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Recipe Detail Page
White Chocolate Cranberry Tart with Toasted Pistachios
Autumn 2005
A beautiful tart that is easy to make and is a real crowd pleaser. You could substitute cherries for the cranberries in the summer.
Serves 8
4 oz (125 g) shelled unsalted pistachios
1 cup (250 mL) fresh or frozen cranberries
¾ cup (175 mL) whipping cream
12 oz (375 g) white chocolate, finely chopped
¼ cup (50 mL) unsalted butter, softened
One baked tart shell (Tart Pastry) (Recipe follows)
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. Place nuts on baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes.
3. Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil. In a bowl, put ice water to cool cranberries after blanching. Line a baking sheet with several layers of paper towel to dry cranberries after blanching.
4. Add cranberries to boiling water and stir about until they soften slightly but do not burst. (Fresh cranberries take longer to soften than frozen.) Immediately drain cranberries and plunge into ice water to cool. Drain and spread cranberries on lined baking sheet. Roll around to dry and remove any bad cranberries. Set aside.
5. Bring cream to a boil in a small heavy saucepan. Stir in white chocolate and remove from heat. Allow to sit for 1 minute, then stir together. Add butter and stir together until fully incorporated. Stir mixture occasionally until completely combined. Do not over stir or there will be too much air incorporated and the final product will have a lot of big bubbles.)
6. Randomly scatter dry pistachios and cranberries into baked tart shell. With a rubber scraper or spoon, pour white chocolate cream over filled tart to completely cover the fruit and nuts. You may have a little extra filling. Chill for 4 hours or overnight (but remove from fridge approximately 1 hour before serving to soften slightly and enhance flavours). Cut with a hot, dry knife.
Serves 8
Tart Pastry
1 1/3 cups (325 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter
1egg yolk
2 tbsp (25 mL) whipping cream
Finely grated rind of 1 orange (optional)
1. Sift flour and sugar together into bowl of mixer or food processor.
2. Cut butter into flour mixture with paddle attachment (or pulse in food processor), until it resembles coarse cornmeal.
3. Whisk together egg yolk, cream and grated orange rind and combine with the flour mixture, mixing until dough comes together.
4. Flatten dough into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out on a floured board and place in 8-inch (20-cm) fluted tart pan. Cover with parchment paper or foil and weight pastry down with dried beans or pie weights (this prevents shrinkage).
5. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
6. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the weights and bake 10 minutes more, or until golden.
Yields one 8-inch (20-cm) fluted tart shell
