How low can you go?! This gluten free chocolate peanut butter tart is sweetened with a delicious alternative sweetener that I have been enjoying of late —yacon syrup.
This lower glycemic sweetener is derived from the yacon plant which is often referred to as “apple of the earth.” Yacon is high in fructooligosacharides (FOS), a form of fructose that is lower in sugar than others and is in fact, also a pre-biotic. This sweetener feeds the friendly bacteria in the colon and can also aid in digestion. You can read more about Yacon Syrup on my Ingredients page.
Of course, as we all know, the best sweetener is no sweetener at all. I believe that humans were not made to digest large quantities of sugars. Fruit is available in most climates a couple of months of the year, if that. And then there is my family. They like their sweets regardless of the season.
And then there are my readers. While it’s pretty easy to find a recipe for gluten-free roasted chicken or gluten-free burgers, the pages of Sunset and Parade are not exactly swimming with gluten-free dessert recipes. As we all know, in our culture, gluten-free just isn’t the norm. And of course, finding gluten-free desserts that are lower in sugar, higher in protein and dairy-free? Well, there’s not exactly a lot of that out there.
Thankfully, I found this dessert on a fabulous blog that I follow called healthyindulgences.com. While I don’t utilize some of the ingredients that the lovely Lauren uses on her site, I do admire her low-sugar gluten-free recipes and think this one is a total winner. After all, who doesn’t want a little peanut butter with their chocolate?
Flourless Tart Crust
Ingredients
- 1½ cups peanuts, roasted
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- 2 tablespoons yacon syrup
Instructions
- Grind the peanuts in a to a fine meal (make a crunchy meal for a crunchier crust)
- Pulse in the salt and baking soda
- Pulse in the grapeseed oil and yacon syrup and continue pulsing until the dough is formed
- Remove dough from food processor and press into a 9 inch tart pan
- Bake at 350°F for 8 minutes, until fragrant and golden brown
- Cool, then fill shell with Vegan Chocolate Pudding
- Serve
Equipment
Feel free to use my standard chocolate pudding as referenced (and linked) in the recipe above, or, try this new lower-glycemic, gluten-free chocolate pudding sweetened primarily with yacon, below:
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Lower Glycemic Chocolate Pudding Filling
Ingredients
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can full fat coconut milk (not lite)
- 1 pinch celtic sea salt
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
- 3 tablespoons yacon syrup
- 5 drops stevia
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat coconut milk and salt over medium heat
- Raise heat and sift the arrowroot powder into the pot, then Whisk vigorously by hand or with a hand blender until thick
- Whisk in agave, yacon, stevia and vanilla
- Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes; add chocolate, stirring vigorously until melted
- Chill for 10 minutes, then pour into cooled pie crust
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until firm
I haven’t tried to use yacon and agave interchangeably, so am not sure if that would work in my recipes and others. Whenever I want to see if an ingredient works in a recipe I make sure to test it.
In terms of flavor, I find that yacon is not as sweet as agave and its taste is not as “sharp.” Its flavor is more mellow and “round.” On its own, yacon has a flavor similar to that of molasses, however, in the pudding recipe above, the chocolate mostly hides that flavor. If you try yacon, please stop by and let us know what you think.
And have a great Passover everyone!
Krista says
I made this yesterday and it is fabulous!!! Thank you so much for this recipe. My kids loved it too.
We didn’t have peanuts so I substituted natural peanut butter and added a little over a 1/4 cup of coconut flour for the crust. It tasted like a peanut butter cookie. I also didn’t have agave so I used yacon syrup for the full amount of liquid sweetener along with powdered stevia. It still tasted wonderful.
This is going to become a staple recipe for holidays and get togethers.
elana says
Jess, Thanks so much for taking the time to experiment and for posting your results. The coffee version sounds amazing!
Jess says
This tart is unbelievably good! So rich, decadent – the birthday girl and dinner party guests were in love, and I could eat it, which thrilled me.
I did not buy yacon – maybe in the future. I used honey in the crust and used unsweetened chocolate for the mousse and then just increased the amount of agave. No problems at all. The second time I made it (yep, twice in one week) I added hot coffee to the chocolate mixture which was great as well.
Now I just need another excuse to make it. :)
elana says
Thanks everyone for your super nice and interesting comments! Per all the queries as to where to obtain yacon, just click on the word “yacon” in the ingredients list of the recipe and you will be taken out of my site to one that sells this product. I link all of the products on my website that are less well known to sites where you can purchase them. You can also check the “purchase” section on the lower right hand side of my site for information on purchasing ingredients.
In terms of the question about the health impacts of eating cooked almonds, I believe that raw food has more nutrients than cooked food, however, I also believe that cooked food can make some of these nutrients more bio-available. From what I’ve read about nuts (see Sally Fallon), the best way to eat them is soaked and dehydrated.
Lynnette says
Elena, Bless you for finding Yacon, a sweetener kind to friendly tummy bacteria. I’ll be experimenting replacing other sweeteners with it and using dark cocoa or carob powder and adding a bit of coconut oil. Thanks!
Jess says
I am looking forward to making this. My only question is if anyone has an idea of how much I would need to increase the agave or other sweetener in order to use unsweetened chocolate. I guess I have two questions because now I am also wondering if the yacon syrup is necessary. I have spent a fortune trying out new food to accommodate my new-found intolerances and would prefer not to spend more if I don’t have to. Could I sub honey instead? Thanks so much!
kiruthika says
Hi Elana, I have tried some of your recipes and have had great success with them. I use a lot of almond flour for my cooking and was wondering if you had any thoughts about safety of heat on almond. I have read that heating nuts destroys their oils and might create carcinogens and other undesirable oils. Do you think by using almond flour regularly for baking (which I do almost every week) we are exposing ourselves to toxins?
I would love to hear your thought.
Lauren B says
Hi Elana! Your version of the tart looks absolutely scrumptious. It’s an honor to have such a creative, talented chef like yourself put your spin on my recipe. Goodness knows I get so many ideas looking here, since you were one of the first bloggers to use almond flour consistently. It’s wonderful to have someone else playing around with these healthful ingredients!
Once I can get my hands on yacon syrup I’d like to try your crust, as see if it brings something to the table that honey doesn’t. As usual your photo makes me want to lick the screen!
Jodye says
Yacon syrup sounds very interesting, I’ll have to scour around for it. And the tart, well, how can you go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter!
Holly says
I think I am in love. This sounds delicious!