White Chocolate & Cranberry Tart
Intermed..
This beautiful tart is perfect for the festive season. A sweet shortcrust is filled with a vibrant and tart cranberry and apple jam. This layer is topped with a contrasting but complementary sweet white chocolate filling called “Namelaka” which is like a lighter, silky-smooth ganache. Decorating this showstopper are cranberries, some sugared, and frosty-looking sprigs of rosemary, and delicate white chocolate curls. Don’t be daunted by the length of this recipe, what we love about it is that the parts can be made days ahead, assembled the day before, and then easily decorated before serving. And, if you like, you could also use store-bought sweet shortcrust and a sweet cranberry jam or preserve, then all you have to do is make the Namelaka, prepare the sugared decorations, and assemble.
PREP IN
60 MIN
COOK IN
25 MIN
SERVE
10-12
White Chocolate & Cranberry Tart
Intermed..
PREP IN
60 MIN
COOK IN
25 MIN
SERVE
10-12
Introduction
This beautiful tart is perfect for the festive season. A sweet shortcrust is filled with a vibrant and tart cranberry and apple jam. This layer is topped with a contrasting but complementary sweet white chocolate filling called “Namelaka” which is like a lighter, silky-smooth ganache. Decorating
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Ingredients
- 300g plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 150g unsalted butter, chilled & cubed or grated
- 75g icing sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 3-4 tbsp ice cold water
- 200g fresh cranberries, washed and drained
- 1 red eating apple, peeled, cored & diced
- 100g sugar
- Zest and juice from ½ an orange
- 200g good quality white chocolate, roughly broken
- 2 gelatine leaves
- 100ml milk
- 200ml fresh cream
- 100g caster sugar, plus extra for rolling
- 60ml water
- 100g fresh cranberries, washed & drained
- 2-3 stems fresh rosemary
FOR THE SWEET SHORTCRUST:
FOR THE CRANBERRY APPLE JAM:
FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE FILLING (NAMELAKA):
TO DECORATE:
Method
- 1. To make the sweet shortcrust by hand, whisk the salt into the plain flour in a large bowl. Add the chilled butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you get a mixture that resembles breadcrumbs, with varying sizes of butter pieces, the largest the size of peas.
- 2. Stir in the icing sugar then add the egg yolks and 3 tbsp of the water. Stir with a dull knife to mostly incorporate the wet ingredients. Add another tablespoon of water if the dough does not hold together when squeezed between your fingertips.
- 3. To make the sweet shortcrust with a food processor, pulse the flour and butter together in a food processor to achieve the same texture. Add the icing sugar and pulse once or twice to combine. Then add the egg yolks and 3 tbsp of water and pulse a few times. Add another tablespoon of water if the dough does not hold together when squeezed between your fingertips.
- 4. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and gently bring together by squeezing the dough together and avoid heavy kneading. Form a large disc then wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- 5. Remove chilled pastry from the fridge and then gently roll it out with a rolling pin in a large circle on a lightly floured surface, keeping the pastry moving on the table and dusting lightly with flour as needed to avoid sticking, until it’s larger than a 23cm (9inch) tart pan. Dust off any excess flour then gently transfer it to the tart tin.
- 6. Working your way around the tin, press the pastry into the sides of the tin. Trim off some of the excess with a sharp knife or scissors, but leave a about 1-2cm extra pastry sticking over the sides of the tin. Use a fork to prick the surface of the pastry.
- 7. Place the pastry-lined tin in the fridge and leave to chill for at least 1 hour. Tip: Letting the pastry chill lets the gluten relax so there is less chance of the pastry shrinking while baking.
- 8. To make ahead: Can be left in the fridge for 2-3 days before baking. Or, line with parchment paper and place in a large freezer bag then freeze. Leave to defrost in the fridge the day before baking. Can be frozen for up to 6 months.
- 9. For the jam, place all ingredients in a medium sized saucepan, give it a quick mix then bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- 10. Once cranberries have popped and mixture is looking more liquid, reduce heat to medium-low, so that it’s simmering very gently, then cook for 1 hour with the lid mostly covering the pot. Stir from time to time to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn.
