White Chocolate Cranberry Tart

I’m not even sure words can describe just how incredible this white chocolate cranberry tart is! It’s absolutely stunning and a complete change of pace in the dessert world. I’m in love with this flavour palate; the combination of a buttery shortcrust pastry, a tart cranberry filling infused with rosemary, then topped with sweet white chocolate and decorated with sugared rosemary and cranberries. How could you say no to that?

This is a make-ahead dessert. You need time for the filling to set before you can add your chocolate topping. And those pretty accents of sugared rosemary and cranberries need to be made ahead too! My suggestion is to enjoy the process, take your time, pour yourself a glass of wine, turn on the tunes, and plan an epic day of baking. When you’re organized, I guarantee you’ll enjoy the process more. You can’t rush baking friends!!!

If I could get you to try one recipe, this would be it! I’ve taken lots of pictures to show you the task ahead. Here are some tips and tricks to help you along the way.

Baker Alie Romano / White Chocolate Cranberry Tart

Tips Working with Pastry

Use a light hand when mixing the dough in the food processor. You want to avoid overmixing the dough.
Always use cold butter.
Flatten your dough into a disc before refrigerating. Keeping the shape in a disc will help you roll your dough into a circle.
Roll your dough 2 inches larger than your tart pan.
To get your pastry in your tart pan: lift your rolled-out dough over your rolling pin, and gently re-roll over your rolling pin, place the rolling pin over your tart pan, and re-roll over the pan. Gently lift up the edges and press dough into the pan.
Use a fork to prick the bottom of the tart.
If you don’t have pie weights you can use; uncooked rice or dried beans.

Baking blind is the process of baking a pie crust (or other pastry) without filling in it. Blind baking is necessary when it will be filled with an unbaked filling (such as with pudding or creams), in which case the crust must be fully baked first. Blind baking can also be called for if the filling has a shorter bake time than the crust, in which case the crust is partly baked. Blind baking is also used to keep a pie crust from becoming soggy due to a wet filling.

This method is accomplished by first adding foil or parchment paper to your unbaked pie, then adding weights to act as a filling to keep the pastry in place. You can purchase pie weights (made of ceramic) or you can use uncooked rice, or dried beans instead. The pie is baked halfway through then the weights are removed to brown the crust completely.

Using Gelatin

This cranberry filling uses gelatin to help firm up the cranberries to a jammy consistency. This is so you can add a layer of white chocolate on top without the chocolate spilling into the cranberry. I personally do not like my desserts extremely jelly-like when using gelatin, so I use less gelatin rather than more.

Gelatin powder needs to bloom before you can use it. This is where you add cold water to the powder and let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes until it absorbs all the water and becomes jiggly. You do this to achieve a smooth texture in your final product.
Always add bloomed gelatin to warm liquid. Not boiling.
Desserts with gelatin need to set for at least 8 hours in the fridge, preferably for 24 hours.

Tips

You can easily freeze this dessert to set your filling faster. Just be aware when spreading out your chocolate mixture on top that your chocolate will freeze too. Work quickly to spread and smooth the chocolate to the edges. The best tool for this is an offset spatula.
Dust the top with icing sugar to cover any imperfections.
This white chocolate cranberry tart has to be at room temperature to cut and serve. Make sure you take your dessert out of the fridge well in advance to come to room temperature as the chocolate will be too hard to cut through.

I’m so excited for you to try this dessert! I hope you love it as much as I do. It’s the perfect dessert to celebrate a special night or holiday for your friends and family.

Rolling Pastry — roll pastry over rolling pin and transfer to the tart pan

Blind Baking — form pastry in the pan & prick the bottom. add parchment paper & pie weights

Cranberry Rosemary Filling — bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes

White Chocolate Cranberry Tart

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This show stopper of a dessert is perfect for celebrating a special occasion or holiday. The buttery bottom is made from a shortcrust. The filling is tart with cranberries and infused with rosemary, then topped with sweet, white chocolate and decorated with sugared rosemary and cranberries. It’s best to make the dessert a day ahead as it needs time to set while building those layers.

