Luxurious and decadent, this paleo chocolate tart is made with crunchy, roasted hazelnut base and salted caramel filling. It’s absolutely amazing and will delight you and your guests. Gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free.
If you look at this tart and think it looks amazing, let me confirm that it totally is. In fact, I gave it to 6-7 people to try and everyone loved it and couldn’t believe that it was actually somewhat healthy and paleo-friendly. Even my boyfriend, who doesn’t have a sweet tooth at all, ate a full slice and raved about it along the way.
The recipe for this paleo chocolate tart comes from Let’s Eat Paleo cookbook by most delightful The Merrymaker Sisters. Their recipe e-book is filled with yummy, guilt-free paleo dishes, desserts, snacks and drinks but this chocolate hazelnut tart – which was actually the last recipe in the book – caught my eye because it sounded and looked decadent, and I fancied a little weekend project.
Check out Emma & Carla’s recipe for Paleo Self-Saucing Chocolate Pudding.
This chocolate hazelnut tart uses rich, energy-dense ingredients so it’s quite decadent and should be eaten as a treat. It’s certainly not an everyday food, as delicious as it is. The ingredients are grain-free and dairy-free but it does use things like honey and dates, so it’s still a little naughty. Enjoy mindfully!
How To Make Paleo Chocolate Tart
There are a few processes involved in this recipe, but it’s actually pretty straightforward to make as I discovered, possibly due to the easy to follow instructions from Emma and Carla. I took a few photos along the way to make it even easier for you to follow.
I haven’t changed the recipe as such but I have amended some of the ingredients, simply because of what I had in my own pantry and because of my strange compulsion to tinker with things. I left comments in the full recipe where I amended ingredients in case you get their e-book (and you should!) and wonder why some things are slightly different.
There are three phases to making this tart: the hazelnut base or the crust, the caramel filling and that luxurious chocolate ganache. You will need a round or rectangular tart tin, some parchment paper and a rolling pin (ideally but not essential). You will need a food processor to make the base and the filling!
The original recipe used raw hazelnuts but I decided to roast mine (or toast) in a pan to get an even richer, nuttier flavour. I think it makes a big difference and took this tart to the next level.
More Paleo Chocolate Recipes
- Sweet Potato Chocolate Brownies
- 5-Ingredient Chocolate Cake (Keto, paleo)
- No-Bake Paleo Chocolate Caramel Slice
- Paleo Self-Saucing Chocolate Pudding
- Healthy Homemade Paleo Chocolate
- 20 Fabulous Paleo Cheesecake Recipes
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Paleo Chocolate Tart With Hazelnut & Salted Caramel
Ingredients
For the base
- 1.5 cups almond meal
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted or soft
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey, Natvia was used in the eBook recipe
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
For the caramel filling
- 150 g pitted dates about 20 Medjool dates, soaked in boiling water for at least 10 minutes
- 1 cup coconut cream coconut milk was used in the eBook, see notes on the cream
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil soft or melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or himalayan pink salt
- 2 tablespoon almonds crushed
For the chocolate ganache topping
- 100 g coconut oil a little more than 1/3 of a cup
- 6 tablespoons raw cacao powder
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180° C / 355° F. Grease a 22-cm tart tin (my tart was 26-cm, so the tart might have ended up a little thinner, but still worked as you can see).
- Start with the base. The recipe uses raw hazelnuts but I decide to do a little roasting beforehand, to give them richer flavour. Heat a small frying pan and add the hazelnuts (1 cup + the 2 tablespoons for the filling). Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, swirling frequently to prevent burning, until lightly browned on all sides. Remove and cool for a few minutes.
- Place 1 cup of the hazelnuts in a food processor (the girls used a Vitamix, I used a standard food processor). Reserve 2-3 tablespoons for later. Grind and process them into fine meal, for about a minute. Add the almond meal, coconut oil (I didn't even melt mine), egg, maple syrup (girls used Natvia and you could use any other natural sweetener) + vanilla. Whiz again until the mixture comes together.
