The vegan chocolate torte of dreams! A silky smooth and luxurious chocolate ganache topping with a digestive cheesecake-style crumb. Adorned with sweet, lightly spiced poached pears. Easy to make and totally delicious!
After a day of exploring Malaga we decided to head a little further out of Malaga to the resort of Torremolinos for dinner. We strolled along the beach front in the evening sun and then headed to a little restaurant called The Wala Room, which is a vegan restaurant with a half raw-half cooked menu.
The Wala Room was nothing short of outstanding; the best meal of our visit to Malaga and one simply not to be missed if you are anywhere in the vicinity. Be sure to read all about the incredible meal we had there in my Malaga blog here.
With a belly full of delectable vegan dishes, I almost didn’t have dessert but boy am I glad I did! Dessert was a rich chocolate ganache torte with a crumbly biscuit base and slices of delicious pear on top. The ganache was silky smooth and the fresh, sweet pears cut through the chocolate perfectly.
My re-creation uses oats, almonds and cashews to form a ‘biscuity’ base that resembles a digestive cheesecake-style crumb. To top I’ve used 70% dark chocolate, lightened with a little dairy-free milk and coconut sugar to give a smooth and luxurious ganache which is topped with poached pears that you’ll have to resist eating just as they are.
Serve this delicious torte with a side of dairy free cream, ice cream or coconut whip and you’ve got yourself a decadent dessert that everyone will enjoy.
I have no doubt that you will LOVE this recipe – be sure to tag me on Instagram when you make it @aveganvisit 🙂
The Video Recipe:
The Written Recipe:
Chocolate and Poached Pear Torte
Ingredients
Poached pears:
- 3 pears (medium sized, ripe and peeled)
- ½ lemon (juice only)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 125 g coconut sugar
- 500 ml water
Torte crust:
- 75 g oats (gluten free)
- 30 g almonds
- 30 g cashews
- 25 g coconut sugar
- 1 tsp maca powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 60 g coconut oil (melted)
Chocolate ganache:
- 200 ml dairy free milk (soya or oat is my recommendation for this recipe)
- 200 g 70% dark chocolate (broken up into small chunks)
- 60 g coconut sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Poach the pears:
- Heat the water, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until all of the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is lightly simmering (approx 3-5 minutes).1/2 lemon, 1 cinnamon stick, 500 ml water, 125 g coconut sugar
- Add the peeled pears and simmer for 30 minutes, turning the pears occasionally. Try to resist eating them from the pan, they will smell delicious.3 pears
- Once the pears have finished poaching, place them in the fridge to cool and harden up (making them much easier to slice) for at least 4 hours. Whilst the pears are chilling, make the torte because this will also need chilling time.
Make the nutty, biscuity torte crust:
- You will need a 20cm round dish with a removable base. Alternatively you could use small individual dishes with removable bases.
- Blitz all of the torte crust ingredients in a processor, except for the coconut oil.75 g oats, 30 g almonds, 30 g cashews, 25 g coconut sugar, 1 tsp maca powder, 1 pinch of salt
- Add the coconut oil, blitz again and check that the mixture comes together slightly in your hands.60 g coconut oil
- Add the torte crust mixture to your dish and press it down firmly to form the base. Place it in the refrigerator whilst you make the ganache.
To make the silky smooth ganache:
- To make the ganache heat the dairy free milk, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan and stir until the sugar has dissolved (approx 3-5 minutes). Remove the saucepan from the heat and place on a heat-resistant plate.200 ml dairy free milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 60 g coconut sugar
- Add the chocolate chunks to the milk and stir until all of the chocolate has melted and combined with the milk. This will take 1-2 minutes and the finished mixture should look smooth and glossy.200 g 70% dark chocolate
- Once the chocolate is fully combined with the milk, pour the mixture on top of the torte crust and put it in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours. At this point you may like to lick the remainder of the chocolate mix from the spoon… for quality control purposes obviously…
To compile the torte:
- When at least 4 hours has passed, slice the cold poached pears, arrange them on top of your torte and serve!
- If you have any trouble getting your torte out of the tin, soak a cloth in some hot water, ring it out and then hold it against the side of the pan for a few seconds. Repeat this around all of the pan and this should soften the edges enough to remove the torte without any difficulty.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I’m Tara! I’m taking you on a trip around the world in vegan cuisine and bringing the world’s most delicious dishes to your kitchen.
