easy white chocolate cranberry tart will be a showstopper on your holiday table!
Yes I did say EASY white chocolate cranberry tart!
been wanting to make a tart like this for a long time!
I’m just going to come right out and say it – I HATE all traditional Thanksgiving pies. Pecan? Usually “gloppy” and in general I’m not a nuts-in-desserts gal (I do love these bars, however). Apple? The proportion of fruit makes this a hard stop for me (I’m all in on apple pie “fries” though!). Pumpkin? Don’t even get me started – MOIST (give me all the pumpkin butter treats instead!).
So, basically I’m un-American and a savage, but here we are.
But when Annie, Cindy and Mary Ann asked me to contribute a dessert for their Autumn Progressive Menu I was determined to provide something pie-adjacent that even I would love.
And this? Is that.
what’s in white chocolate cranberry tart?
Can we all start by agreeing that a tart is kind of a pie? Okay, thanks. Moving on, this dessert is truly an example of the whole being greater (or in this case even more delicious) than the sum of its parts. It’s a three layer wonder comprised of a graham cracker crust, a quick-cooked cranberry filling (SO VERY THANKSGIVING!) and a white chocolate ganache topping.
The sweet, silky ganache is the perfect counterpart to the tart cranberry filling, and the graham crust makes it feel like you’re eating both on a crumbly cookie. Not bad, right?
what ingredients do you need?
Among the many things I love about this recipe is the super short and simple ingredient list, with items easily sourced at the grocery store:
graham crackers
butter
granulated sugar
cranberries
cornstarch
white chocolate
heavy cream
how do you make white chocolate cranberry tart?
Remember how I used the word “easy” up at the top of this post? It’s because while yes, there are three separate components here, they are all so so simple (you don’t even need a mixer) AND can all be done in advance, at your leisure.
The crust is simply processed graham crackers, sugar and butter, pressed into a tart pan, baked and cooled. The cranberries are quick cooked with sugar, water and a bit of cornstarch to thicken.
And the ganache is made by pouring heated heavy cream and butter over chopped white chocolate. Couldn’t be easier!
frequently asked questions!
how far in advance can you make this?
I don't have a tart pan - what else can I use?
do I have to use a food processor to make the crust?
can I use milk or dark chocolate in place of white?
can I use graham cracker crumbs in place of graham crackers?
let’s talk about those sugared cranberries!
As much as I love to bake, I have a lot of anxiety around decorating. So I love love love when I come across a way to finish a cake, tart or cookie in a simple way that still makes a splash. And these jewel-like cranberries do just that! Even better? They are DEAD SIMPLE to make, promise! Add a few rosemary sprigs for a ‘wreath’ effect, and tuck a few plain berries in for contrast. This technique gets bonus points for also hinting at the cranberry curd filling within.
Obviously you can also serve this tart plain, or even simply garnished with cranberries and white chocolate chips which would be lovely too!
This tart is seriously delicious and would make a smashing finish to a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner ( December will be here before you know it! ) – let me know if you make it!
And if you’re looking for ideas to round out the rest of your meal be sure to click on the links below to see the fabulous recipes my fellow bloggers have whipped up for you!
White Chocolate Cranberry Tart
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 6 ounces graham crackers (11 sheets)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the cranberry filling:
- 12 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
For the white chocolate ganache filling:
- 12 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the garnish:
- sugared cranberries
- plain cranberries
- rosemary sprigs
Instructions
Make the crust:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" fluted tart pan with removable bottom with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place the graham crackers, melted butter and sugar into a food processor and pulse till fine crumbs form. Pour into your prepared pan and use a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup to press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and sides of the pan. Place on a baking sheet and bake till light golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Make the cranberry filling:
- Place the cranberries, sugar, cornstarch and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently and breaking down the cranberries with your spoon (there will be some pieces remaining, which is fine). Remove from heat and cool completely (you can pop the pan in the fridge to speed things up if you like).
Make the white chocolate ganache filling:
- Place the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan, stirring frequently, till the butter is melted and small bubbles appear around the edges. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk till smooth.
Assemble the tart:
- Spread enough of the cranberry filling into the tart to come about halfway up the sides (you may have some leftover filling, which is delicious on toast or over ice cream!). Use a small angled spatula to smooth and level. Pour the ganache over, stopping when it comes level with the top of the crust (any leftover ganache can be stored in the fridge - check the notes section on ideas to use!).
