Easy Mexican Chocolate Tart
Silky smooth chocolate ganache with hints of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne nestled inside the most delicious honey cinnamon graham cracker crust. This dessert is quick and simple to make yet contains bold, delicious flavors. It’s the perfect fast and easy Cinco de Mayo dessert!
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Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!!
Confession. This basic recipe has been my go-to last-minute dessert for quite some time now. It’s just so simple. Make a quick cookie or graham cracker crust then fill it with melted chocolate and chill. Literally and figuratively. It’s that easy!
Plus, it’s so good. Like, seriously I can’t get enough of this tart. It’s basically a softer version of ganache, which explains why I’m obsessed. And I’m a sucker for an easy, no-bake pie crust. The silky filling and crunchy crust together is magic.
While I’ve made quite a few varieties of this tart over the years, I finally had a chance to make a Mexican chocolate version. All it needed was a good helping of cinnamon and a teeny tiny pinch of cayenne. Which paired so well with my honey graham cracker crust. It’s weirdly one of the best crusts I’ve ever made, even though it’s only slightly different than plain old graham cracker.
But the real star in this tart is the Mexican chocolate filling. It’s rich and chocolate-y and cinnamon-y with just a hint of kick from the cayenne. It just might be my favorite version of my favorite tart.
Why this recipe works
The biggest appeal is how simple this recipe is. You just grind up graham crackers, cinnamon, and brown sugar (be sure to grind up the sugar so the granules are as fine as the cracker crumbs). Then, melt some butter and honey together and stir that into the crumbs. The key is stirring this in, not pulsing it in the food processor. Something about the honey in this recipe causes the crust to turn gummy and unusable if you combine them in the food processor (I’ll do that with my regular graham cracker crust). The result is this perfectly crunchy crust with a lovely cinnamon and honey flavor.
The other wonderful part of this recipe is the filling. I’ve shared the vegan version before, but I was trying to use up the Costco sized heavy cream we had in our fridge. To make the ganache (chocolate chips and heavy cream is ganache) sliceable, you need to add just a bit of butter. Together, it’s silky smooth, which complements the crust beautifully.
Plus, the flavors. I experimented with the amount of cinnamon and cayenne here, until I loved the flavor—like, kept tasting it and doing a happy dance kinda love. You can reduce the cinnamon if you want, but it may not be super noticeable. Luckily, one tiny dash of cayenne is enough for a slight kick without making the tart actually spicy. It’s the perfect Mexican chocolate balance!
Key ingredients
Graham crackers. I prefer using plain so that I can control the amount of sugar and cinnamon in the crust.
Brown sugar. Just a little bit, since there’s also honey in the crust. Regular sugar works, too, but I like the caramelized flavor of brown sugar with the honey.
Butter. You’ll use this in the crust and filling. It can be cold or room temperature, since it’s melted in both components.
Honey. Be sure to not over-heat the honey, as it can curdle with the cream in the butter if heated too long or too hight.
Cinnamon. The star! I always suggest a high quality cinnamon, since their flavor is more potent.
Chocolate chips. Any brand will do, and you can also use chopped up baking chocolate.
Heavy cream. Be sure you have heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, also known as double cream. Using just whipping cream or cream won’t yield the right texture, as that has less fat.
Cayenne pepper (optional). This is optional, and you’ll only use a tiny dash.
How to make mexican chocolate tart
Make the crust
1. Grind graham crackers, cinnamon, and brown sugar until fine. I always forget the sugar and always regret it—you want it ground as finely as the grahams, so combine everything in your food process or or blender.
2. Melt butter and honey. Melt it over low heat and stir constantly to avoid over heating it.
3. Stir into graham crumbs by hand. Don’t combine these using the food processor, as it will turn gummy and weird. Trust me.
4. Press into a tart pan and chill. Use a flat bottomed cup or measuring cup to gently spread it evenly and press firmly into the pan. I like to freeze my crust while I make the filling so it’s firmly set, but as long as it has at least 20 minutes in the fridge it should be fine.
Make the filling
5. Melt chocolate, heavy cream, butter, and cinnamon. I usually do this in a makeshift double boiler, setting a heatproof bowl over a pot with 2” simmering water on medium-low heat. However, you could also do this in a microwave at half power.
6. Add cayenne and adjust cinnamon to your liking. I started with just 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon then continued adding more until I was happy with it, which was about 1 tablespoon total. However, taste as you go so you’re happy with how spicy or cinnamon-y it is.
7. Pour into crust and chill. Again, I often freeze it for 30 minutes (no longer) since I’m making it in a hurry, but refrigeration works just fine, too.
Enjoy!
Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe
Can I make this vegan?
