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Salted Almond & Dark Chocolate Ganache Bars |
Introduction
Trying to find a really good pastry that's also good for you usually means sacrificing either taste or texture. This Salted Almond & Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart Bars recipe flips that story on its head. The result is a deeply complex flavor profile: bittersweet, mineral-rich cacao, the toasted, buttery warmth of unblonded almond flour, and a sharp, clean finish of fleur de sel. The result is a crisp, shortbread-like pâte sablée-like texture, along with an impressively silky, stable ganache.
This recipe relies on the natural emulsifying properties of pure nut butters and the moisture-binding properties of some plant fibres to eliminate refined sugars and heavy dairy fats. The final result is a decadent, nutrient-rich dessert for a fancy dinner party, a fall get-together, or a refined afternoon espresso match.
Ingredient Deep-Dive & Smart Substitutions
Almond Flour (Super-Fine, Blanched)
- What to look for: Look for ultra-fine blanched almond flour, not coarse almond meal. You should be able to feel it is soft powder between your fingers with no visible brown specks.
- Function: Provides the structure of the grain free crust, an alternative to wheat flour to give bulk, with natural oils for tenderness.
- Measurements: 2 cups / 192 grams Substitutions: Nut-free variation: Finely ground sunflower seed flour works excellently at 1:1 ratio by weight, though it may turn slightly green due to chlorogenic acid reactions. Counteract this with 1 tsp of lemon juice.
Pure Virgin Coconut Oil
- What to look for: Cold-pressed, organic unrefined coconut oil for a subtle tropical aroma, or expeller-pressed if you want a completely neutral flavor profile. It has to be solid but malleable at room temperature (21°C / 70°F) .
- Role: Provides the main source of fat in the pastry to produce a short crumb on baking and melt in the mouth texture. Also provides structural firmness to the ganache once chilled.
- Measurements: 1/3 cup / 76 grams (solid, divided)
- SUBSTITUTIONS: You can substitute in equal weight of unsalted grass-fed butter or vegan block butter (such as Naturli or Miyoko’s).
Cacao Paste / Liquored Unsweetened Chocolate (100%)
- What to look for: Single origin Venezuelan or Ecuadorian cacao paste or unsweetened baking bars with no added sugar.
- Role: With pure cocoa butter, it provides the ganache with a strong, unmixed chocolate taste and a firm consistency.
- Dimensions: 6oz / 170 grams
- Substitutions: Use 85% to 90% dark chocolate but reduce the amount of added sweetener by 30 grams elsewhere in the recipe.
Raw Artisanal Almond Butter
- What to look for: A silky, single-ingredient almond butter that’s runny. Make sure there are no added palm oils or stabilizers. When the oil layer is fully mixed, the measurement can be performed.
- Function: It is an emulsifier for the ganache, providing creaminess and replacing the milk solids in the heavy cream.
- Measurements: 1/2 cup / 125 g
Pure Maple Syrup (Grade A Ambeinteresting
100% pure maple syrup (do NOT use “pancake syrup” and other imitation products). Provides moist, hygroscopic moisture to your pastry as well as sweetness and interesting caramel/woody flavors. Function: The product provides moisture and sugar to the pastry and contributes a rich complexity of flavors including notes of caramel and wood.
- Measurements: 1/2 cup / 160 grams (divided)
- Substitutions: Allulose syrup or monk fruit liquid sweetener, for a lower-sugar or ketogenic adaptation, used in the same quantity as the syrup and only for baking.
Essential Equipment
- 9x9-inch Square Loose-Bottom Tart Pan or Baking Pan: We like to use a pan with straight edges as it makes cutting and removing the Tart much easier. Also, it is a lot easier to remove Tart from a Loose-Bottom Pan without breaking the bottom of the Tart.
- Digital Kitchen Scale: The volume of different types of flours can vary by as much as 20% by weight, and for pastry this variation is too great to measure by volume. A digital kitchen scale is the most accurate way to measure flours by weight. Heavy-Bottomed Stainless Steel Saucepan: The key pan for heating the ganache ingredients gently to make the ganache. A scorching ganache would ruin the whole tart. This saucepan is designed to distribute heat well using its heavy bottom and base. Silicone Spatula: Useful for scraping the sides of the pan for a completely homogeneous emulsion.
