This is the most luxurious vegan dessert that I make. It’s definitely not an everyday dessert, but something that I reserve for special occasions a few times a year. It easily holds-up to any non-vegan dessert served at fancy restaurants. It’s extremely rich, so you only need to serve a small piece, and it’s great with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream. I made it for my mother for her birthday a few years back, and she loved it so much that she saved a piece and drove it to my grandfather, who lives 3 hours away. This is pretty amazing, considering the fact that my mother is an amazing chef and dessert-maker – and the fact that my grandfather is a big-time chocoholic and renown dessert-eater! Being validated like that really meant a lot to me, because it felt great knowing that my vegan dessert held-up to their lifetimes of amazing dessert experiences.
I modified this recipe based the Chocolate Turtle Truffle Torte recipe on VegWeb.com. I’ve changed and added some essential ingredients, as well as re-written the ingredients and directions so that they are easier to follow.
- 1 cup wholewheat (wholemeal) flour
- 1 cup oats (best if you grind them down to a fine powder in your food processor)
- ½ cup raw sugar
- ½ lb (1 cup) vegan margarine
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ lb (1/2 cup) vegan margarine
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ½ cup pecans or walnuts, toasted
- 1 lb (453g) semi sweet vegan chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup soymilk
- ¼ lb (1/2 cup) vegan margarine
- ½ cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, oats, and sugar.
- Add margarine and mix with a fork until crumbly.
- Press mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of a springform pan.
- Use a fork to make small holes throughout the crust, to help it bake evenly.
- Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then let cool.
- Once the crust has cooled, melt ¼ lb (1/2 cup) margarine in a small saucepan.
- Stir in brown sugar and vanilla, stirring constantly until the sugar is smooth and melted.
- Add cornstarch and stir until it is evenly distributed and the sauce is smooth and shiny.
- Pour caramel over cooled crust.
- Sprinkle nuts in an even layer over the caramel sauce.
- Refrigerate for half an hour, or until caramel thickens.
- Bring a medium pot of water to boil, and turn down to a simmer.
- In a stainless steel or glass mixing bowl, place the remaining ¼ lb of margarine and chocolate.
- Place bowl over simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted.
- Stir in ½ cup soymilk until smooth.
- Pour chocolate mixture over caramel crust, pouring in a spiral motion working inwards so as not to disturb the nuts too much.
- Tap the bottom of pan on counter to settle the chocolate of any air bubbles.
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then sprinkle the chopped nuts on top.
- Return to fridge for another 2 hours.
Well to start out, I am not Vegan, but I’ve actually started to enjoy Soy Milk, non dairy cream cheese and especially non dairy desserts such as this. (I even switched to Soy Ice-cream) Less bloating, less fat and most of the time I enjoy the taste much more.
I’ve actually had this dessert and adored it. I’ve also seen many people it was made for not tell the difference and rave about it – we just need to promote these more in restaurants for people to choose more wisely.
Great Recipe – that picture is making me drool.
Thanks for your comment!! I promise to make this more often! :)
Wow, that looks AMAZING!
Thanks! :)
I was fortunate enough to enjoy a variation of this Torte made by Angela herself. Hard to believe it’s vegan! Absolutely delicious. Thx for sharing the recipe Ang!! xox
Thanks for your comment!! X
This looks absolutely divine! Beautiful!
Thanks so much Jennifer – I really appreciate all your comments :)
wow,… that really looks amazing. vegan desserts is definitely something we dont tackle because we are dealing with normal everyday meals, but that indeed is worthy to make. i want to make this over thanksgiving (us). i may just save it for myself though. :)
Hi Brian – thanks for the comment! This dessert would definitely make you less crabby – haha! Not an everyday dessert as it does take a little while to put together, but each step itself is pretty easy and quick. Let me know if you make it! All the best! A
Total decadence. Nice picture and recipe!
Thanks Noelle :)
This looks so great, you can;t even tell it’s vegan, beats lot of other desserts I’ve seen.
