Chocolate Tart with PB Pretzel Crust
You only need five ingredients to make Chocolate Tart with PB Pretzel Crust. It’s a sweet and salty combination that is perfect for the dairy-free peeps in your life. It’s easily adapted to be gluten-free, reduced sugar, and vegan, too!
Why do sweet and salty taste good together?
Sweet and Salty
We all have that friend who dips their french fries into a milkshake, scatters crushed pretzels over ice cream, and salts each slice of watermelon. I used to think these people were gross. Now, I realize they are geniuses.
Salt makes sweet things taste better.
Because salt is a flavor booster, it helps us identify and enjoy the different flavors in foods. Our taste buds contain many cells that send signals to our brain, which then registers what we are ingesting. Certain sweet taste cells will only fire up when sodium is present.
This explains why so many cookie and cake recipes call for a pinch of salt or employ salted butter. These recipes know what’s up. When we get both sweet and salty in one bite, we are hooked.
Salt rounds out the flavor in chocolate ganache.
Dairy Free Chocolate Ganache
Ganache is a fancy word for chocolate and heavy cream mixed together. Normally, the cream is warmed and poured over chopped chocolate and stirred until glossy. The mixture can be used for pouring over cakes and desserts, or making truffles and candies.
Because I have several dairy-free people in my life, I like to make my chocolate ganache with full-fat coconut milk. I find that heating the milk in the microwave and adding the chocolate works just as well as the stove-top method. The ganache comes out silky smooth and delicious.
Stevia-sweetened dark chocolate chips, like the Lily Brand, are my personal favorite. They are not too sweet. I think the reduced sugar content is a welcome relief in a dense rich tart like this one.
Lessons Learned
- To make this gluten-free, you know what to do. Find GF peanut butter pretzels.
- Want this to be vegan? Replace the butter with vegan butter or solid coconut oil and use vegan chocolate chips. Is there such a thing as vegan peanut butter pretzels? Vegans will know.
- Let this tart sit outside the fridge for 30-ish minutes before slicing and serving. It will be pretty firm straight from the refrigerator.
Hat Tips
Many thanks to The FeedFeed for the chocolate and peanut butter pretzel tart recipe.
Chocolate Tart with PB Pretzel Crust
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chill Time: 45 minutes (freezer) or 4 hours (fridge)
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices
Ingredients
- 3 cups peanut butter pretzels
- 6 Tbsp butter, softened
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 2 cups dark chocolate chips
- ½ tsp salt
- Garnishes such as fruit, chopped peanuts, flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Make the crust by pouring the pretzels into a food processor or blender and blitzing until you have fine crumbs. Add the softened butter and pulse again until it just comes together. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the crumbs on the bottom and sides of the pan into an even layer.
- Spread the peanut butter on the bottom of the crust. If your peanut butter is thick, you can loosen it with a tablespoon of honey or oil. Place the pan in the freezer.
- Make the ganache by heating the milk in a large microwave-safe bowl for one minute on high power or until the milk is hot. Pour in the chocolate chips, add the salt, and let sit for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture to melt the chocolate. Keep stirring to combine the chocolate and milk together until they are smooth and shiny.
- Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the ganache mixture into the crust. Allow the ganache to set by placing it in the freezer for 45 minutes or in the fridge for 4 hours.
- Garnish with something fun and pretty like small pieces of fresh fruit, chopped peanuts, or flaky sea salt. Slice into thin pieces (it is rich!) and serve.
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