Raspberry White Chocolate Tarts
Cool, creamy, and fruity- the perfect dessert.
There was a time when a tart was a pretty standard dessert. It feels like they’re less popular these days, but I’d love to bring them back. Tarts are easy to make ahead, can be customized on a whim, and are great for big crowds since you can eat them sans silverware.
These raspberry white chocolate tarts are so creamy and velvety inside with the just the right amount of delightful sharpness supplied by the raspberry. And they are much easier to make than they look (and taste).
For these tarts I used frozen raspberries and they worked well for the filling. My only issue was that for the garnish fresh raspberries would have looked a bit nicer. Aside from that, the frozen berries gave the perfect flavor profile and I didn’t have to worry that they were going to go bad while waiting to be cooked.
The filling for the tarts is a blend of white chocolate, cream, sugar, the aforementioned raspberries, and some gelatin to ensure it stays the right texture. At first I thought that the filling ingredients weren’t going to come together but in the end they did. Just keep stirring and it will all blend into a uniform mixture.
The crust for these tarts is a shortcrust that you cut into circles and then drop into muffin tins. You can use any size baking receptacles you like- ramekins work well, too. Once you have the crust cut out and baked, make sure they are completely cooled before moving on to the next step. Or if you’re really short on time or oven space you can buy the pre-made ones instead.
Then all you have to do is to fill the tart shells and place a single raspberry in the center of each tart. I also sprinkled some white chocolate shavings on top, made using a vegetable peeler.
And there you have it- a simple and elegant dessert that will impress your guests- all with minimal fuss and oven time.
White Chocolate Raspberry Tarts
For the shells:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 11 tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed
- 1-3 tablespoons cold water (or more as needed)
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 8 oz fresh or frozen raspberries (thawed if using frozen), plus extra for garnish
- 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin powder
- 3 1/2 oz (1/2 cup) white chocolate, chopped
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
For the shells:
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. Combine flour and powdered sugar. Cut in butter using pastry knife or food processor. Blend in water until dough just barely holds together. Do no over mix.
- Roll out dough to 1/8” thickness. Cut out 4” circles then press into greased muffin or tart tins. Place pan in freezer for 20 minutes.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool for at least 1 hour.
For the filling and assembly:
- Add lemon juice, raspberries, and sugar to small saucepan. Heat over medium high until boiling then remove from heat. Crush raspberries with potato masher or ricer. Strain into metal bowl. Stir in vanilla and gelatin. Allow to sit for 3 minutes.
- Microwave chocolate for 45 seconds. Fold chocolate into raspberry mixture until uniform in color. Use stick blender if needed to ensure its blended together well.
- While fruit mixture is cooling whip cream and powdered sugar together until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes, but do not allow to set completely. Gently fold into mousse.
- Scoop or pipe filling into cooled tart shells. Add a single raspberry and/or some white chocolate shavings to the top of each tart for garnish if desired. Return tarts to refrigerator to chill for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Recipe adapted from Italian Notes.