This festive white chocolate tart is filled with a creamy white chocolate ganache and swirled with a sweet and slightly tart cranberry puree. Nestled into a warm-spiced Biscoff cookie crust and topped with sugared cranberries, this tart is sure to please a crowd.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Flavors - This is the tart for you if you love white chocolate. It's rich and buttery with notes of sweet cream. Paired with the warm spices from the cookie crust and the sweet tang from the cranberries, it's a flavor bomb in every bite.
Textures - the white chocolate ganache has an incredible velvety mouth feel. Paired with the crumbly cookie crust for crunch, and the sugared cranberries on top for a bright pop in the mouth, it's a delight to the senses.
Festive - how much more beautiful can a dessert get? The deep cranberry swirls pop next to the off-white filling. This white chocolate tart is sure to be the talk of any gathering you bring it to.
This would be the perfect Thanksgiving dessert but is also great for any party during the winter months when cranberries are readily available. And, if you'd like more ways to use up some cranberries, try these cranberry curd tarts, cranberry orange rolls, cranberry banana bread, or cranberry lemon bars.
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Ingredients
- Cranberries. Fresh or frozen cranberries can be used for this recipe.
- White chocolate. Very good quality white chocolate should be used in this recipe. See the next section for details on which white chocolate to look for.
- Biscoff cookies. These get ground into a fine crumb to create the tart shell.
- Sugar.
- Unsalted butter.
- White food coloring. This is completely optional and just helps to take away a bit of the yellow color from the white chocolate. The white chocolate ganache will never be completely white, however. Be sure to use gel or powdered food coloring.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
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Best White Chocolate to Use for Ganache
Because the star of this recipe is white chocolate, it's really important to use a good quality quite chocolate. Making a ganache with white chocolate can also be rather finicky due to the fat percentages, so you really should invest a bit in this one.
I like to use Callebaut W2 White Chocolate Callets as they are pretty affordable for a good quality white chocolate, melt nicely, and have the correct fat content. Another great option would be Valrhona Ivoire feves.
You'll want to look for white chocolate that has around 35% fat content - a high-quality brand with good cocoa butter content.
I have also successfully made the ganache using Guittard white chocolate chips, which taste great if you are able to find them. Otherwise, do not use any other type of chocolate chip.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use raspberries in place of cranberries for a raspberry white chocolate tart version.
- Make the tart in mini tart pans for super cute white chocolate tartlets.
- Use a pie plate if you don't have a tart pan with removable bottom.
- Use a sweet tart crust or chocolate sweet tart crust in place of the cookie crust.
How to Make This Recipe
One: Mix together the crust ingredients until fully moistened.
Two: Press the crumbs tightly into a tart pan with removable bottom, then bake and cool.
Three: Cook down the cranberries and sugar until thickened and the cranberries pop.
Four: Puree the cranberries, then pass through a fine mesh sieve and allow the puree to cool slightly.
White Chocolate Tart Filling
Five: Heat the heavy whipping cream until it simmers, then pour it over the white chocolate. Allow it to stand for one minute.
Six: Use a rubber spatula to carefully mix together the cream and white chocolate until a smooth ganache forms. Add a touch of white food coloring to brighten the color slightly, if desired.
Seven: Add the butter one tablespoon at a time, stirring until completely melted.
Eight: Pour the white chocolate ganache into the cooled tart shell.
Nine: Use a piping bag or zip top bag to drizzle the cranberry puree around the top of the white chocolate.
Ten: Use a butter knife to swirl together the cranberry and white chocolate into a decorative pattern. Allow it to fully set at room temperature or in the fridge before enjoying.
Expert Tips
- Allow the crust to cool completely before adding the ganache.
- Let the hot cream sit over the white chocolate for a full minute before mixing.
- Use a spatula rather than a whisk to mix the ganache to limit the air bubbles.
- If any chunks remain, strain the chocolate through a fine mesh sieve, or use an immersion blender, then strain to remove bubbles.
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How to Fix Split Ganache
If your ganache separates or becomes grainy, this can usually be fixed by adding in some warm milk and whisking. Don't try adding more cream, it has too much fat and could be the reason the ganache split in the first place. You can also use an immersion blender to bring it back together. Finally, try heating the ganache and re-mixing by placing the bowl on a saucepan filled with about 1 inch of water.
