No Bake Chocolate Tart
A decadent chocolate dessert with a dazzling finish.
If you’re looking for a stunning centrepiece, the grande finale to your dinner party, this simple chocolate tart ticks the boxes. Using a combination of only a few basic ingredients, this tart can be put together in minutes (although its appearance may suggest otherwise). I take advantage of the quick preparation time by embellishing this creation with piped rosettes. But even if you’re a little lazy and prefer to pour the ganache into the tart shell instead, a simple dusting of cocoa will give it an air of grandeur.
There’s something truly unique about this no-bake chocolate tart recipe. The base is made using plain biscuits (tea biscuits), and the filling is a rich chocolate ganache infused with a touch of espresso powder. It’s a version of my salted caramel whisky truffle recipe.
If you crave something more than the simplicity this dessert offers, feel free to add your own twists: Replace the plain cookies with chocolate ones (Oreos perhaps? Crushed pretzels are another way to go!). Add orange zest to the filling. Or a touch of peppermint extract. You could even spread a layer of jam on the base – feel free to play around with this no-bake chocolate tart recipe.
This chocolate tart is rich, so a small slice will suffice. You can also serve it with some fresh berries and whipped cream to cut through the decadent chocolate interior. I had wanted to post this recipe for those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, but in any case, this recipe works for all occasions. I’ll be eager to hear how you liked it!
So let’s not wait any longer as I’m sure you’re craving it after these photos, let’s tackle this no-bake chocolate tart recipe together!
No Bake Chocolate Tart
Ingredients
For the base:
- 200 g tea biscuits or any other plain cookie, 2 cups, crushed
- 100 g just under ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
For the chocolate filling:
- 300 mL 1 and ¼ cups heavy cream
- 300 g 1 ¾ cups chocolate, I use a combination of milk chocolate and dark chocolate, broken into chunks or chopped roughly
- 1 tsp of instant espresso powder, optional
- 4 tbsp 50 g or ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature, cubed
- Pinch of salt, I mention it in the video but don’t add it- chocolate and salt are beautiful together
- cocoa powder, berries or whipped cream to serve
Instructions
- Grease a 20 cm (8 inch) springform tin with butter. You could also make this recipe using a 9-10 inch (22-26 cm) tart base.
- For the base, crush the biscuits using a food processor, which makes for a smoother crust. Alternatively place the biscuits in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- Tip the crumbs into a bowl, and pour in the melted butter, that I just melted in the microwave, stirring after every 20 seconds or so or until completely melted- you can also do this over a stovetop.
- Mix the ingredients together until they resemble the texture of wet sand.
- Pour the base ingredients into your prepared tin and press down firmly using the back of a spoon, or your fingertips. I also like to press the base up the sides, around 2-3 cm (1-1.5 inches).
- Set the base aside.
- To prepare the filling, bring the heavy cream to a boil on the stovetop or in the microwave (this will take 1-2 min).
- Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate chunks, and add the instant espresso powder if using.
- Let the mixture sit for around 30 seconds, then stir it using a whisk. It will look grainy at first but will come together.
- Add the cubed butter and a pinch of salt, and continue to whisk until the butter has completely melted into the chocolate.
- At this stage, you can either pour the filling into the tart shell and chill the tart in the fridge for several hours (2-3 should suffice) or until the filling has set.
- Or you can get a bit fancy and pipe it. In this case, pour the chocolate ganache into a container, seal it and place it in the fridge for several hours or until firm and pipeable.
- Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1M star nozzle, and pipe rosettes into the base until all the ganache has been used. If you don't have a 1M nozzle, you can also just pipe dollops of the ganache into the shell. And if all goes wrong, just take a knife and spread it out.
- If you like, dust the top with some cocoa powder and serve with fresh berries and cream.
- Store the tart in the fridge, it will keep for around 1 week.
Looking for more no-bake recipes?
how if I use a chocolate protein bar instead or I will put it on the second layer of the cake, is that a good idea?
Not sure a chocolate protein bar will work instead of a regular chocolate bar, but maybe you can use it to decorate the tart?
Hi Vedika.
I had a quick question. My tart base often ends up breaking. How do we keep the biscuit and butter base from breaking. Does baking it help?
Hi Tanya! the secret is adding more butter! I’m obviously not a fan of adding too much, but it really does work wonders. You could of course try to bake it but in my experience the butter is what makes it hold- that and chilling it. Hope this helps!