to hate me. But come on, a newborn carrot bunting costume? JUST STOP.
Tip: I had major trouble with the pie crust sticking to the dish in an early trial. Eric saved the day with his genius solution. It involves three strips of parchment paper placed on the base of the dish, and then you cover it with a piece of plastic wrap on top. This way you can pull out the entire pie using the parchment paper. It still takes some wiggling to pop it out, but this worked so much better than my other attempt. Thanks Eric for letting me sleep at night. Note: The pictures below don’t show the parchment strips because it was an earlier trial.
Ok enough chit chat. I’d say there’s still time to whip up a crazy decadent, show-stealing, rich chocolate pie. And it’s no-bake to boot. Thirty minutes of prep and a few hours in the freezer is all that stands in your way. Nothing scary about that!
PS- Don’t mind the long recipe – I learned a lot of tips as I made this pie so I wanted to be as helpful as I could when writing up the recipe.
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Double Dark Chocolate Coconut Macaroon Tart
Yield
9-12 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Chill time
3 hours
Total time
Calling all chocolate macaroon lovers! That's everyone, right? This tart combines two of my favourite flavours - dark chocolate and coconut. The velvety filling is made up of 70% dark chocolate and rich coconut milk while the coconut, date, and cocoa crust tastes just like a chocolate macaroon. Be sure to read the entire recipe before you begin to pick up my helpful hints.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 1/4 cups packed pitted Medjool dates (see note)
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 1/2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon water (if needed to bind the dough)
For the filling:
- 3 (70%) good-quality dark chocolate bars (300 grams total)
- 1 (400ml) can full-fat coconut milk, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- small pinch fine grain sea salt
Coconut whipped cream (optional):
- 1 (400ml) can full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
For the garnish:
- 1/2 cup toasted large flake coconut, flaked sea salt, leftover coconut whipped cream (optional)
Directions
- Toast the coconut (optional step, but recommended): Preheat oven to 325°F. Place shredded coconut and large flake coconut (if using for garnish) on baking sheet. Keep separate on baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until lightly golden but not brown. Set aside to cool.
- Line a 9-inch glass pie dish with 3 (2-inch wide) strips of parchment paper, one going each direction, with overhang. Now place a large piece of plastic wrap on top and press down (see this photo for a visual). The parchment strips will allow you to lift the pie out after freezing. I highly recommend doing this or the crust will stick miserably to the dish.
- Prepare the crust: In a heavy duty food processor, add the pitted dates and process until finely chopped. A big ball will form. Add in the rest of the crust ingredients (including the toasted shredded coconut - but not the large flake coconut) and process until everything is combined. The dough should stick together when pressed between your fingers. If it doesn’t, add optional water and process again.
- Spoon the crust mixture into the prepared pie dish. Spread out evenly. Starting at the centre, press down firmly moving outward and up the sides of the pie dish. Place dish in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
- Prepare the filling: Break up chocolate bars into chunks and place into a medium-sized pot. Melt the chocolate over the lowest heat setting (or use double boiler). When the chocolate is 2/3 of the way melted, remove from heat and stir until completely melted and smooth.
- Shake the can of room temperature coconut milk. Open it and measure out 1/4 cup of milk. Save the 1/4 cup of milk for another use (such as a smoothie) and pour the rest into the pot with the melted chocolate. Whisk vigorously until completely smooth. Finally, whisk in the maple syrup, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until smooth. Set aside.
- For the whipped cream (optional): Open the can of chilled coconut milk and scoop off the cream portion only. Discard the water or save for a smoothie. Place the cream into a bowl along with one tablespoon of pure maple syrup. With electric beaters, whip the cream until smooth.
- With a spatula, scoop the chocolate filling into the pie crust until almost full (to avoid overfilling, you might want to refrain from using all the filling- see my note below).
- Drop a few tablespoons of whipped cream all over the chocolate filling and swirl it all around with a knife. Carefully transfer the pie dish into the freezer on a level surface for approx. 3 hours, or until firm throughout.
- Remove pie dish from freezer and let sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes. Grab the parchment paper and lift the pie out of the dish (I had to grab the strips of paper and wiggle it back and forth several times before it popped out).
- Slice and garnish with toasted coconut flakes, leftover coconut cream, and flaked sea salt, if desired. Serve immediately as pie will soften quickly.
Tip:
- If your dates are firm, soak dates in a bowl of water for 30 minutes prior to starting. Drain well.
- You can totally skip the coconut whipped cream if you prefer.
- The chocolate filling makes almost too much filling for the pie and it nearly overflows. If you prefer, you can leave out 1/4-1/2 cup of filling. You can place leftover filling in a small dish and freeze it, then cut into "freezer fudge" - just an idea!
- For how to make coconut whipped cream, see this tutorial.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
PS – Looking for other Halloween recipes? You’re in luck – I have 3 pages of recipes
PPS – Don’t forget there is still time to enter The Oh She Glows Tea Shoppe giveaway!
This pie is really rich and delicious. I will use this crust recipe again it also is very good. At first I didn’t have dates and used figs I had from my tree (Oh the crust was so good).
Made this last evening ..WOW it was amazing east tomake and looked and tastes so good !!!
