White Chocolate Raspberry Tart

White chocolate and raspberries go together in the dessert world like chocolate and hazelnut. They are the perfect match. The white chocolate is rich and sweet and creamy and the raspberries have a very shy kind of sweetness overpowered by their more pronounced tartness. They cut through the richness of the white chocolate and wake up your taste buds with fruitiness. The base of both the vegan and non vegan tarts is wonderful. Buttery tasting and the perfect sweet, crispy, crumbly crust for these decadent tarts.

Why the vegan option? Two reasons really. A lot of you guys ask me for vegan options and I love to experiment with certain recipes that I think I can convert. It’s like a little challenge and sometimes I like a good challenge. Secondly my mother in law is vegan, and although I have yet to share anything vegan that I have made with her - when I’m making something vegan I always ask myself If my mother in law would like it and eat it. So there, now you know.

It would really be hard to choose which one I prefer best. They both have unique and delicious things about them. My mother and father (both not vegan) both preferred the vegan one as they found the non vegan was a little rich for them. They loved it but found the vegan one a little lighter. If you twisted my arm and made me choose I would say the non vegan one because I love how the white chocolate ganache gets a little oozey when it comes to room temperature. I loved the vegan one too because it has a lighter filling and I love the very subtle hint of coconut oil from the crust and the cocoa butter is just divine. Let’s put it this way - I could have a full slice of the vegan one easily but only half of the non vegan as it’s also too rich and decadent for me. My brother and husband on the other hand could eat two of those non vegan ones and still have a hankering for more. They definitely love their rich, decadent and sweet things.

Both are perfect for making ahead and would be great for a dinner party! The non vegan one has a wonderful crust but requires that the crust be rolled out for each individual tart. The vegan one just needs to be mixed and the pressed into the mold which makes it slightly easier and quicker to make. Both are delightful and both can be made with any berry as a substitute for raspberries if you would prefer something different or you just don’t have them available. We all truly loved them both and I think it’s great to always have a vegan tart up your sleeve for those occasions where you might be entertained by or entertaining someone who is vegan.

Recipe - Vegan White Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Makes one 9 inch vegan sweet pastry shell (Pâte sucrée)

Watch the step by step video here for the crust

Ingredients

For the vegan pâté sucrée tart

• ¼ cup ground hazelnuts or almonds
• 1¼ cups flour plus more if needed and for dusting
• ½ cup coconut oil
• ⅓ cup confectioners sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 tbsp of almond milk or coconut milk as needed to moisten the dough if needed

For raspberry coulis

• 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
• 2-3 tbsp of maple syrup (just enough to add a slight bit of sweetness to the raspberries)
• ½ tsp of agar agar or tapioca starch

For vegan white chocolate ganache filling

• 227 grams of cocoa butter/ non dairy unsweetened white chocolate
• 1 can of of coconut cream / milk (liquid drained and only using the thick creamy part)*
• 2-3 tbsp of maple syrup or more according to taste (if using unsweetened cocoa butter)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp coconut oil

Topping

• 1-2 cups fresh berries
  
  

** Refrigerate coconut milk overnight for. Helps separate cream from liquid better. Use the solid part of coconut milk in the recipe strain any excess liquid.

Directions

For the crust

1. In a food processor pulse ground nuts, flour, sugar and salt a few times until combined. Then add the oil and the vanilla extract and pulse a few times until dough starts to form. Add 2-3 tbsp of non dairy milk 1 tbsp at a time if needed to get the texture right (I usually don’t need it)
2. Transfer to tart pan and then press it into pan with your fingers making sure it’s tightly pressed into the bottom edges of pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork and let it rest in the freezer for 20 minutes
3. Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 10-15 minutes to blind bake then you can fill the tart shell and bake the tart again for another 20 min depending on the filling. In this case I didn’t blind bake but baked it right through for approx 25 minutes until edges were fully baked and golden as I was filling tart with a no bake filling. Allow the tart to cool on a rack completely before filling. (Can be made a day ahead, wrapped right with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge)

For the raspberry coulis

1. In the meantime make the raspberry coulis, simmer the raspberries and maple syrup for 5-10 min in a small heavy-based saucepan over low-med heat, stirring until the berries have broken down.
2. Then using a hand blender/immersion blender, blend into a puree, add 1 tsp of tapioca starch and simmer another 2-5 minutes over medium/high heat while stirring. Set aside to cool and if making ahead, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed

For the ganache

1. Next make the white chocolate ganache. Place the cocoa butter, coconut cream, maple syrup, vanilla and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat in 20 second intervals, stirring after each one, until melted and smooth.
2. Allow to cool.