Recipe FAQs
It gets firm but stays soft. It does not get as hard as biting into a chocolate bar. This can take a couple of hours to happen at room temperature, and even quicker in the fridge. Because of this, you want to pour your ganache into the cooled tart shell as soon as it has come together, then swirl in the cranberry puree and allow it to set and harden up in the tart shell.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the cooled tart shell and discard the few chunks of chocolate. This option is best if you only have a small amount of chocolate that didn't melt.
Use an immersion blender to pulverize the mixture and get all pieces incorporated. Note that this will slightly aerate the ganache, so you'll need to pour it through a fine mesh strainer into another bowl, and then pour it into the tart. This gets rid of air bubbles. This option is best if you have a larger amount of chocolate that did not incorporate.
Storage
Store the white chocolate tart covered in the fridge for up to four days.
To freeze the tart, wrap it fully in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for two months. Unwrap completely and thaw in the fridge.
Allow the tart to set out at room temperature for about an hour prior to enjoying.
More Tart Recipes You'll Love
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📖Recipe
Cranberry White Chocolate Tart
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen (230g)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar 67g
- ½ cup water 4 fl oz
- 2 cups ground biscoff cookies 250g
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter melted (85g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 600 g white chocolate finely chopped (about 4 cups)
- 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream 270ml
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature, cut into tablespoon pieces (28g)
- white food coloring gel or powder (optional)
- sugared cranberries for garnish, sugared cranberry recipe
Instructions
- Add the cranberries, sugar, and water to a saucepan over medium heat. Allow them to cook for about 5-10 minutes until juices release. Use the back of a spoon or spatula to break up the cranberries.2 cups cranberries, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup water
- Puree the cranberries completely, then pass the puree through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/180℃.
- Use a food processor to grind up the Biscoff cookies into a fine crumb.2 cups ground biscoff cookies
- Add the melted butter and salt and use a fork to combine until the crumbs are fully moistened.6 tablespoon unsalted butter, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Press the crumbs tightly into a tart pan, then bake for 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Add the heavy whipping cream to a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occassionally.1¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- Add the white chocolate to a large bowl, then pour the heavy cream over top. Allow it to stand for 1 minute.600 g white chocolate
- Use a rubber spatula to stir the mixture together, starting from the center and working your way outwards, repeating the process until completely smooth.
- Add one tablespoon of butter and mix until melted, then add the next piece and stir until smooth. If using, add a few drops of white food coloring to brighten the mixture.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, white food coloring
- Allow the ganache to cool for about 10 minutes and thicken slightly. Pour the ganache into the cooled crust.
- Transfer the cranberry puree to a piping bag or zip top bag and snip off a small corner. Drizzle the puree onto the white chocolate ganache in random squiggles, leaving open spaces of white chocolate showing.
- Use a butter knife to swirl the cranberry and white chocolate together into a decorative pattern, then transfer the tart (uncovered) to the fridge to set.
- If desired, make sugared cranberries, then decorate the top of the pie before slicing and serving.sugared cranberries
Notes
- Allow the crust to cool completely before adding the ganache.
- Let the hot cream sit over the white chocolate for a full minute before mixing.
- Use a spatula rather than a whisk to mix the ganache to limit the air bubbles.
- If any chunks remain, strain the chocolate through a fine mesh sieve, or use an immersion blender, then strain to remove bubbles.
Natalie K. says
Absolutely delicious! I did have quite a bit of leftover fillings - I think I was only able to fit about 2/3 of the white chocolate and half the cranberry swirl in my tart pan. The flavors all balance very well!
Barbara says
Made this for a post-Thanksgiving family dinner and it got rave reviews! Super easy to make such an impressive and tasty dessert!
Callan Wenner says
Ahh so happy to hear this! Thanks so much for reporting back.
Aimee says
No food processor - how to go about the grinding and mixing of the biscoff?
Callan Wenner says
If you have a blender or nutribullet you can use those (doing so in batches), otherwise, add the cookies to a zip top bag and use a rolling pin or bottom of a saucepan to crush up the cookies. Try to get them as fine as possible!