Chocolate Orange Mini Tarts

This recipe is a variation of my Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Tart. Manifesting the perfect chocolate-orange union, these mini tarts are simply divine. Moreover, they are entirely vegan, refined-sugar-free and gluten-free. Not only do they make for an impressive dessert, but these mini cakes are also very easy to put together!

The mini tarts consist of three layers: crust, homemade fruit (orange) jam and chocolate ganache. The recipe is a modification of my Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Tart. Almond shortbread crust replaces the no-bake crust in the original recipe and an orange jam is used instead of the strawberry one. You can, of course, experiment with your own tastes and flavors regarding the homemade jam - you can prepare these mini tarts using raspberry, strawberry or blueberry jams.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 150 g almond flour

• 10 g raw cacao powder

• 60 g coconut oil (soft)

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

For the strawberry layer:

• juice of 2 oranges

• zest of 1 orange

• 1 tsp maple syrup

• 1/5 tsp agar-agar powder

For the chocolate layer:

• 100 g dark chocolate (70% or more cacao solids)

• 100 ml coconut milk

• [optional] orange zest (confit)

• [optional] 5-6 drops of orange essential oil

For the topping:

• raspberries

• pomegranate

• orange zest (confit)

Preparation:

For the crust:

1. In a bowl, combine the almond flour, the cacao powder and the soft coconut oil.

2. Using your fingers, rub the coconut oil into the dry ingredients.

3. Add the maple syrup and mix well. You should end up with a sticky mixture that holds together well.

4. Divide the mixture into 4 mini tart tins. I used tins with 12 cm in diameter.

5. Bake at 160 degrees C for 20 minutes.

6. Cool the crust down.

For the orange layer:

1. Place all the ingredients for the orange jam in a pot and put it on the stove at medium-low heat.

2. Once the orange juice starts to boil, leave it for another minute (to activate the agar-agar) before removing it from the stove.

3. As the mixture cools down, it starts to jellify. This should not take more than 10 minutes.

4. Next, break down the jellylike mixture using a fork or a spoon. Your homemade orange jam is ready!

5. Spread the homemade orange jam on top of the crust of each mini tart.

For the chocolate layer:

1. Follow the instructions for preparing the chocolate ganache from my Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Tart.

2. Optionally, add confit orange zest and/or orange essential oil to the chocolate ganache to enhance the orange flavor.

3. Pour the chocolate ganache on top of the orange layer of each mini tart.

4. Allow the ganache to cool down at room temperature and then place it in the fridge for further setting.

5. Finally, decorate the mini tarts with fresh fruit and enjoy this delicious dessert!

Serves 4 (12 cm) mini tarts.

Remarks:

1. You can prepare the chocolate tart using a different kind of fruit jam: raspberry, orange, clementine, and so on. The principle stays the same, you only need to replace the fruit layer in the recipe with your jam of choice!

2. The orange jam in this recipe is essentially a vegan orange jelly and therefore, it contains a significant amount of water. Keep in mind that some of it may soak into the bottom of the crust. Luckily, once assembled and set, the mini tarts hold together well.

3. You can remove the tarts from the tins after baking (and cooling down) the crusts. However, I would recommend you proceed with that step after having assembled the mini cakes and your chocolate ganache has set (less change of crust breakage).