- Scoop the mixture out and make it into a large ball. Place and flatten between 2 sheets of baking paper (about 50x50cm). With a rolling pin, roll out the base to about 3mm thick (mine was more like 5cmm). When rolling, start from the middle and roll to the edges in different directions. Peel the top layer of baking paper off, then flip the base over the tart tin. Be gentle. My base broke a little but you just fill in any gaps with your fingers. Make sure the area where the sides and the base meet is filled, a little thicker if possible.
- Place a round layer of baking paper over the base and fill with baking beads. I used uncooked chickpeas. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, remove the baking beads and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden brown. I turned the oven to 170° C for the second 10 minutes. Set aside to cool, in the tin.
- Now for the filling. Drain the water from the soaked dates. In the food processor, whiz the dates, coconut oil and vanilla until they foam a thick paste. Add the coconut cream or milk and salt, whiz again until really smooth (about a minute, scrapping the sides as you go).
- Spread the caramel mixture over the cooked base and place in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. You can sprinkle the crushed hazelnuts over the base before adding the caramel but I sprinkled mine on top of the chocolate layer instead.
- Now, to make the chocolate topping. In a double boiler (a bowl placed over simmering water), melt the coconut oil, honey and vanilla. Stir until combined. Sift in the the raw cacao powder (I just added it in without sifting) and whisk continuously until smooth. I'd say about 20-30 seconds, you don't want to overcook it. Pour the chocolate topping over the caramel and spread with a spatula. Sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- That's it! Slice and serve with whatever you like – berries, coconut cream, etc. Store any leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
That isn’t my usual chocolate treat. But it looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing Irey!
🙂 🙂 🙂 Oh MY FOOD! Your tart looks to die for! We’re so happy to hear that you love the recipe as well as the book! Thanks for such a raving review – means the world to us, Irey! e + c
Mmmm.. this tart looks amazing. I want to try some paleo recipes. Might start with this
Mmmm.. this tart looks amazing. I want to try some paleo recipes. Might start with this
This might be a silly question, but how do I get the tart out of the pan? I know greasing will make it not stick, but I’m not usually successful in removing baked goods from pans without destroying them…
Hi Marcelle,
You can get a tart tin with a removable bottom, kind of like those spring forms. If you were using a tart tin with the bottom attached to the sides, I would cool the tart and then gently remove to a plate before filling it with the caramel and chocolate. My tin has a bottom that is not attached so I simply pull down the sides once it’s all set.I hope that makes sense.
Irena
I just put my completed pie in the freezer to rest for a short while and I have high hopes for this little number. It’s glossy and smooth and smells absolutely delicious.
Made this today!
So easy and fun.
The chocolate topping was very VERY runny though but did set once in deepfreeze.
The inlaws are coming over tomoro afternoon….hope it impresses, I’m too scared to taste 😉
Hey! This looks amazing but can I use any other nut like cashews or walnuts in place of hazelnuts? Thank you!
Yes, you should be able to use other nuts instead of hazelnuts.
hello, in the filling ingredients you have crushed almonds, yet in the method for the filling they are not mentioned.. Do you use them? Also my ‘caramel’ filling is a lot browner than your filling.. how is yours more white/cream?
Thanks 🙂
It’s in this paragraph “Spread the caramel mixture over the base and place in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. You can sprinkle the crushed hazelnuts over the base before adding the caramel but I sprinkled mine on top of the chocolate layer.” – I sprinkled mine on top but you can add under the filling.
Regarding the filling – I’m not sure how ‘a lot browner’ yours is but I don’t really have an answer for that 🙁 That’s just the colour mine was. Maybe your dates are much darker?
Hiya,
sorry I got muddled up and thought that was in reference to the hazelnuts you kept aside from the base… So just to confirm they are mixed with the 2-3 tbls of hazelnuts kept aside from base and sprinkled on top of chocolate? Sorry it just looks so good I want it to be perfect.