This is amazing! Made it last week..husband and I devoured it ourselves over the week.. The only thing I’d say (and might have missed this instruction in the recipe some where?) But we had it frozen the first couple nights and then put it in the fridge and LOVED the silky soft texture at fridge temp better than almost frozen. Thanks Angela, keep doing what you do!, we love your recipes. Even my non vegan mom bought your book :D
OMG this is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for!! Can’t wait to try it
I have just made this for tomorrow nights dinner (guests coming). I used 90% dark chocolate, coconut cream and only 2T maple syrup. OMG… I did some tasting… this is to die for. Thank you.
This recipe is awesome!! I used stronger chocolate and is was lovely and rich. I also made some changes to the recipe but it still turned out great. It was a hit with the girls. The freezer fudge is amazing, I will defiantly be making it again.
Coconut is a nut.So NOT nut Free.
Hi Lani,
Health Canada classifies coconut as a seed of a fruit and they do not classify coconut as a tree nut. Health Canada states that “coconuts are not usually restricted from the diet of someone allergic to tree nuts.”, but some reactions can occur. If you think you might be allergic to coconut, be sure to talk to your allergist before consuming coconut products! Hope this helps.
Have you tried a Spring Form pan lined with parchment paper and or plastic wrap?
What about just a plain melted choc. chilled crust?
Made this last week – very rich, but delicious. Making again for Christmas lunch with the wider family – can’t wait.
Quick question – if there is left over tart should it be stored in the freezer?
Hi,
Thanks for an amazing recipe. I had previously made this with Green and Black chocolate. It came out great.. However, they now have a warning that it is made in a facility that deals with milk. Diary is an issue for my family.
I cannot find a similar chocolate that is dairy free. Any suggestions?
I bought the scharffen 99% cacao whose ingredients are: cacao beans and whole vanilla beans.. Do you think that would work? Any thoughts whether I would need to add more sweetener? Also, on the down side, it is not organic :(
Thank you
Hi,
Just realized that I wasn’t very clear on the chocolate description.. Sorry.. We are trying to keep the pie dairy free. (But, the chocolates (like Green Black) now have a warning about milk) So sad :(
So, I bought the Scharffen Berger 99% cacao unsweetened chocolate where the ingredients are: cacao beans and whole vanilla beans. Another point is that it is 275 grams.. (Perhaps, I should buy more to go to the 300 grams?) Can this chocolate be used? Should sugar(or how much) be added?
We also trying to reduce sugar as possible. (Working to keep blood sugars down)
Thanks
I just made this yesterday for an xmas dinner and it was FANTASTIC! I was looking for an easy dessert to make and this looked like it fit the bill. I made a double batch without the optional whip (I was short on time) and cut the sweetner in the filling by 25%. I did freeze the extra filling as suggested for ‘fudge’ and am really looking forward to eating that :D Thank you for this!!!
If I’d rather cut and serve piece-by-piece from the pie dish itself, can I avoid the strips of parchment paper and the careful lifting of the pie from the dish? I’d rather avoid that step altogether – it seems like that is for presentation purposes, and not necessary. Can anyone confirm?
Can’t wait to try this!
I would like to know which type of blender you use for this recipe. I have a Ninja pro and it’s still a bit tricky to puree the crust mix… I love your website, thank you so much for your generosity. :)
Hi Olivia, to do the crust for this recipe I use my Cuisinart food processor. If you go to my FAQ page, you’ll find a link to my Amazon store – the specific make and model is listed there. I hope this helps!
One of my favorite desserts now! It’s absolutely delicious and so simple = basically perfect. I will share this recipe. Thank you!
I have a question – I tried this tart out but my chocolate seized when I added my milk, making it more of a solid tart than anything creamy or mousse like. I’m wondering if it was the milk or the chocolate? I’m new to baking with coconut milk, and when I opened the can the top was SO thick and the bottom SO thin, so I mixed them together a little… Was that it? Should I use the thin next time? Or should you wait for the chocolate to cool down a little before adding the liquids? It was still a dazzler after dinner and we all enjoyed it. Just wondering what I did wrong. Thanks Angela
Hi Kelly, I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe, but am so glad to hear you all still enjoyed it regardless. :) My best guess is that the chocolate seized because of the temperature differential between it and the coconut milk. The chocolate should be melted at the lowest heat possible (preferably using the double boiler method) and, if it still ends up feeling pretty hot, allowed to cool a little before you add the liquids. I know in the past I’ve overheated the chocolate and it has seized up on me and burned. I hope this helps! If you try the tart again, please let me know how it goes!
I love the swirls in the top, it looks amazing! I am having this for dessert tonight.
Hi Angela, I just wanted to let you know this tart is amazing! I made it for Valentine’s Day and we loved it! So when I found out my daughter(also a chocoholic like her mom) was coming home for the weekend, I knew I had to make it for her. But, personally I thought it was a pain in the butt to slice it after being in the freezer. I know that if I waited about 10-15 min, it would be easier but who can wait that long for something so yummy?! So, I thought about trying to make this tart into cute little tartlets! It worked! I made 16 using a couple muffin tins with paper cupcake liners which were super easy to peel off. I followed your recipe for the crust & the filling. For the swirling, instead of wasting a whole large can of the coconut milk, I found a small 5.45 oz can and blended a teaspoon of maple syrup to the solid chilled part. Then after pouring the chocolate filling on the pressed in crust, I plopped about a teaspoon of the coconut cream on each and swirled with a knife. Once they were frozen, I was able to put them in a ziplock to keep in the freezer and not take up so much room. They’re a perfect size and very pretty! Thank you!
What a great idea, Mary! Thank you so much for sharing. :)
This was so rich and creamy! Love! I am taking it to my book club tonight!