Step-by-Step Professional Method
1. Preparing the Shortbread Base
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a baking tray with parchment paper, leaving a cm of overhang on two sides of the paper to make removal easier. Combine 192 grams of the finest almond flour available with 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt in a large mixing bowl. Next, melt 57 grams of coconut oil in a separate bowl and whisk together with 60 grams of maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of the purest vanilla extract available. Combine the melted coconut oil mixture into the flour mixture and use a very rigid spatula to work the ingredients together until a ball of dough begins to form. The ingredients will start out as loose crumbs but continue to come together and form a dough that is pliable and holds its shape when squeezed.
2. Pressing and Blind Baking
Place the dough in the center of the prepared pan. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or your knuckles, press outwards from the center to form an even thickness on the bottom and up the sides about 0.5 inches. Use your fingers or a fork to dock the surface of the dough to prevent air pockets.
Crust Shaping Diagram (Pan Technique)
[Pan Edges] ------------------------
\ Dough firmly pressed into corner /
\__________________________________/
Chef's Note: Eliminate air gaps by ensuring a sharp $90^\circ$ angle where the dough base meets the wall of the pan. A uniform structural thickness guarantees an even bake and clean, restaurant-quality slicing.
Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until bar becomes deep golden on outside edge and pale matte blonde on inside center. The aroma should smell of toasted nuts. Allow bar to completely cool to room temperature; the crust will initially feel soft when bar is hot but will set dramatically as it cools.
3. Emulsifying the Glossy Ganache
Setup your bain-marie or double boiler. Fill a heavy-bottomed saucepan with an inch or so of simmering water, then place a heatproof glass or stainless steel bowl on top. Ensure that the bottom of the bowl does not actually touch the water.To ensure that all of the cacao paste melts evenly, it is very important to finely chop the 170 grams of 100% cacao paste. All of the other ingredients, including the 128 grams of smooth almond butter, 19 grams of coconut oil, and the remaining 100 grams of maple syrup, should be added to the bowl as well. Using a high-quality, smooth almond butter is very important, as this will help to create a smooth chocolate emulsion. The spatula that is used to stir the ingredients in the bowl should be a heat-resistant, high-quality silicone spatula. Stir all of the ingredients together until they are well combined and the chocolate has completely melted into a very glossy emulsion. The mixture should feel warm to the touch and should register at approximately 45°C / 113°F.
Check the temperature after melting. The chocolate should feel warm to the touch at about 45°C / 113°F. If it feels hotter than that the chocolate could separate and form oil droplets. Remove from heat and whisk in a small amount of water that has been taken from the fridge to re-emulsify the chocolate. Work quickly and carefully as it only takes a tiny amount of water to re-form the chocolate.
4. Assembly and Crystalline Finish
After making the ganache, pour it over the cooled shortbread crust. Try to pour it when it is warm and fluid. The ganache will smooth out and form a perfect mirror like surface as it fills the pan. Tap the pan down twice on the counter to get rid of any micro bubbles that may have formed.
Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Using your finest fleur de sel, spread evenly over the surface of the ganache. Place the entire pan in the refrigerator and allow to set or become firm to the touch – minimum 1 hour.
5. Executing Clean Slices
For perfectly cut bars, lift and remove the set slab from the pan using the parchment overhang. Using a long, sharp knife and a container of boiling water, wet the knife, then dry it with a lint-free towel. Then cut straight down through the bar in one smooth motion. Never saw at the bars. Wipe and reheat the knife after every cut.
The Science Behind the Recipe
Alternative baking depends on a molecular understanding of pastry ingredients. While traditional pastry is held together by a network of gluten and has a fatty content provided by dairy products, alternative ingredients can be used to create similar mouthfeel and properties.
Starch Absence & Maillard Reaction: When working with almond flour, without the sugars and proteins found in the sugars and proteins of wheat flour, there are only the natural proteins in the almond flour and the minimal amount of sugars found in the maple syrup. Thus, the almonds react with the maple syrup to produce a Maillard reaction. This reaction is a lower threshold reaction, and thus it can occur with a moderate temperature of about 175°C (350°F) before it starts to burn the surface of the baked goods.
Plant-Based Emulsification: This chocolate ganache depends on the same components found in classic ganache, made with cream and milk chocolate: casein (found in the milk proteins) and lecithin. In this recipe, almond butter provides natural lecithin to emulsify the fats in the cacao paste with the water from the maple syrup. Emulsions such as this ganache are very sensitive and should not be heated above 50°C, or the bonds will fracture leaving the ganache to be grainy and separated.
