As I sit here on this snowy morning (the first non-icy snow of the season), I’m so excited to share this dessert with you.  For this week’s Project Pastry Queen recipe, my pal Josie chose these Black & White Cranberry Tarts.  And while I was a little skeptical (whole fresh cranberries scare me a little), I dove in head first to making this no-bake holiday dessert.  I do love white chocolate and Oreos so I figured that I could overlook the cranberries.  As it turns out, it wasn’t the white chocolate or the Oreos that were the stars of this dessert, but  the cranberries, and I really couldn’t imagine making it with any other fruit.  They are suspended within a gorgeous white chocolate ganache and when even just slightly warmed and chilled, they burst with flavor and juice when you bite into them.  Even Kyle, who isn’t a fan of white chocolate or cranberries loved these tarts just as much as I did.

I didn’t make any changes to the recipe, though I cut it by 3/4 and still got 3 little tarts.  I did have some trouble getting the tarts out of the tart pans (no removable bottoms) because the crust wasn’t baked and I think to get the full effect of the chocolate cookie crust, they would need to be removed.  As Josie suggests, I might consider blind baking the crusts for a few minutes the next time I make them.  Speaking of the next time, a full-size (10-inch) tart likely will make an appearance on my parent’s Christmas dinner dessert table in a few weeks.  Many thanks again to Josie for choosing this amazing dessert and for forcing my hand at trying these tarts which I wouldn’t have otherwise ever made!

Black and White Cranberry Tarts
source: adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather via Pink ParsleyIngredients:For the crust:

  • 1 (16-ounce) package oreo cookies (about 33 cookies)
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the white chocolate-cranberry filling:

  • 16 oz white chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp light corn syrup
  • 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Instructions:

  1. To make the crusts:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Process the cookies in a food processor until ground to coarse crumbs.  Pour in the melted butter and pulse until well-combined.  Press the mixture into the bottom of eight tartlet pans with removable bottoms and place the pans on a baking sheet.  Bake 10 minutes and set aside to cool on a wire rack.
  2. To make the filling:  Place the white chocolate in a large bowl.  In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, butter, and corn syrup to the boiling point.  Pour over the white chocolate and whisk until smooth; set aside.
  3. Combine the cranberries, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan and warm over low heat about 5 minutes.  Do not let the cranberries get hot enough to pop.  Drain the cranberries well, discarding the liquid.  Fold the cranberries into the white chocolate mixture and pour evenly into the tart shells.
  4. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.  Remove from tart pans and serve.