Author: Alie Romano
Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 8 hours 20 mins
Yield: 10” Tart 1x
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

Units Scale

Tart

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons water

Cranberry Filling

2 1/2 cups cranberries (frozen or fresh)
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
2–3 large sprigs of fresh rosemary
pinch of salt
3 teaspoons gelatin
2 Tablespoons cold water

Topping

6 oz good quality white chocolate (I use Lindt)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Sugared Topping

Fresh rosemary 6–8 small sprigs
Cranberries approx. 10
1 egg white
instant sugar
(Use sugared fruit recipe for detailed instructions)

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Instructions

Please note this recipe needs to be made ahead of time.
Set out a 10″ tart pan that has a removable bottom. Set aside.
In a food processor, add flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine. Add cold butter and pulse until fine crumbs form.
In a small bowl add yolk and water together, whisk to combine. Pour over flour mixture; pulsing until mixture starts to clump together. Don’t over pulse.
Press dough into a disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make your cranberry filling.
In a large pot add cranberries, water, sugar, salt, and rosemary, stir together. On medium-high heat, bring to a boil, turn to low and simmer for approx. 15 minutes or until cranberries have burst and thickened. Remove cranberry sauce from the heat.
In a small bowl add cold water and sprinkle gelatin over, mix together and let sit for 5 minutes or until jelly-like. Set aside.
Remove rosemary stems and leaves. Leave a small amount of rosemary leaves if you want a stronger rosemary flavour. Using an immersion blender (or a food processor) blend cranberry sauce into a smooth puree.
Add gelatin and whisk to combine. Place cranberry sauce in the fridge to cool and set.
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
On a floured work surface, roll out dough to approx. 12″ circle so it will fit into your 10″ tart pan. Gently pick up the pastry and place in pan, press pastry down, and press into fluted edges. Cut off any overhang.
With a fork, prick the bottom of the dough several times. Line with parchment paper or foil; fill with pie weights or dried beans or uncooked rice.
Bake in the bottom third of the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove pie weights and foil. Continue to bake another 5 minutes until the base is golden brown, and baked through. Let cool on a rack and set aside.
Pour cranberry sauce into tart shell (making sure to leave enough space for the white chocolate). Place tart in the fridge to set for approx. 8 hours or preferably overnight. You can also freeze the tart at this stage.
Meanwhile, make your sugared rosemary and cranberries, and let sit overnight to dry. See recipe here.
Once the filling has set make your chocolate topping.
In a heatproof bowl, melt white chocolate until smooth. Add butter and blend together. Pour white chocolate mixture into the tart and gently smooth out evenly (if you are working with a frozen tart, work quickly as your chocolate will freeze).
Decorate your tart with sugared rosemary and cranberries. Dust with icing (powdered) sugar.
Make sure your tart is at room temperature before cutting into it.

Notes

This dessert will last up to five days. Store in the fridge. Make sure to take the tart out of the fridge well in advance and let the tart come to room temperature before cutting and serving.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice of 12
Calories: 212
Sugar: 12.2g
Sodium: 168mg
Fat: 12.6g
Saturated Fat: 7.7g
Carbohydrates: 21.4g
Fiber: 1.1g
Protein: 2.9g
Cholesterol: 40mg

Keywords: White Chocolate, Cranberry, Tart, Christmas, Holiday, Dessert

FAQ’s

Do you dissolve gelatine powder in warm water or cold water?

Gelatin powder needs to bloom before you can use it. This is where you add cold water to the powder and let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes until it absorbs all the water and becomes jiggly. You do this to achieve a smooth texture in your final product.

What is blind baking?

Blind baking is the process of baking a pie crust (or other pastry) without filling in it. Blind baking is necessary when it will be filled with an unbaked filling (such as pudding or creams), in this case the crust must be fully baked first. Blind baking can also be called for if the filling has a shorter bake time than the crust, in which case the crust is partly baked. Blind baking is also used to keep a pie crust from becoming soggy due to a wet filling.

How far in advance can I make a white chocolate cranberry tart?

This cranberry tart is a make ahead dessert. You’ll need at least one-two days to let the cranberry tart set. You can make the tart up to 3 days in advance.

How do I store a white chocolate cranberry tart?

Store the white chocolate cranberry tart in the fridge, loosely covered in plastic. Make sure to take the tart out of the fridge well in advance and let the tart come to room temperature before cutting and serving. This dessert will last up to five days.