Yes! You can easily make this vegan by replacing the heavy cream and butter in the filling with one 14 ounce can of coconut cream (NOT milk). As well, use vegan chocolate chips. Follow the directions as written, although you may need to add a little more cinnamon to help it be noticeable over the coconut flavors.
If you don’t have a vegan graham cracker crust that you like, you can replace everything in my recipe with vegan alternatives (vegan graham crackers, vegan butter, and maple syrup instead of honey). However, I haven’t tried this before and can’t guarantee it’ll come together perfectly. If you want to play it safe, I recommend using my plain graham cracker crust and using vegan grahams and vegan butter then adding 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
Do I have to use cayenne?
No! I wanted it for a slight kick, but it’s completely optional. Leaving it out won’t compromise the “Mexican chocolate” flavor, as the cinnamon is still a vibrant flavor here.
Adjust cinnamon to taste
I found that one full tablespoon was perfect, but it’s completely up to you. I’d start small then increase the amount from there, since you can’t undo it if you add too much cinnamon.
Stir the butter and honey into the crust
This is one of those lessons I’ve learned the hard way. With any cookie or graham cracker crust, I usually just grind up the cookies/crackers and sugar then pour in the melted butter and grind it up some more. However, I had to throw out a crust and start all over (even going to the store to get more graham crackers) because it turns out that honey does not do well being processed into graham cracker crumbs. So, take it from me and spend the extra 60 seconds stirring the butter, honey, and crumbs in a bowl.
Can I use any crust?
Yes! I really liked the ease of a no-bake crust and the taste of this particular honey cinnamon crust. The taste and texture paired beautifully with the Mexican chocolate filling. However, any tart crust would work just fine.
Serve with cinnamon whipped cream
This is optional, and obviously I didn’t make any for this particular photoshoot. However, I’ve used cinnamon whipped cream with it before and it’s delicious! Just combine 1 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir gently until fully combined then whisk vigorously until soft peaks form. Do this right before serving so it doesn’t deflate.
My tart tools
Here are my must-have tools I use for making this tart. Affiliate links provided.
You might also like:
Churro Cake with Mexican Chocolate Buttercream
Brown Sugar, Bourbon, & Spice Apple Pie Filling
Hot Cocoa Cookies (with a bit of cinnamon!)
Easy Mexican Chocolate Tart
- prep time: 15-20 minutes
- chill time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- total time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
servings: 8-12
Ingredients:
for the honey cinnamon graham cracker crust
- 12 full graham crackers
- 2 tablespoons (25g) brown sugar, dark or light
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons (42g) honey
for the Mexican chocolate filling
- 18 ounces (510g or 3 cups) semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped (or chips)
- 1 cup (240g) heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- ½ to 1 tablespoon (4-8g) ground cinnamon
- one small dash ground cayenne pepper, optional
- pinch sea salt
Instructions:
make the honey cinnamon graham cracker crust
- In a small food processor or blender, grind the graham crackers, brown sugar, and cinnamon until finely ground (about the texture of almond flour). Pour into a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the honey and stir until fully combined and smooth. Pour over the graham crumbs and stir gently until fully combined. The texture will be somewhat crumbly but should stay together when pressed.
- Gently distribute crust mixture around your tart pan, spreading an even layer across the bottom and a little up the sides. Using a flat-bottomed cup or measuring cup, firmly press the crust in, going in concentric circles to slowly apply pressure across the tart. If you press too firmly at the beginning, it’ll just make a hole in the crust, so go in circles until it starts to stick in place.
- Freeze for 10 minutes, or chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, until firm.
make the Mexican chocolate filling
- Once the crust is firmly set, make the filling. You need a small-ish, heatproof bowl and a small-ish saucepan that the bowl can sit on top of and be about halfway submerged in. Fill the bowl with the chocolate, heavy cream, butter, and ½ tablespoon cinnamon. Fill the saucepan with one to two inches of water and bring that to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn the burner to medium-low and set the bowl of chocolate over it.
- Stir the chocolate mixture frequently, adjusting the temperature as needed to keep the water at a steady simmer. Once the chocolate is mostly melted, remove the bowl from the saucepan and stir until the chocolate is fully melted. If it doesn't fully melt, you can always return the bowl to the saucepan as needed.
- Stir in the sea salt and cayenne, if using. Taste. Add up to ½ tablespoon more of cinnamon, if desired.
- Pour the chocolate into the hardened crust. Chill for about 1 hour, until the filling is set and matte in appearance. Alternatively, you can freeze the pie to set the filling faster, but it will need to go into the fridge as soon as it’s set to make it slice-able.
- If desired, top set tart with more ground cinnamon and serve with whipped cream.
Enjoy! Keep tart refrigerated until serving.