- 11. Once cooked, remove from heat and leave to cool for about 15-20 minutes. Once cooled slightly, use a stick blender to purée the jam then set aside and leave to cool completely. Tip: You can also press it through a sieve if you don’t have a blender.
- 12. The jam can be made 1-2 days ahead; store in a clean container or jam jar at room temperature.
- 13. For the white chocolate Namelaka filling, place the gelatine leaves in a bowl with cold water, make sure they’re fully submerged, and leave to soak. (If using a vegetarian alternative, follow the instructions on the packaging.)
- 14. Bring milk to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- 15. While milk is heating, melt the chocolate either in the microwave (in short 15-20 seconds intervals, stirring in between) or in a bowl set over a pot of steaming water.
- 16. When milk has started bubbling, remove from heat. Remove gelatine leaves from the water and squeeze firmly to remove excess liquid. Add gelatine to the milk and stir with a whisk until completely dissolved. (If using veggie gelatine, you may need to do this over heat.)
- 17. Pour milk over the melted chocolate and stir well with a whisk until smooth.
- 18. Finally, stir in the cream. (If using veggie gelatine, you may need to heat the cream to scalding before stirring in.)
- 19. Cover the bowl with a lid or clingfilm and refrigerate to set, at least 1 hour. (If using veggie gelatine, this will be longer.)
- 20. Namelaka can be made up to 2 days ahead.
- 21. To prepare the garnishes, stir together sugar and water in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring as needed, until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- 22. Remove from heat and add half of the cranberries. Pick the sprigs of rosemary off the stalks and add these as well. Toss well to coat everything in the syrup, then cover the saucepan’s lid and leave to sit off the heat for about 10 minutes.
- 23. After steeping in the syrup, line a large tray with parchment paper then give the cranberries and rosemary a gentle stir to re-coat. Use a slotted spoon or fork to remove the cranberries and rosemary sprigs, allowing the excess syrup to drip off, then spread out on the parchment paper. Make sure they don’t touch each other otherwise they will stick together. Tip: You can use the remaining sugar syrup in cordials or cocktails.
- 24. Leave to dry at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
- 25. Spread a bit of sugar into a bowl or plate then drop a few sticky cranberries in the sugar and roll them around until they’re completely coated. Tip: They will be very sticky so either use a fork to lift them off the parchment.
- 26. Move sugared cranberries to a tray lined with a clean sheet of parchment paper. Repeat until all the sticky cranberries have been sugared. Finally, coat the sprigs of rosemary in the sugar.
- 27. Set aside until needed for garnish.
- 28. These can be made 1-2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Tip: We like to pour a thin layer of dry rice in the bottom of a container then place a piece of parchment paper on top, then place the cranberries and rosemary on top of that. The dry rice will help to absorb moisture.
- 29. To bake and assemble. Pre-heat oven to 200°C / 180°C fan assisted / gas 5.
- 30. Remove pastry-lined tin from the fridge and place on a large baking tray.
- 31. Line the pastry with a piece of well-crumpled parchment paper and fill with baking beads or dried beans/rice.
- 32. Place in pre-heated oven on the baking tray and bake blind for 10 minutes.
- 33. Remove from the oven and remove the parchment with the baking beads. Return to the oven and bake for a further 10-12 minutes, until pastry is golden and surface is no longer glossy with moisture.
- 34. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to carefully cut away the excess pastry using smooth, singular motions in one direction, not sawing ones.
- 35. To assemble, give the jam a good mix to loosen it, then spread it over the base of the pastry shell in a smooth layer. Tip: If you have time, pop this in the freezer and chill for about an hour, this makes it easier to spread the chocolate filling on top.
- 36. Give the chocolate Namelaka a good stir with a whisk so that it’s smooth and there are no lumps then spoon into a large piping bag or freezer bag. Cut off the end of the pastry bag, or a tip off the corner of the freezer bag, then pipe the Namelaka in a single layer on top of the jam layer.
- 37. Use a spatula to smooth the chocolate filling.
- 38. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- 39. Before serving, decorate the tart around the edges like a wreath with the sugared and plain cranberries, sprigs of sugared rosemary and chocolate curls.
