I literally can't get enough of the gingerbread recipes. And judging by how well that vegan gingerbread cheesecake went down with you all, a gingerbread tart was the next logical step!
This vegan chocolate gingerbread tart packs in all the festive flavors while being really easy to make. The gingerbread base is simply a shortcrust pastry that's flavored with gingerbread spices and sweetened with molasses. For the filling, we've got a spiced chocolate ganache and homemade vegan gingerbread cookies to top it off.
📖 Recipe Overview
- Light and creamy, mousse-like consistency
- Festive flavor from gingerbread spices and molasses
- Really easy to make
- Easily adapted as gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Perfect for Christmas and the holidays
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan butter: This recipe calls for vegan block butter, not spreadable margarine. I use flora plant butter.
- Molasses: This is added to both the crust and filling to add a classic gingerbread flavor.
- Gingerbread spices: You'll need ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.
- Orange zest: Gingerbread works so well with fresh orange. Although optional, orange zest takes this tart to the next level.
- Sea salt: This enhances the overall flavors of the tart while balancing the sweetness.
- Pure maple syrup: As we're using dark chocolate which is less sweet than vegan milk chocolate, a little maple syrup adds sweetness to the chocolate tart.
- Coconut milk: As always, you'll need full-fat canned coconut milk, only using the thick part from the top of the can. This vegan chocolate tart calls for a little more coconut milk than a lot of my other tart recipes. The result is a really light and creamy filling that will melt in the mouth.
- Dark chocolate: I recommend using good-quality dark chocolate with 70% cocoa or higher for this tart recipe.
🥣 How To Make Gingerbread Tart
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Starting with the crust for your vegan gingerbread chocolate tart, simply add all of the ingredients to your food processor and blend them until they form a dough.
Now press the crust into the base and sides of a lined tart tin with a removable base. I always use tins with removable bases as it makes life so much easier. Smooth out the crust with a flat bottomed glass or cup measure and prick holes into it using a fork. This allows the steam to escape from the crust while baking, helping to get a nice evenly baked tart base.
For the filling, gently heat the coconut milk making sure it does not boil. Pour the heated coconut milk over the dark chocolate and let them sit for a few minutes before whisking until smooth.
Lastly, add in your sweeteners and flavorings (in this case molasses, maple syrup, and ground ginger) and give them another good whisk.
Pour the chocolate filling into the cooled gingerbread crust and set your chocolate tart in the fridge. Now you just need to wait patiently for it to set. I usually make it the day or night before serving.
How to decorate your Christmas gingerbread tart
- Homemade gingerbread cookies
- Crushed ginger nut biscuits
- Fresh pomegranate or fresh cranberries
- Fresh mint leaves or fresh rosemary sprigs
Storage instructions
Place the chocolate tart in an airtight container, or place it on a plate and wrap well with cling film and refrigerate. This tart will store well for up to 5 days in the fridge.
💬 FAQs
Yes, just swap out the plain flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour in the crust and try Rainbow Nourishment's gluten-free gingerbread cookies for the topping.
Yes, this is a nut-free chocolate tart recipe, as always, you’ll need to make sure that you use a nut-free vegan butter and double-check the labels of the products you’re using as processes and ingredients for individual products may vary across the world.
Slice the tart into individual servings and individually wrap each portion in cling film, or place it into an airtight container. Freeze for up to 4-6 weeks and defrost for 1-2 hours before serving.
🎄 More Vegan Gingerbread Recipes
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Description
Ingredients
Crust
- 150 g (1 ⅕ cups) plain flour, use Gluten-free all purpose flour if required
- 100 g (3.5 oz) vegan butter, (use nut-free brand if required)
- 60 g (3 tablespoons) molasses
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) allspice
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) sea salt
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) orange zest, optional
Filling
- 170 g (6 oz) dark chocolate
- 350 g (12.3 oz) chilled full-fat canned coconut milk, or coconut cream *see recipe notes
- 60 g (3 tablespoons) pure maple syrup
- 20 g (1 tablespoon) molasses
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) ground ginger
- pinch (pinch) sea salt
Toppings
- ¼ batch (¼ batch) vegan gingerbread cookies
- 60 g (59.15 g) pomegranate, optional
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (356°F). Lightly grease the base and sides of a round 9" tart tin with some oil or vegan butter, if desired you can also line the base with parchment paper.
- Add all of the crust ingredients to your food processor and blitz until the ingredients stick together to form a dough. If needed, add a tablespoon of water to get the mixture sticking.
- Evenly press the dough into the base and sides of the tart tin and use a fork to prick several holes into the base. Bake the crust for 12 minutes until slightly browned, then allow to cool (do not remove the tart from the tin).
Filling
- Add the coconut milk to a saucepan and bring to a simmer (do not boil). Finely chop the chocolate and add it to a heat-resistant bowl.
- Pour the hot coconut milk on top of the chocolate and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Whisk the mixture until smooth, then add in the maple syrup, molasses, ginger, and salt and stir well until evenly combined.
- Pour the chocolate ganache into the tart tin and gently tap the tin on your work surface to knock out any air bubbles. Allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before transferring the tart to the fridge to set for 4 hours (or overnight).
