My vegan chocolate fig tart is pure indulgence! It’s made with a buttery brown sugar–pecan crust, a silky vegan chocolate cream cheese filling, and jammy chocolate-dipped figs sprinkled with crunchy pecans. It’s so luscious, no one will guess it’s vegan — or how simple it is to make!
Figs. They get me every summer around this time! I can never resist when they show up in the produce aisle. They’re just so pretty, so tempting, and so rare that I almost always overbuy. But fresh figs don’t keep for very long. You’ve got just a few days to enjoy them, which means delicious figgy recipes are a must!
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A while back I created my vegan fig jam grilled cheese sandwich, and it’s still one of my all-time favorite sandwiches. But this year I wanted to go sweet with my fig haul, and that’s how this decadent vegan chocolate fig tart was born.
This tart has it all: a lightly spiced pecan crust, a silky chocolate cream cheese filling (adapted from my vegan chocolate cheesecake recipe), and fresh figs dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with pecans. It’s luxurious, creative (just think of all the fun designs you can make with those gorgeous figs!), and surprisingly simple to pull together. It also feels a little romantic, so it’s perfect for special dinners, date nights, or anytime you want to wow someone with something sweet.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below you’ll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
Pecans. You’ll be using these for both the crust and topping.
Flour. I’ve only made the crust with all-purpose wheat flour. I think other varieties like whole wheat pastry flour would work, but have not tested them.
Brown sugar. We’re using organic brown sugar, since conventional granulated sugars are often processed using animal bone char.
Vegan butter. Look for this in the refrigerator case at the grocery store. It’s probably right near the regular butter.
Ground cinnamon.
Salt.
Raw cashews. These are the base for our chocolate cream cheese filling. Make sure to buy them raw (not roasted) for the perfect creamy base.
Cocoa powder.
Coconut oil. No substitutions here! Coconut oil solidifies at room temperature, so it’s necessary in order for the filling to set.
Maple syrup.
Vegan chocolate chips. I usually use Enjoy Life brand, which is available at lots of grocery stores.
Fresh figs. I like to use Black mission figs for this recipe, because they’re so sweet and look really pretty on the tart. Any variety will do, though!
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Step 2: Grind the pecans. Place them into a food processor and blend them up until they’re finely chopped — almost a powder.
Step 3: Make the dough. Add flour, brown sugar, melted vegan butter, cinnamon, and salt to the food processor bowl. Pulse the machine until a dough forms.
Step 4: Shape the crust. Press the dough over the bottom and up the sides of a 9 ½ inch tart pan.
Step 5: Bake the crust. Pop it into the oven for about 20 minutes, until it is lightly browned.
Step 6: Let it cool. Place the crust on a cooling rack. Let it cool while you prepare the filling.
Step 7: Make the filling. Place soaked raw cashews, cocoa powder, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, non-dairy milk, and salt into a food processor or high-powered blender, then blend until smooth.
Steps 8 & 9: Fill & chill. Transfer the filling to the crust, then pop it into the fridge. Leave it there for at least two hours, which should be long enough for it to partially set.
Tip: The filling will take four hours to fully set, and you are welcome to let it fully set if you’d like. But I prefer to take it out after two hours, when the filling is still a bit soft. This lets the fig topping sink into the filling just a bit.
Step 10: Melt the chocolate. Melt the chocolate chips and vegan butter by microwaving them together in short bursts, stirring in between.
Step 11: Top the tart. Dip fresh fig halves into the chocolate, then arrange them over the tart filling. Make a pretty design if you’d like! Sprinkle them with chopped pecans.
Step 12: Final chill. Place the fig tart back into the fridge until the filling and chocolate are completely set.
Step 13: Serve. Your vegan chocolate fig tart is ready! Slice it up and dig on in. This baby is so decadent and absolutely heavenly with a cup of coffee or another hot beverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Possibly! I think an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend would work for the crust, but I haven’t tested it myself.
Keep your fig tart in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic, and it will stay fresh in the fridge for three to four days. Keep in mind that the shelf life can vary a bit, depending on how fresh your figs were when you made the tart.
I wouldn’t recommend it. Dried figs will likely be too dense and chewy for this recipe. Instead, use a variety of fresh fruit that is in season. It could really be anything! Try strawberries, mandarin slices, or pear slices.
More Vegan Chocolate Desserts
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Vegan Chocolate Fig Tart
My vegan chocolate fig tart is pure indulgence! It’s made with a buttery brown sugar–pecan crust, a silky vegan chocolate cream cheese filling, and jammy chocolate-dipped figs sprinkled with crunchy pecans. It’s so luscious, no one will guess it’s vegan — or how simple it is to make!
Ingredients
For the Crust
½ cup pecan halves1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour¼ cup organic brown sugar10 tablespoons vegan butter, melted½ teaspoon ground cinnamon½ teaspoon salt
For the Filling
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed½ cup cocoa powder⅓ cup coconut oil, melted¼ cup maple syrup¼ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To make the crust, start by placing the pecans into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Run the machine on high-speed until the nuts are finely ground.
Place all of the remaining crust ingredients into the food processor bowl. Pulse the machine until they’re well combined and form a dough, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 ½ inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
Bake the crust for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
Place the crust on a cooling rack when it comes out of the oven.
To make the filling, place all filling ingredients into a high-powered blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl or pitcher as needed.
Once the crust has cooled down a bit (it doesn’t need to be completely cool — just warm is fine), pour the filling into the crust, smoothing out the top as best you can.
Chill the tart until at least partially set, about 2 hours (Note 1).
Once the filling has partially set, make the topping. Place the chocolate chips and butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Zap the mixture in 20-second increments, stirring well in between, until the ingredients are fully melted and well blended.
Dip the bottom half of each fig into the chocolate mixture, then arrange the figs on top of the tart, gently pressing them into the filling. Sprinkle the chocolate-dipped figs with the chopped pecans.
Place the tart back into the fridge until the chocolate and filling have fully set.
Slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (⅛ of tart) | Calories: 617kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 432mg | Potassium: 405mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 819IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 5mg
