Mini Chocolate Hazelnut Tarts

If you’re looking for a dessert worthy of a holiday (let alone a new decade), look no further. Rich, smooth, and decadent on the inside; crunchy and nutty on the outside. The full effect? Nothing short of fabulous. Enjoy as a “small bite” portion with coffee after dinner, or allow yourself the total indulgence of savoring the full tart.

What we love about this recipe (besides everything) is the customizable flavor. Add espresso powder or a flavored extract like vanilla, orange or peppermint for a bold as well as sweet taste.

Tips:

• Add sweetener to taste to your crust prior to adding the egg white. For a low-carb, sugar-free option, you can use a sweetener like Swerve or monk fruit. You can also experiment with flavoring the chocolate ganache. Try adding espresso powder, vanilla extract, orange extract, or peppermint extract.
• The crust is somewhat delicate but firms up after fully cooling and refrigerating slightly. You may want to refrigerate the crusts for a short time before removing them from their tins to prevent them from breaking.
• We used mini 4.5-inch tart tins which made four mini tarts, but you can also use smaller tins if you’d like.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2 cups roasted hazelnuts
• 5 Tbsp. cacao powder
• 2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil or butter
• 1 Tbsp. tapioca starch
• 1-2 Tbsp. Swerve, granulated monk fruit sweetener or coconut sugar
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg white
• pinch of salt

Chocolate Ganache:

• 12 oz. 85% dark chocolate
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp. full-fat coconut milk
• Optional: pinch of espresso powder and/or vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Blend the hazelnuts in a food processor until a crumbly meal forms. Continue processing until the meal begins to clump together.

Add the cacao powder, flaxseed, coconut oil, tapioca starch, sweetener and vanilla extract. Process until a dough begins to form. Add the egg white and blend until you have a uniform dough.

Spray a set of mini tart pans with avocado oil spray. Spoon some dough into the tart pan and press the dough on the bottom and sides of the pan. Repeat with the remaining tart pans. Poke a few holes into the bottom of the tart with a fork. Bake the tarts for about 10 minutes, or until they are firm.

Place the chocolate in a heat-safe bowl. Heat the coconut milk in a small saucepan until it starts to bubble. Once it begins to bubble, pour the milk over the chocolate.

Allow the chocolate and coconut milk to sit for a minute, then whisk together until a smooth and silky chocolate mixture forms.

Whisk in any other add-ins like vanilla extract and espresso powder. Spoon the ganache into the hazelnut tarts and top with a few chopped hazelnuts.

Allow the ganache to set and crust to fully cool prior to removing them from the tins.

Nutrition Information (made with Swerve, makes 4 tarts, serving is ¼ of each tart or 1/16 of overall recipe):

• Calories: 238
• Total Carbs: 13 grams
• Net Carbs: 8 grams
• Fat: 21 grams
• Protein: 5 grams

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