- Make the vegan gingerbread cookies, if using them.
Garnish
- Once set, remove the tart from the tart tin and place it on a serving dish. Top with vegan gingerbread cookies, pomegranate, and fresh rosemary.
Storage
- Place the chocolate tart in an airtight container, or place it on a plate and wrap well with cling film and refrigerate. This tart will store well for up to 5 days in the fridge. To freeze, slice the tart into individual servings and individually wrap each portion in cling film, or place it into an airtight container. Freeze for up to 4-6 weeks and defrost for 1-2 hours before serving.
Notes
- Nutritional information is based on tart without gingerbread cookie topping.
- Chilled coconut milk: Refrigerate the tins of coconut milk overnight, then only use the thick cream from the top of the can. Depending on the brand you use, you may need more than one can. I find Nature's Charm and Biona to yield the best quantity of thick coconut milk per can.
Nutrition
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As a non vegan this was a delicious dessert. I did use dairy butter as the only vegan ones I could find were full of bad oils. The base has a strong molasses flavour so don’t make it if that’s not your jam. 10/10 recipe. Very easy to follow. Thank you
I don't need this to be vegan. can I use cream/regular milk and butter instead of vegan butter and coconut milk? if so, what are the measurements?
Sorry Dawn,
I can't advise on that as I don't use animal products so none of my recipes are tested with them.
This is an amazing recipe and really quite simple. I put pomegranate seeds and fresh cranberries around the border and then drizzled melted white chocolate across the top (and snuck in 1 tbsp. of rum in the pie 😉
Hi Jacquie,
So happy you enjoyed the recipe, and that sounds absolutely beautiful! I you happen to share it on Instagram please do tag me, I would love to see it. Also, the addition of rum is genius, I need to try it too.
Hello, how many cans of coconut cream did you have to buy in order to get the right amount of the stuff off the top?
Hi Yvonne, it depends on the brand as they\'re all different but you should bank on 2 cans if you're not familiar with the brand yet. There is a note in the recipe card on this for clarification. You can also use straight up coconut cream if that's handier for you. Hope you enjoy the recipe
I made for Thanksgiving & my family really enjoyed it. But I do wish the filling would settle firmer. It started to soften quickly once at room temperature after a hour. Could I get that by adding more coconut cream or adding an egg?
Hi Sandy,
So happy everyone enjoyed it, thank you for sharing your experience. If you prefer a more set tart, you could increase the chocolate up to 250g, this is the setting agent, so the more you add, the richer/more set it will be. Also, be sure to use dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids, as the lighter chocolates will not set as firmly. I hope this helps!
Does anyone have a good suggestion on the plant butter? I don't think I can get Flora where I live. I shop at Kroger and Walmart. Thanks
I use what you find at Krogers and Walmart in sticks. Mostly I use avocado. They do sell an olive oil.
Hi Stephanie,
Any block-style butter will be fine. For example violin or miyokos if you can get those. We don’t have Walmart here in Europe unfortunately so I’m not 100% sure of their range.
I was just wondering what the little star cookies are. They add a really cute touch
Hi Chris,
They are homemade gingerbread cookies, you can find the recipe here: https://addictedtodates.com/vegan-gingerbread-cookies/
I'm extremely confused by the flour measurement. I know how to measure 1 cup but how do you measure 1/5 cup never heard such a thing and they don't even make a measuring cup that size. Please help. Your recipe sounds delicious and simple except the flour part.
Hi Delaney,
I usually measure with a scale, but you can measure the 1/5 cup as 3 tablespoons if that's easier?
I cannot use coconut milk; could I sub Ripple half n half?
Hello!
I'm not familiar with that product I'm afraid, but you can swap the coconut milk for another plant-based heavy whipping cream - the key is that it needs to be a heavy one, so not like a single cream as I'm not sure that would set properly. I hope this helps!
Hi Christina,
If I am only using coconut cream (not form a can of milk), how much would I need?
Hi Katie,
You'll need the same weight amount, 350 g
I am not vegan or gluten-free but this was is nothing short of spectacular! End it looks beautiful and one would think complicated, but it really wasn’t. It came together very fast and received rave reviews.
I want to make another one for my mother-in-law who does not like dark chocolate, do you know if a white chocolate would work?
Hi Kelly,
I'm so happy to hear that, thank you so much for sharing your lovely review 🙂 I haven't tried it with white chocolate, so I can't say for certain how that would taste. I would recommend perhaps using vegan milk chocolate instead, and cutting back on the amount of maple syrup to taste as it should already have more sweetness. I hope this helps!
I made this for Christmas and just realized I never commented. It was a show-stopping dessert! Gorgeous and delicious. I have now made 2 of your desserts and they were both amazing, so will be trying many more. Thank you!
Hi Eve-Marie,
Awh that's lovely to hear! I'm looking forward to seeing which recipes you try next!
Hi! What can I use instead of molasses? My son has autism and he can’t have it for his gluten, casein and sugar free diet. Thanks so much for your help!
Hi Veronica,
You can use extra maple syrup in the filling and for the crust you can use coconut sugar or maple syrup. If you go for coconut sugar in the crust, you might need to add a little extra vegan butter to it in case it is too dry 🙂