- Refrigerate overnight. Before serving, garnish with sugared cranberries and rosemary sprigs if using.
Notes
- Crust can be baked and frozen in advance (no need to thaw before filling).
- Cranberry filling can be made up to a week in advance and kept covered, in the fridge.
- Ganache can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and kept covered, in the fridge. If it is too stiff to pour into the tart, gently warm it over a low heat or atop a pan of barely simmering water. Leftover ganache can be rewarmed and poured over ice cream, stirred into warm milk for hot chocolate or chilled, scooped and rolled into truffles.
- A 9" springform pan may be substituted for the tart pan.
Nutrition
Check out these other delicious autumn recipes by my fellow bloggers!
Please note that this post contains affiliate links. As a Rewards Style influencer I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases – at no additional cost to you.
78 Comments
Leave a Comment
Hi! I'm Sheri!
Welcome to my little corner of the web where you’ll find easy, delicious recipes, the best kitchen hacks and simple tips for turning your home into a clean haven that is free of toxins. So glad you’re here!
Sheri! This three layer tart (pie adjacent) has to be the prettiest dessert ever!! It would win awards! If this were in some bake off show, you’d be going home with the prize!! I love the piece on its side showing the three layers. I might be tempted to try it with dark chocolate, but it’s so pretty with white!! The decoration!! I mean… gorgeous!!!!!
Thank you so much! I am so happy with the way it came out and that none of the parts are tricky at all! xo
This is so gorgeous and I bet it tastes as good as it looks!!! Totally pinning this!! It would be great for Christmas too,
Thank you Mary Ann! It’s truly delicious and a little different too. And yes, PERFECT for Christmas!!! xo
Sheri, this is so beautiful … it certainly is a showstopper. I can just imagine my holiday guests oohing an ahing at the stunning presentation. Almost too pretty to slice. Almost. I’m having so much fun at our Autumn Progressive Dinner … asking for seconds at each house. Seriously, I’m going to try to make this … its the decorating that will be my true test, but I’m going in! xo
Thank you so much Juliet! Trust me, this is a foolproof decoration – the cranberries do all the work!!! xo
Could this be made in an 11 inch tart pan?
You could but you’d have to adjust the ingredients to account for the larger size. An 11″ pan is about 1 1/2 times the area of a 9″ pan so I might increase the ingredients by 1 1/2 times what the recipe calls for. This is not a cake or bread recipe so it’s not as finicky; let me know if you try it and if it works!
Well I saved the best for last! OMG this is not only gorgeous and festive, but sounds delicious! And better yet, nonbaker that I am, I think I could pull this one off! You never disappoint Sheri. This is just fabulous!
Cindy I’m blushing! Thank you so much for this lovely comment and for including me. And YES, you can totally pull this off – it’s one of the many things I love about this dessert! xoxo
Looks so beautiful and delish! How do you think gingersnap would work as a crust?
Um – amazing!! I actually now can’t stop thinking about how good that would be! 🙂
It turned out so good! Everyone loved it and can’t wait for me to make it again. The balance of
sweet and a little tart was perfect. Thank you☺️
Oh I’m SO glad to hear that! I agree that the sweet-tart combo is really delicious – thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Sheri! I just made this last night using Ghirardelli chocolate melts so fingers crossed!! And i smashed the cranberries through a strainer to have less “skin”. I’ll let you know how it went after we gobble it up tonight!!!
Fingers crossed! Let me know please! 🙂
How long can it stand filled before the shell begins to get soft/soggy? Planning on making two for the holiday weekend!
I think it will be fine in the fridge for 2 – 3 days – any longer and I’d freeze it. It freezes beautifully!
Perfect. Thanks! Im timing them so they’re assembled the night before each get together. So far so good. I’m just wishing I had a mini pan to make a little third one so I can eat it myself already hahah. Merry Christmas
Ooh an individual tart sounds amazing! Merry everything to you too! 🙂
Does this have to be refrigerated overnight or can I make it in the morning?
You can make it in the morning – just make sure it has enough time to chill/set!