To assemble

1. To assemble the tart, spoon in enough raspberry coulis to coat the base of the tart shell well then refrigerate for 10-15 minutes
2. Pour vegan white chocolate ganache over it and let set completely at least 2 hours to overnight.
3. Decoratively top with fresh berries before serving - slice and serve.
   
   

White Chocolate Raspberry Tart (NON VEGAN)

Makes one 9-inch sweet pastry shell or 4 small ones
Watch the step by step video here for the crust

Ingredients

For the sweet pastry crust (Pâte sucree)

• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter (cold)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For raspberry coulis

• 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
• 2-3 tbsp of maple syrup/honey or sugar
• ½ tsp corn starch or tapioca starch

For white chocolate ganache

• 2 cups (350g) white chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract or paste

Topping

• 1-2 cups fresh raspberries for garnish

Directions

For the pastry crust

1. Place the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.
2. Add the cold butter, and continue pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Whisk the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla together in a small bowl, then pour it through the feed tube in a slow stream with the processor running on low speed.
4. Process until the mixture gathers itself into a ball, then wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
5. Roll out pie crust to fit pan. Press into 9 inch tart pan, use the rolling pin to roll over and trim the edges, use a fork to prick entire surface of dough. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F and then bake for 20 minutes. Once done remove from oven and allow it to cool on a rack while you make the filling. (Can be made a day ahead, wrapped right with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge)

For the raspberry coulis

1. In the meantime make the raspberry coulis, simmer the raspberries and maple syrup for 5-10 min in a small heavy-based saucepan over low-med heat, stirring until the berries have broken down. Then using a hand blender/immersion blender, blend into a puree, add 1 tsp of tapioca starch and simmer another 2-5 minutes over medium/high heat while stirring. Set aside to cool and if making ahead, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

For the ganache

Place the white chocolate, heavy cream, vanilla and butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat in 20 second intervals, stirring after each one, until melted and smooth and then allow to cool.

Assembly

1. To assemble the tart, spoon in enough raspberry coulis to coat the base of the tart shell well then refrigerate for 10-15 minutes
2. Pour ganache into pastry case and refrigerate overnight or until cold and set.  (It will not go totally hard, you should be able to make an indent with your fingertip.)*
3. Top decoratively with raspberries before serving, slice and serve immediately out of fridge as it will get runnier the longer it sits out of the fridge
   
   

How long will both white chocolate tart last? 

Any leftovers can be cover tightly, and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze this tart? Yes.

This tart freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.

How do I make mini tarts from this recipe?

It makes 4 mini tarts depending on the size of pans:

1. Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll each into a ball.
2. Grease each tartlet well. Flour the working surface, and roll each ball into a disk slightly larger in diameter of tart pan, then place the round into a greased pan. Because rolling each ball into a disk and placing it into a pan usually takes time, I keep the rest of the balls in the refrigerator and take each one out to work on one ball at a time. This way, the dough is kept cold, which will help the crust be soft and flaky. Also, after I shape 2 disks and place them into a tart pan, I put a tart pan in the freezer and shape the other 2 disks.
3. Then, I take the tart pan out of the freezer, place the 2 disks in and repeat. Once you filled all of the tart pans (or all wells in a tart pan), place the tart pan(s) in the freezer for 5 minutes before baking. Pierce the bottoms of the tart with a fork and place them all on a sheet pan and bake as above - checking baking time half way.
   
   

* IMPORTANT NOTE: This ganache tart has no thickening agent or anything added to it to set the filling completely. (Think caramel) Please serve chilled. Make sure you choose a good quality white chocolate or baking chocolate which has the least amount of additives to it. 2 hours of chilling will have a soft set and 8 hours to overnight will have a slightly harder set so I recommend chilling overnight. If you absolutely want to make it so it sets completely you can add 6-8 oz of cream cheese to the filling. After you have made the ganache mix the softened cream cheese with a mixer and slowly drizzle in the ganache to it while you have the mixer on. Then pour this over the raspberry coulis as normal in the recipe and then chill overnight. This will create a no bake sort of white chocolate cheesecake filling that holds up a little better.