Also I don’t know whether my dates are much smaller but 150g was only about 7-8 dates, which doesn’t look like it provides enough filling do you think it would be ok to double it? Thanks
Hi Danielle,
Correct, because I wanted to roast all of the hazelnuts for my version I did both the base and filling amounts together and then reserved some to crush later for the filling. In the original recipe they sprinkled the reserved crushed hazelnuts on the bottom of the cooked based, before you pour in the filling, but I forgot to do that so instead I put mine on top, which I think makes it look much prettier. You can do either of those.
I used about 20 dates. I looked at my 500g pack of Medjool dates and took out what would be about 150g, when counted it was about 19-20 dates. They were medium sized based on all other dates I’ve ever used. Not sure how you’re getting 7-8 dates in 150g, maybe they are very big. But yes, increase the amount. Once soaked, and you start whizzing them up with coconut cream, if you find that the mixture it too thick and sort of comes together rather than staying semi-runny, just add a little more coconut milk or cream until you get a similar consistency.
I hope that helps 🙂 I am sure you will end up with a tasty tart. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Irena
I have hazelnut flour on hand for another recipe. Can you say how much meal to use if you are not roasting/grinding your own hazelnuts?
Looks delish!
Thanks!
This went down an absolute treat at a barbecue I went to last weekend, everyone loved it and commented on how it wasn’t too sickly sweet like caramel slice usually is. It was great fun to make too 🙂
That’s so great to hear 🙂
I can’t seem 5 find whole hazelnuts anywhere in my area. Can I use hazelnut meal?
I am in the final stages of making this right now. Everything looking good! The “Carmel” is scrumptious. One thing I didn’t do that I wish I had was weight down the crust when baking. Mine made a big bubble in the center that I thought I could just gently push down, but no, it broke. Oh well! I think it will be ok. Making it for non paleo company tonight.
hi Irena it looks so delicious but i can only find the regular sweet potat o ( orange not white) will it work ? thank you
Yes!
Is there an alternative to the egg in the crust? gelatin egg or flax egg or applesauce? Or leave out? Thanks!
Some people use flaxseed meal mixed with some water or chia seeds soaked in water but I haven’t tried it in this particular recipe.
I wonder why my chocolate layer was very very liquid? It doesn’t look as creamy as yours?
I had the same issue…I heated the mixture too much…so now you have to cool it down – in the fridge or into cold water (using ice cubes) – but make sure you stick around and keep whisking so it doesn’t seize up. Next time I’ll use soft BUT NOT COMPLETELY MELTED – coconut oil.
The chocolate layer is not working for me. The chocolate keeps seizing up. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
You might be overheating it.
This is so lovely! What a special treat!
Made this last year. Was as good as the picture looks! It took awhile but it was worth it. Great dessert to bring to a party.
Good going Susan! Glad you gave it a try and enjoyed it 🙂
Thanks Irena. We made it this evening and it turned out great.
I’ve made this recipe countless times and it’s nothing less than perfect and tastes so brilliant, but every time I’ve made it I’ve had the same issue, the chocolate
Is just not as smooth as yours and looks terrible when topped on the tart, sort of uneven in texture and look, very runny and separates very quickly. It’s the same issue everytime. Do you know why and what I can do to fix it, I’d love to have my chocolate topping as smooth as yours so I don’t have to cover the entire tart with crushed almonds 😢
Thank for such kind feedback 🙂
This is my favourite dessert EVER!! Tastes amazing!!! I make 1.5 times the quantity for the middle layer, because i love it so much and it makes it extra creamy!!
Thanks, Kate! Not a bad idea to make extra filling 😉 Thanks for the kind feedback.
I didn’t try to roll out the base, I pressed it all into the base and sides with a disposable gloved hand. Worked really well! The recipe says crushed almonds for the filling, presumably that was a mistake and should’ve read crushed hazelnuts?
Yes, indeed. I think it’s because I often cook with almonds and it was just me typing it automatically 😉
Just making a day ahead. So far base and caramel layer have turned out perfectly. A question here. Is it ok to keep in freezer overnight and then thaw approx 1 hour in fridge before using? Keen to hear. Thanks. Wendy
yes, sorry for a late reply