Hello! I am a procrastinator (sadly lol) and I am trying to make this delicious tart today but don’t have the luxury of letting it set over night. How many hours would you say it needs to be in the fridge to set /chill. Thank you so much in advance!
I think just a few hours should do it- you could even pop it in the freezer (without the fresh cranberry garnish) to speed things up!
Hi Sheri – thanks so much for the recipe! It was a big hit at Christmas Eve dinner! It’s so easy to make. I baked the pie crust and made the cranberry filling on 12/22, then poured the filling into the crust and let it chill overnight. The morning of 12/23, I made the white chocolate layer, poured it over the cranberries and let the whole thing set. This morning, I had fun decorating the top. I didn’t have rosemary sprigs, so I just cut the tips of branches from the Christmas tree. 🙂
Everyone loved it and gave me an A+ for presentation and taste! I took several pictures but I don’t know how to include them here. You’ll have to take my word for it.
Oh yay! This makes my day! Thank you SO much for sharing; I’m so glad it was a hit! And A+ for using what you have for garnish! 🙂 Happy holidays!
Any recommendation for making this with blueberries instead of cranberries? It looks beautiful!
Thank you! I think you could definitely swap blueberries for the cranberries. I might wait to garnish till the last minute to avoid any running of color, as the blueberries have a thinner skin. Let me know if you try it!
I made it with blueberries and it came out SOOOOO good. Thank you for a beautiful, delicious, and versatile recipe.
10/10
Oh wow – that must have been delicious! Yay! Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
How would one freeze this? I want to make them for a wedding but I also have a lot of other desserts to make.
You can freeze the tart and then garnish it day of! Freeze uncovered till frozen, then wrap well in plastic wrap and then foil. Thaw in the fridge!
Can I try the same recipe but with raspberries instead? I just love raspberries
Absolutely! Let me know how it turns out!
This looks so good! What a great treat to make for Christmas time!
I hope you make it – it’s really very easy and looks so impressive! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
You can make the tart and freeze in advance. I wouldn’t garnish till day of for the prettiest results! Let me know if you make it!
Can I use white baking chocolate for this?
I’ve never tried it! I’d say that since the white chocolate is the prominent ingredient in the tart, as long as it’s good quality it should work perfectly. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Are there brands of white chocolate you recommend? I have had a few white chocolate ganache disasters and know it can be temperamental.
I love the Ghiradelli and Lindt bars. They are easy to find and most economical, while working beautifully in recipes. What you want to avoid are white chocolate chips (which are designed to hold their shape in cookies so won’t melt smoothly) and white candy melts (which I love to use but not for ganache). I hope this helps!
Yes I think that’s ideal. Bc if you just melt a chocolate Bar it won’t set properly but the baking chocolate works nice. I made the tart last year and used baking chocolate 🙂
Thanks for the helpful comment Melissa! 🙂
Do you think you could substitute the cranberry filling for canned cranberry? Whole cranberries are hard to come by in my area.
That’s a tough call as there are so many kinds of canned – I think that if you found a variety that was similar in texture to a fresh made you’d be fine. Another option would be to substitute with a different fresh fruit, like raspberries or strawberries. If you try the canned and it works please let me know and I’ll add it to the recipe!
I am planning on making this today. Question, why the addition of butter with the cream for the ganache?
I don’t know the science behind that answer, my guess would be that as the ganache is acting as the tart filling, the butter is giving it more substance. Let me know how it comes out! 🙂
When you freeze the tart, do you remove it from the tart pan first or freeze it in the pan & remove it once it has thawed?
You could do either but I prefer to keep it in the pan to help retain the shape of the crust. If you want to freeze it out of the pan, freeze it on a board or plate, uncovered, and then wrap it when it’s frozen!
Have you ever made this using small, individual fluted tart pans? I don’t have a 9” pan, but I do have the small ones. I’m not sure if they are large enough to accommodate both the filling and ganache. Just found this recipe and would like to make it for a dinner we are attending tomorrow night, but I only have the small fluted tart pans. Thank you!
I think these would be lovely using individual pans. I’ve not tried it so don’t know what the proportions would be but I bet if you Google it you could find a table with the equivalents, based on the dimensions of your pans. This is not a filling that rises so I think if you just eyeball it you’ll be fine! Let me know how they turn out!
