Peanut Butter Caramel Mousse Tart
A no-bake tart with a cacao crust, a peanut butter caramel layer and a fluffy chocolate mousse.
Yield: one 9-inch tart (12 slices) · Active: 1 hr · Total: 6 hr (includes setting) · Season: a pantry dessert for any time of year; fresh-crop peanuts are harvested September–November across the Southeast, and Valencia peanuts come from New Mexico in the fall · Cuisine: American, no-bake · Best eaten: after an early dinner or as an afternoon treat
Peanut butter and chocolate is about as American as dessert gets, and this tart gives it three clean layers. There’s a dark, fudgy cacao crust, then a salty-sweet peanut butter caramel that sets like the inside of a peanut butter cup, then a cloud of whipped coconut-cream chocolate mousse on top. No oven and no refined sugar. A thin slice goes a long way.
Love the peanut-caramel-chocolate combination? My Raw Peanut Caramel Swirl Cheesecake marbles it through cashew cream. For more mousse, try the Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Tart or the Banana Nut Butter Mousse Cacao Cake.
Ingredients
Crust
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup sliced raw almonds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup raw cacao powder
1 cup medjool dates (10–12), pitted, soaked 10 minutes and drained
2 tbsp pure maple syrup or coconut nectar
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
Pinch Baja Gold sea salt
Peanut butter caramel
1 cup natural unsweetened peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts, maybe salt), well stirred
¾ cup pure maple syrup or coconut nectar
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
2–3 tbsp coconut cream or nut milk, to thin if needed
Chocolate mousse
2 cans (13.5 oz each) full-fat coconut cream, refrigerated overnight. You can use full-fat coconut milk instead; scoop off only the solid top layer.
1 cup raw cacao powder, sifted
½ cup pure maple syrup or coconut nectar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch Baja Gold sea salt
Garnish
Raw cacao nibs
Chopped roasted peanuts
A dusting of cacao powder
Optional: a few flakes of flaky sea salt
Swaps
Peanut-free: use almond butter in the caramel and chopped almonds on top. For a nut-free caramel, use sunflower seed butter (the crust still has tree nuts).
Sweetener: maple syrup and coconut nectar work interchangeably. Coconut nectar gives a deeper, more caramel-like flavor.
Allergy note: this tart has peanuts, tree nuts and coconut, so let your guests know.
Method
Make the crust
In a food processor, pulse the cashews, almonds, coconut, cacao powder and salt until finely broken down.
Add the soaked dates, maple syrup and coconut oil. Pulse until the mixture clumps and holds together when you pinch it. If it’s crumbly, add another date or a teaspoon of water.
Press it firmly and evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform or tart pan with a removable bottom. The flat bottom of a measuring cup helps.
Freeze 30 minutes.
Make the peanut butter caramel
5. In a bowl, stir the peanut butter, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla and salt until smooth and glossy.
6. Add coconut cream 1 tbsp at a time if needed, until it’s smooth and pourable.
7. Pour the caramel over the chilled crust and smooth the top.
8. Freeze 30 minutes, until the surface is firm to the touch.
Make the chocolate mousse
9. Chill a mixing bowl and beaters for 10 minutes. Scoop the solid coconut cream from the cold cans into the bowl and save any leftover liquid for smoothies.
10. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 2–3 minutes.
11. Sift in the cacao powder and beat on low just to combine.
12. Add the vanilla and salt, then drizzle in the maple syrup with the mixer on low. Stop as soon as it’s smooth. Overbeating makes it greasy and dense.
13. Spread or pipe the mousse over the set caramel layer.
Set and finish
14. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight, until set.
15. Just before serving, garnish with cacao nibs, chopped peanuts, a dusting of cacao powder and a few salt flakes.
Slicing tip: Dip a sharp knife in hot water and wipe it dry between each cut for clean layers. Serve it straight from the fridge. Coconut cream softens quickly at warm room temperature.
Storage: Refrigerate up to 5 days, or freeze up to 2 months, either whole or in slices. Let frozen slices sit 15–20 minutes before serving.
Cacao note: cacao has theobromine and a little caffeine. A slice of this tart has about as much as a small cup of tea. If you’re sensitive, have it in the afternoon instead of late evening.
Nourishment Notes
Raw cacao is one of the richest food sources of magnesium. It also brings iron and polyphenols (flavanols) that support healthy blood flow, plus theobromine for a gentle lift. The crust and mousse together give each slice a good dose.
Peanuts are a legume, not a nut. They bring plant protein, niacin, folate, vitamin E and monounsaturated fat. Peanuts can carry aflatoxin, a mold-produced toxin, so look for organic peanut butter, or Valencia peanut butter, which is grown in New Mexico’s dry climate where mold has a harder time. Read the label: it should say just peanuts, maybe salt. Most commercial peanut butters add fully hydrogenated or palm oils and sugar, which muddy the caramel’s clean flavor. You can also grind your own from roasted peanuts in a food processor.
Coconut cream brings rich saturated fat, including lauric acid. Coconut fat is solid in the fridge and melts around 76°F, which is exactly why this mousse whips up light and then sets firm enough to slice when chilled. It’s also why the tart should be served cold.
Cashews and almonds add magnesium, vitamin E, copper and healthy fats to the crust. Medjool dates bind it together and add fiber and potassium, so the sweetness comes with some substance.
Maple syrup and coconut nectar bring trace minerals like manganese and zinc (maple) along with their deeper flavor, but they’re still sugar. That’s why a thin slice is the move.
For your cycle: that premenstrual chocolate craving is real, and this is a good way to answer it. In the luteal phase, the magnesium in cacao, almonds and cashews, plus the protein and fat from peanut butter and coconut, make a slice steadier than a candy bar. Pair it with a protein-rich dinner.
Sourcing
Peanut butter: organic or Valencia, ingredients just peanuts (and salt). Maranatha organic and Wild Friends both fit the bill.
Cashews, almonds and coconut: raw, organic if possible, from a bulk bin with good turnover
Medjool dates: soft and plump. California dates come from the Coachella Valley.
Raw cacao powder: organic and fair-trade
Coconut cream: organic full-fat coconut cream, like Let’s Do Organic Heavy Coconut Cream or Native Forest. Chill the cans overnight.
Maple syrup: pure, Grade A dark
Sea salt: Baja Gold
— Anna aka Food Marshall