Who doesn’t love dessert?!

This Blood Orange & Dark Chocolate Tart isn’t just an ordinary dessert, though. It’s bold, sensual, and deeply symbolic. Designed to be rich and decadent, it’s also a powerful catalyst for moments of release and renewal. It’s the kind of dessert that belongs at a Samhain table (a dumb supper perhaps?), eaten during the dark Moon phase, or winter solstice gathering.

The richness of dark chocolate grounds you in your body, while the brightness of blood orange cuts through with citrus clarity — a symbolic union of shadow and light. Whether you’re hosting a witchy dinner party, gathering for ritual, or simply want to mark a seasonal shift with intention, this tart is a spell in itself.

Serve it by candlelight, with silence or poetry, and let the magic unfold.

A Few Energetic Properties of the Ingredients…

• Blood Orange: A fruit of duality and transformation. The colour speaks to life force, passion, and the heart, while the citrus brings clarity, cleansing, and energetic release. Blood oranges are especially powerful in rituals of letting go, forgiveness, and truth-telling.

• Dark Chocolate: Deeply grounding, sensual, and protective. Cacao has long been used in ceremonial contexts to open the heart and anchor the soul in the present. It’s an ideal addition in shadow work and full moon rituals.

• Almonds (in the crust): Traditionally associated with abundance, luck, and divine connection. Almonds offer a stabilising energy and a hint of sweetness without overpowering the dish.

• Sea Salt: A natural purifier and amplifier. Just a pinch enhances flavour and seals your intention into the final dish.

Dark Moon Blood Orange & Dark Chocolate Tart Recipe

Gather everything before you start so you can give the process your undivided attention.

Crust ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups almond flour

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• ¼ cup powdered sugar (or coconut sugar)

• ¼ cup melted coconut oil or butter

• Pinch of sea salt

Filling ingredients:

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped (70% or higher)

• ¾ cup double (heavy) cream or full-fat coconut milk

• 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Pinch of sea salt

For the topping:

• 2–3 blood oranges, peeled and thinly sliced

• Optional: edible gold leaf, dried rose petals, or cacao nibs

Method:

Before starting, cleanse your kitchen with intention. You may like to light a candle, diffuse cleansing essential oils like juniper or clary sage, and take a moment to centre yourself (need help, read THESE 10 Cleaning Hacks for Lazy Witches!)

Call your kitchen guardian to oversee your work, if you have one.

First, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

To make the crust, in a bowl, combine almond flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, salt, and melted coconut oil. Mix until it resembles wet sand.

Press the mixture into a tart pan with a removable base. It can actually be easier to smooth it up the sides first, then flatten the remaining mixture to make the base.

Bake for 10–12 minutes until set. Let it cool completely.

Next, make the filling. In a saucepan, gently heat the cream or coconut milk until just before it simmers. Remove from the heat and add the dark chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then stir until silky smooth. Add maple syrup, vanilla, and salt.

To assemble, pour the chocolate filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until set.

Once the tart is firm, decorate the top with thin slices of blood orange in a circular or spiral pattern. Add dried petals, cacao nibs, or gold leaf for extra kitchen witchery magick!

Variations & Additions

This chocolate tart is just divine as it is. But it’s also easily adapted, and you can switch ingredients depending on seasonality, intention, Moon phase or individual taste. Here are a few ideas:

• Spice it up – Add a pinch of chilli powder or cinnamon to the chocolate for warmth and fire energy.

• Change the citrus – If blood oranges are out of season, try cara cara oranges or ruby grapefruit for a similar hue and energy.

• Herbal infusion – Steep a sprig of rosemary or a strip of orange peel in the cream or coconut milk before adding chocolate for a deeper flavor and added energetic resonance.

• Mini tarts – Use a muffin tin or mini tart pans for individual servings — perfect for ritual circles or dinner party guests.

This Blood Orange & Dark Chocolate Tart is a dessert made for the dark moon — that potent, velvety pause between cycles when the sky is bare and we are invited to turns inward. With its rich, grounding chocolate and cleansing citrus, this tart becomes a ritual in itself: a way to honour what you’re letting go of and gently clear space for what’s to come.

Serve it in stillness, under candlelight or shadows, as part of your own reflection or with those you trust to go deep. Because why shouldn’t the deep work be filled with sensory pleasure?

I hope that each bite anchors you in your body, soothes your spirit, and reminds you that deep in the darkness, there is sweetness – and powerful magick – waiting to be found.