Loved this recipe and it turned out delicious, however my chocolate ganache was beautiful and smooth until about 3 hours in the fridge and then got a wrinkled top layer. What did I do wrong?!
Hmm – I’m not quite sure. It could have been the type of white chocolate, the temperature when you poured it or even the temperature of the cranberry filling (was it completely cooled?). I’ve never had this happen before; it’s so frustrating I know!
I entered this in my job’s holiday dessert competition and won! Everyone was so impressed. Thank you so much for this beautiful and easy recipe.
Are you kidding me? That’s AMAZING! This makes my day and I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to share this with me!
I made this for a party last night. It was such a hit!! I don’t even like cranberries and ate a ton of it. Thank you!!
Oh yay! I know, there is just something about the combination of the white chocolate and cranberries that is irresistible! Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
Hi Sheri! I made this for thanksgiving and it was so wonderful! Truly, it stole the show on the table and everyone thought it was delicious. My husband hasn’t a cranberry man so for an upcoming Christmas party I’m going to make one cranberry as well as a blueberry for him 🙂
My question is: I had such a hard time sticking the cranberries for decoration into the ganache and having them stay in place. Should I stick them on with simple? Or maybe when the ganache isn’t set yet pre chill?
I’m so glad to hear that! I think the blueberry version will be just as delicious! Those cranberries are tricky – I wouldn’t put them on until just before serving. I was okay with them moving around a bit; you could make a quick “glue” with powdered sugar and milk or water to attach if you like; let me know what you decide (and send me a pic of the blueberry one if you can – I’d love to see it)!
Do you think Raspberry Jam could be used in place of the Cranberry sauce? I’m not a cranberry fan but love the look of the tart.
I think that would be fine! You could also make a raspberry filling by swapping the berries for the cranberries. Let me know how it turns out!
I made this in a square pan and sliced into bars for a party, it was a huge hit! I crushed up store-bought gingersnaps for the crust and highly recommend it. I’m thinking about making it again, but with a dark chocolate ganache this time – would you use the same 12oz of chocolate? Is there a % dark you’d recommend?
What a great idea! Yes, I would use the same amount of chocolate. I love the Ghiradelli bars, a 60% (or close) would be my choice. Let me know how it comes out with the dark chocolate!
Do you think I could use a ceramic pie dish ?? Also wondered if I could make it using cranberry sauce I am making so I can just do one big batch ? It contains orange juice, cinnamon and cloves.
A pie dish is deeper than a tart pan so you’d need to adjust how you press in the crust to account for that. As for the filling, everyone’s cranberry sauce is different so I don’t know how yours would set up underneath the white chocolate! If you try it and it works let me know! 🙂
Hi Sheri! I am making this for Christmas Day and am wondering how the garnish is going to stick if it is recommended to refrigerate overnight and then garnish the day off. Won’t the white chocolate garden and the garnish just roll around?
Hi! To be honest it does move a bit – the sugared cranberries will “stick” a bit more as the sugar dissolves and adheres to the tart. If you’re not traveling with it it should be fine; you may have to fix it a bit when you transfer. If you’re traveling I’d suggest making a quick royal icing “glue” with powdered sugar and water. Mix till thick and then place a bit under each piece which will help it stay put! Let me know how it turns out and Merry Christmas!
I made this for a Christmas dinner party we went to. Only thing I changed was added a thin layer of homemade Christmas Jam (made with Strawberries, cranberries, cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves) before adding the cranberry filling. It turned out beautiful and the flavors were amazing! Took awhile to cut into, everyone was taking pictures and enjoying the presentation. This was a hot and will be doing again.
I’m so glad! That extra layer of filling sound delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this success with me! 🙂
Thiis the greatest thing I’ve ever tasted. So special. And so beautiful.
Thank you so much! What a great way to start my week! 🙂
I made this but the top turned out yellow compared to your photos … any tips on preventing that for next time?
What brand of chocolate did you use?
Baker’s White Chocolate
I’ve never used that brand of white (I’ve used their unsweetened chocolate only) – so it’s possible that the color was a bit more yellow, less white! I typically use Ghiradelli or Lindt when I make this tart; maybe try that next time!
Okay, thank you! Otherwise, the tart was absolutely delicious and so pretty. Thanks!
I’m so glad! 🙂