Make Chocolate Hazelnut Cake – An Irresistible Plant-Based Treat by Chef Lisa Marley
If you’ve ever wondered how to make chocolate hazelnut cake without dairy, eggs, or refined flour, this stunning dessert from Chef Lisa Marley is your answer. There’s something truly luxurious about combining chocolate and hazelnuts — especially when it results in a silky, no-bake tart that’s both elegant and plant-based.
From the nutty walnut crust to the rich chocolate-hazelnut filling, and finished with a tangy raspberry coulis, this recipe is a show-stopper for dinner parties, celebrations, or any time you want to impress (yourself included).
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake Tart
Equipment
- Oven (for toasting nuts)
- Food processor (for crust and hazelnuts)
- mixing bowls
- Spatula or palette knife (for swirling and spreading)
- Small saucepan (for raspberry coulis)
- Fine mesh sieve (for straining coulis)
- Piping bag (optional, for chocolate decoration)
- Whisk or electric mixer (to blend filling)
- Measuring spoons & cups / kitchen scale
- Mini jugs or shot glasses (for serving coulis)
- Serving plates (6 white plates recommended)
- Bain-marie or double boiler (to melt chocolate gently)
- For a full-size tart: 23 cm (9-inch) fluted tart tin with a loose bottom
- For individual servings: six 10 cm (4-inch) non-stick fluted tart tins with removable bottoms
Ingredients
- Nutty crust
- 250 g walnuts toasted
- 12 medjool dates
- 50 g ground almonds
- 25 g cocoa powder
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Chocolate filling
- 250 g dark chocolate melted
- 350 g silken tofu
- 100 g hazelnut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- Raspberry coulis
- 500 g raspberries fresh or frozen
- 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp corn flour
- Decoration
- 200 g whole hazelnuts toasted and blitzed
- Edible flowers
- X 6 non stick fluted tin 4 x 10cm
- X 6 white plates
- X 6 mini jugs
Instructions
- Toast the walnuts and hazelnuts in a preheated oven on 165oc, for 10 minutes, ensuring the hazelnuts and walnuts are separated. Remove and place the hazelnuts to one side.
- Remove the shell from the hazelnuts.
- Pulse walnuts in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add the dates and pulse. Add the ground almonds, cocoa powder, a pinch of fine sea salt, maple syrup and a little water and pulse until a sticky dough forms.
- Firmly press onto the bottom and 1-inch up the side of the mini loose bottom tart tins. (Wet fingertips to stop it sticking) and place in the fridge.
- Wipe clean the food processor.
- Melt the chocolate over a Bain Marie and transfer 3⁄4 to a bowl to cool.
- Add the silken tofu, chocolate, nut butter and vanilla paste to the food mixer and mix to a smooth batter.
- Pour into the chilled tart tin, add a swirl decoration using a palette knife, and place them back in the fridge.
- *check the temperature of chocolate (temper if needed) Add the chocolate into a piping bag and pipe decorations onto baking parchment. Place to one side to set.
- Add the raspberries, lemon juice and sugar to a pan and warm over a low heat.
- Pass through a fine sieve
- Place back on the heat and add the cornflour to thicken. Pass through a sieve if lumps have formed.
- Decorate the tart with the hazelnuts, chocolate and edible flowers.
- Paint a line of coulis on the white plate and divide the remaining raspberry coulis into shot glasses/mini jugs *to be sourced
Video
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
This isn’t your typical chocolate tart. Lisa’s version is packed with nutrient-dense whole foods like walnuts, dates, and silken tofu — balanced by decadent dark chocolate and hazelnut butter. And best of all? It’s no-bake and fully vegan.
Here’s what makes this dessert so special:
- Creamy & Rich: The chocolate filling is melt-in-your-mouth smooth thanks to silken tofu and hazelnut butter.
- Naturally Sweet: Medjool dates and maple syrup offer natural sweetness in the crust.
- Nutty & Crunchy: Toasted walnuts and hazelnuts bring texture and flavor depth.
- Elegant Finish: Topped with a homemade raspberry coulis and edible flowers — it’s restaurant-quality on a plate.
How to Make Chocolate Hazelnut Cake – The Lisa Marley Way
Chef Lisa has perfected this recipe with her signature attention to balance, presentation, and nutrition. The process includes three main components: a walnut-based crust, a luscious chocolate filling, and a homemade raspberry coulis to finish.
If you’ve tried Lisa’s Vegan Pistachio Cake, you already know her desserts are anything but ordinary.
A Note on the Raspberry Coulis
The raspberry coulis in this recipe adds just the right amount of tartness to balance the richness of the cake. It’s made by gently warming raspberries with lemon juice and icing sugar, then thickened with a touch of cornflour.
You can serve it artistically — painted across the plate with the tart, or in elegant mini jugs on the side.
And don’t skip this part — that bright berry flavor makes every bite pop.
Serving & Presentation Tips
Lisa serves these in individual 10 cm tart tins, making them perfect for dinner parties or special occasions. You can also make them in one large tart pan if needed — just adjust the chilling time.
Garnish with:
- Crushed toasted hazelnuts
- Dark chocolate shards (piped and set)
- Edible flowers
- A sweep of raspberry coulis on the plate
They’re visually stunning and taste even better than they look.
Why This Chocolate Hazelnut Cake Is a Plant-Based Game-Changer
Beyond the indulgence, this chocolate hazelnut cake also highlights how accessible and nutritious plant-based desserts can be. The ingredients are mostly pantry staples — like walnuts, dates, and silken tofu — all of which offer health benefits beyond their taste. For example, walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and have been linked to heart health according to Harvard Health. Meanwhile, tofu provides a plant-based protein boost without the heaviness of dairy.
What makes Lisa Marley’s recipe so special is its balance between elegance and simplicity. While it’s ideal for individual tart tins to impress dinner guests, you can just as easily scale it into a full-sized cake for birthdays or holidays. And let’s not forget the raspberry coulis, which not only brings brightness and acidity but also adds a boost of antioxidants. If you’re curious about the benefits of berries, check out NutritionFacts.org’s breakdown on why raspberries are a smart choice in desserts.
More from Chef Lisa Marley
If you love this dessert, don’t miss Lisa’s other hit recipe:
How to Make a Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie – the ultimate pan-baked sweet treat.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re new to plant-based baking or a seasoned dessert artist, this recipe shows how easy it is to make chocolate hazelnut cake that’s rich, beautiful, and completely dairy-free.
It’s everything we love about dessert — indulgent, creative, and made with love (and plants).
Responses