Pro Tips for Success
Temperature Synchronicity: Make sure the cooled crust is at room temperature before you pour the ganache onto it. If the ganache and the crust are too warm the fats in the crust will leak out and you will have a soggy, greasy base.
Sifting for Silkiness: Sift your almond flour to break up the oil pockets that can get compressed during storage. This will help to ensure that the flour is well hydrated and that there are no dry unbaked patches of flour in your finished base.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The Ganache Has Broken or Separated
Why it happens: The heat from adding the maple syrup was too high or the syrup was added at too cold of a temperature and pulled the cacao butter fats out of suspension in the cacao butter.
To fix the separation, remove the bowl from the heat, add 1 tablespoon of warmed almond milk or water to the chocolate and use a spatula or large whisk to whirl the chocolate in the milk, using the mechanical action and the slight rise in temperature to re-emulsify the chocolate into a smooth consistency.
The Crust Is Crumbly and Won't Slice
The cause was either that the dough was not pressed into the pan enough or that the almond flour was too coarse in texture.
Next time: Use a heavy flat object to press down the dough into a thick slab and then let the bars chill completely before you cut them.
Culinary Safety & Hygiene
Allergen Awareness: This recipe includes the use of a large amount of tree nuts (almonds) and should be cleaned and sanitized before use in preparation of food for people with life threatening food allergies.
Storage Temperature Control: For this type of ganache, which is made from unpasteurized plant-based moisture sources and is free from chemical preservatives, it must be stored at a consistent refrigerator temperature below 4°C and never allowed to sit at room temperature (above 22°C) for more than 4 hours as this will allow for the growth of microbes.
The Perfect Pairing
Beverages
Compare to a dry oak Cabernet Sauvignon or a dry, smoky single origin pour-over coffee, such as Sumatran or Ethiopian roast. The bitter dark fruit flavors of these drinks cut through the almond fats in the chocolate and lift the natural acidity of the cacao.
Accompaniments
Serve these Chocolate Truffles alongside a tart raspberry coulis or with a dollop of unsweetened coconut cream infused with the zest of a fresh orange. The tartness of the fruit is a wonderful contrast to the rich ganache.
Storage & Reheating Excellence
Refrigeration: Keep the cut bars in an airtight container, such as a plastic container or cake box, and layer with parchment paper for up to 7 days.
Freezing: First, individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap. Then, put them in a vacuum bag or regular bag and store for up to 3 months in the freezer. To thaw, put them in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Texture Preservation: These bars MUST be served cold. NEVER, EVER, MICROWAVE these bars or the cocoa butter will melt, the emulsion will break and the ganache will return to it’s liquid oil state. Store them in the refrigerator and serve firm and fudgy. Allow them to come to room temperature (this will take about 10 minutes) and they will return to their original silken, smooth state.
requently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour for this crust?
Coconut flour is highly hygroscopic and will absorb roughly 4 times the liquid of Almond Flour. Using it in place of Almond Flour in a 1:1 ratio will not work and result in a very dry flour that will not form into a crust and will not hold together when baked.
Why is my ganache not setting firmly?
Using a sweeter than maple syrup (such as grade B maple syrup) or even measuring out the ingredients incorrectly (such as guessing rather than using a digital scale) can cause the sweetener in the ganache not to set the bars firmly. This will improve after a full hour in the refrigerator at 4°C (39°F) or lower.
Is it possible to make this completely sugar-free?
To make these sugar-free for keto use a high quality liquid allulose or maple flavored monk fruit to replace the maple syrup. Make sure to use the same volume that the maple syrup calls for in order to keep the emulsion of the bars in correct ratio.
Nutrition Facts
The Nutritional information was calculated by professional assistance, and values per serving are based on average values in the food database. For healthy fats content are Almonds with its monounsaturated fatty acids and virgin coconut oil with medium-chain triglycerides; for minerals are present in raw cacao iron and magnesium.
If you are planning any variations for your kitchen creations, such as a sunflower seed swap in for the pumpkin seeds or an infused espresso ganache for the chocolate, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below or for the more Instagrammed amongst us, share your creations and I can share mine too – how did your texture benchmarks fare!