And since it made my mouth water, I’ll make a vegetarian version on this, sorry no margarine for me :( I stick with the butter
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for your comment :) Let me know how it turns out!
Wow Angela, I think I may have just found my Christmas centerpiece! Thank you so much for sharing this dessert. Do you think it would taste as nice with dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet? Thanks!!
That’s fantastic! Glad to help! Yes, I think that would be fine. I think it’s sweet enough with the caramel… Let me know how it works for you!
Oh my…this looks so incredibly good! My mouth is watering looking at the photo! Great recipe!
Thanks Amy!!
This seems like it would be a well-executed vegan dessert option versus a cake of some sort. I can’t wait to try this. It’s gone up on my To do page.
Thanks for your comment! Let me know how it goes – I’ve been making it for years and it’s always a big hit! :)
I am so making that for the holidays this year – thank you!
I’ll probably sub coconut milk for the soy in the truffle layer, and coconut oil for margarine in the crust (but not the caramel or truffle layers). Hopefully mine will turn out as beautifully as yours did!
Hi – thanks for your comment! Please let me know how it goes! I like the idea of using coconut milk and oil, as I do normally try to avoid margarine… Thanks for the idea! x
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow!! That loos like ….um…just amazing! But i started a 12 week diet and unfortunetly only on week 2 lol…10 weeks until I can bake this amazing looking yumminess!
Good luck with your diet an let me know when you make them! :)
Hi Angela, although we are not strictly vegan (you might call us Flexitarians) we use a lot of vegan recipes due to multiple food allergies, so I love your site and recipes! Great to know you are in Oz too, we live in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
I’m going to try to modify your delicious looking torte to be gluten free & vegan so that we can all enjoy it, thank for sharing your wonderful recipes!
Hi Jan! Thanks so much for taking the time to write – it means so much to me! Please let me know what you decide to change to make it gluten-free. My mom has been sick for many years and lately seems to be doing better on a gluten-free diet. So we’re knocking-on-wood that it will solve her issues! So yes, let me know what you change and then I’ll pass it onto her so that she can make it as well! I haven’t visited the Blue Mountains yet but hope to sometime this year! :)
OK, I tried it. It is sinfully, dangerously delicious. I left the nuts out because we didn’t have any. I think I needed to cook the caramel longer, it was still grainy, and I think I needed to either cook the crust longer, or let it cool more thoroughly. It was a little soft, and the caramel soaked into it. Next time I’ll try adding fresh raspberries to the truffle layer. Even though I made a few mistakes, it’s still one of the most decadent desserts, if not the most, I’ve ever had. Thank you thank you thank you! xo
Thanks so much for trying this and taking the time to comment – it means a lot to me!
Sorry to hear that you hit a couple speed bumps – the crust definitely has to be cool when you pour the caramel on top, but at least your crust was a little soft and not too hard (always hate when that happens to me!) – Raspberries would be AWESOME on this, or even served on top. I’m thinking that you could even replace the wheat-based crust with a raw crust (almonds+dates). Yup, this is definitely decadent… I think it would fool many omnivores out there!
Not sure if you ever experiment with coconut flour, but i often use it in my dessert recipes, as well as brown rice flour!
will definitely be trying this along with some of my own variations,
thanks!
No, I haven’t, but I’ve been hearing more and more about it so I’ll be trying to substitute it going forward. Thanks for your comments! :)
THis reminds me… when do we get the recipe for the carrot cake you made Barb for her birthday?! that was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!
Oh, I’ve got an even better recipe than that. I thought I was making it for Barb’s, but I found the better recipe later… I’ll make it and post it soon! :)
Made this yesterday- so worth the effort, I had enough to make 2 tortes as well, maybe my tins are a bit small but this is the BEST chocolate dessert I have ever made/tasted in my life EVER!
