Chocolate Strawberry Tart (vegan)

Chocolate strawberry tart - make the most of strawberry season with this incredible vegan tart! With crisp chocolate shortcrust pastry, creamy chocolate pastry cream and juicy fresh strawberries, this tart is rich yet refreshing.

It is not too difficult to make but tastes amazing and it looks so pretty too! The perfect Summer dessert.

One of my absolute favourite types of dessert is a tart filled with crème pâtissière and topped with some sort of fruit. It is simple but oh-so-satisfying.

This version takes things up a notch with both a crisp chocolate shortcrust pastry and a rich, creamy, silky smooth chocolate pastry cream; all topped off with juicy fresh strawberries and an apricot jam glaze.

It is delicious (because really, you can't go wrong with chocolate, strawberries and crisp pastry) but it is not so sweet and rich that you can't manage a second slice...

Ingredient Details:

Chocolate pastry cream: You will need 1 batch of my vegan chocolate pastry cream (crème pâtissière), chilled.

Strawberries: Fresh not frozen. Raspberries would also work well instead.

Dark chocolate: This is optional, but brushing the baked pastry case with melted chocolate before adding the filling stops the pastry from soaking up any moisture and keeps it crisp for longer.

Vegan butter: It is important to use a block butter/margarine, not the spreadable kind in a tub. I use Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter.

Plain flour: Just plain (all-purpose) flour is best.

Vodka: Vodka is my (not-so) secret trick for crispy pastry. Because it has a lower water percentage than well, water; using a bit of vodka rather than water to bind the pastry makes for crispier pastry as the alcohol burns off when it cooks.

You can't taste it at all and you can absolutely use water instead if you prefer, but if you happen to have a bottle of vodka lurking in the cupboard I urge you to give it a try!

Cocoa powder: Ideally Dutch processed rather than natural.

Icing sugar: You will need icing/powdered/confectioner's sugar for the pastry.

Apricot jam: Warmed, sieved apricot jam is brushed over the strawberries to give them a beautiful shine. You can omit it if you want.

How To Make Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Tart:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: To make the pastry, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and rub in using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.

Step 2: Add the vodka and enough cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll out.

Step 3: Roll out the pastry thinly on a floured surface and transfer it to a 23 cm/9 in round pie dish or tart tin.

Step 4. Line the pastry case with baking parchment, then fill with baking beans. Blind bake.

Step 5: Brush the cooled, baked pastry with melted chocolate.

Step 6: Fill the tart shell with the chocolate pastry cream.

Step 7: Top with sliced strawberries, brush with apricot jam glaze and serve.

Top Tips:

All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

For the best, crispy pastry, make sure that you don’t overwork it or let it get too warm. Freezing the tart shell prior to blind baking it helps to make the pastry crisp and stops it from shrinking too much.

Brushing the blind baked pastry case with melted chocolate helps to create a barrier between the pastry and the filling to stop the pastry from going soggy.

Both the pastry case and the pastry cream made up to two days ahead of serving; so this chocolate strawberry tart is great if you want something that can be prepared in advance as it only takes about ten minutes to assemble.

You will need 1 batch of my vegan chocolate pastry cream.

This tart would also be amazing using fresh raspberries instead of the strawberries.

FAQ's:

More Vegan Fruit Tarts:

• Vegan rhubarb tart
• Caramelised pineapple coconut tart
• Vegan passion fruit tart
• Chocolate pear frangipane tart
• Pistachio cherry frangipane tart
• Vegan apricot frangipane tart
• Vegan strawberry tart with coconut pastry cream
• Vegan Bakewell tart

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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Chocolate Strawberry Tart (vegan)

Crisp chocolate pastry filled with chocolate creme patisserie and juicy strawberries.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword tart

Prep Time 50 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 8 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Equipment

• 23-25 cm/ 9-10 in round loose-bottomed tart tin

Ingredients

Pastry

• 200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 30 g (⅓ cup) cocoa powder
• 50 g (½ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 130 g (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter cold and cubed
• 1 Tablespoon cold vodka (optional)
• 1-2 Tablespoons ice cold water

To Finish

• 1 batch vegan chocolate pastry cream
• 50 g (2 oz) dark chocolate finely chopped
• 400 g (14 oz) strawberries hulled and sliced
• 2 heaped Tablespoons apricot jam

Instructions

To make the tart case

• Make sure that you have prepared the vegan chocolate pastry cream before starting on the rest of the tart so that it has time to chill.
• Place the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and salt either in a bowl or a food processor and mix. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers or pulse in the food processor until it resembles sand.
• Add the cold vodka (if using) and mix to combine. Gradually add enough cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Shape the pastry into a disc (don't knead it), wrap and refrigerate for about an hour until firm enough to roll out.
• Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is large enough to line a 23-25 cm (9-10 in) loose bottomed tart tin. Place the pastry in the tin and gently press it into the corners then trim off the excess.
• Prick the base of the pastry shell all over with a fork then place it in the freezer for 20 minutes until solid. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
• Line the pastry case with baking parchment, pressing it right into the corners, then fill with baking beans or dried rice, making sure that the sides are propped up.
• Bake for 25 minutes then remove the parchment and baking beans and return the tart shell to the oven for a further 15 minutes until dry to the touch. Set aside to cool.

To assemble

• Place the tart case on a serving plate. Melt the 50g of chocolate and brush it all over the inside of the pastry case with a pastry brush, set aside until the chocolate has set (this helps to create a barrier between the pastry and the filling to stop the pastry from going soggy).
• Once the chocolate has solidified, beat the chilled pastry cream until it is smooth and spreadable, then spread it evenly over the inside of the pastry case. Arrange the strawberry slices in concentric circles on top of the creme patisserie.
• Gently heat the apricot jam (either in a small saucepan or in bursts in the microwave) until runny. Pass it through a sieve to remove any pieces of fruit and stir in a splash of boiling water to thin it slightly. Gently brush the strawberry slices with the jam using a pastry brush.
• Keep the tart refrigerated, it is best served shortly after filling.

Notes

• See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
• All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!