Hi Aimee – Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I’m so glad that you liked the torte. It’s always a big hit when I make it too. Hopefully 2 tortes isn’t too much, but I’m pretty confident that it will get eaten! :)
This dessert looks absolutley amazing and I will definitely be making it soon. Do you happen to know if it is ok to freeze it? Thanks in advance!
Hi Rolanda – I think it would freeze well. You’d want to pull it out of the freezer and into the fridge a few hours before serving though… Let me know how it works for you.
Great, thanks, I will let you know!
I think I’m going to make this for my holiday buffet at work. What is the easiest way to cut this without having it fall apart/crumble? I’m drooling just thinking about it! :)
Hi Jennifer – The crust can get a little crumbly sometimes but other than that, it should be OK. You may want to cut it right out of the fridge – that should help… Let me know how it goes over :)
Wow! Your receipes sound great! I am a vegetarian but try and do lots of vegan cooking. My sister in law is a vegan and I have been searching for some vegan receipes for Christmas this year. This dessert is definately going on the list!!!
Hi Alyce – Thanks for the kind words! Let me know when you make this and what your sister thinks. It’s a big hit with vegans and non-vegans alike :)
I made this Vegan dessert for a group of 25 (I doubled the recipe) and it was fantastic! There were only a few vegans in the crowd but vegan and non-vegan alike enjoyed it. I made the crust and the caramel layer the night before and the chocolate layer before dinner. I stuck it in the fridge and let it chill and set while we ate. Breaking up the prep made it feel like a breeze. Will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Rikki – Thanks for trying this and taking the time to comment. I’m so glad to hear that it was such a hit. You’re so right – if you split-up the steps like that, it doesn’t seem like that much work at all. Plus, each step is relatively easy. Thanks again for the great feedback :)
Hi Angela – just wondered if you’ve every tried to make a lower-cost version, using cocoa powder, sugar and extra marg, rather than chocolate?
Hi John, no I haven’t tried that but be sure to let me know how it works out if you do…
This was the most delicious thing i’ve eaten since becoming a vegan. I’ll be making it for the second time today, thanks for the recipe!
Hi Audrey – Thanks so much for the feedback, I’m glad you liked it! :)
Hey, just wondering if you can tell me what chocolate you used and where you bought it from as I can’t seem to find any vegan semi sweet chocolate. thanks.
Hi Anita – Any vegan dark chocolate would work fine, as it’s not normally overly sweet. Hope that helps!
Also how can I make that thick dark chocolate drizzle shown in the pic?
thanks.
Hi Anita – Just slowly melt some dark chocolate and drizzle it. Let me know if you have any other questions :)
Angela, that chocolate truffle cake was divine!!! Kudos to you!! You sure can cook, girl!!!! I only wish I had eaten a piece before the main course!!!!! It really is meant to be the centre of attraction!!!…not following some major overindulgence!! I will definitely make this for a diehard chocaholic friend here in Port Elgin!!
Thank you Margaret :) Let me know if you have any questions at all with the recipe. It’s always a hit, especially with chocolate lovers!
Hi! Wanted to tell you, this dessert is AWESOME! Made it today for my son’s 7th birthday. He has allergies to dairy and eggs. This was a wonderful treat! No one could believe it was vegan! Thank you so much for this recipe. It is definitely a keeper!
You’re welcome! Thanks for taking the time to let me know :)
Hi there! I’m trying to make this crust right now– and right now all I have is a big goopy mess! It seems like 1 cup of marginarine is an awful lot for that amount of flour– has this happened to anyone else?
Nevermind– entirely my fault. I flubbed up the amounts. My apologies!!
All good! I hope it worked out for you!
I made this again for Christmas this year and it is as good as last time. I found that the crust layer was a little different, it didn’t go crumbly, almost like I had too much fat in but did follow the measurements.
Also do you let the chocolate coool a little before adding in the milk? it started to seperate a bit whe I ixed it but I just saved it by whisking with the electric whisk.
Even with those probles it stil tasted absolutely gorgeous. It is my go to dessert for special occassions now and we are big fans in our house!