White Chocolate Cranberry Tart

This white chocolate cranberry tart combines a few recipes and was my first time using agar agar (a vegan gelatin substitute). While I certainly don't recommend using a product for the first time on Thanksgiving I've tested this out so you don't have to. I will note that I was worried about messing up the agar agar so I leaned into making the cranberry filling like that recipe did which created a pretty tart filling. I don't think it's bad and if you don't want an overly sweet dessert that's the way to go but if you want something a bit sweeter you might want to add more syrup or sugar into that step. Additionally, unlike gelatin agar agar does not need to set overnight but I love to try to make things in advance to make blog Thanksgiving easier so I made the tart and poured the filling into the crust the night before and then added the white chocolate the morning of making the meal.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crust recipe from Baking for Friends and cranberry filling from Delight Fuel. 

Pair with:
Chili Crisp Butter Board
Apple Cider Aperol Spritz
Miso Glazed Brussels Sprouts
Butternut Squash Dumplings

Ingredients: 

TART
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-2 Tablespoons sugar

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

-1 egg yolk
-2-4 tablespoons water

FILLING

-2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
-1 cup water
-1/4 cup maple syrup
-1 teaspoon agar agar (substitute with gelatin powder 1:1 ratio) 
-2-3 large springs of rosemary

TOPPING

-6 ounces good quality white chocolate 

-1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and mix until you have a fine sand mixture (you can do this in a food processor, with a pastry blender, or by hand). 

Whisk together the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons water. Pour into the flour mixture and combine until a dough forms. I added an additional 1-2 tablespoons water to form the dough. Press into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

After 30 minutes, set the dough on a floured work surface and roll out into a circle (I used a 9 inch pie pan to hold my crust). Press into the pie plate and decorate the edges however you'd like. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the crust for 20 minutes with pie weights. Remove the pie weights and bake for another 5 minutes or until golden brown. 

To make the cranberry filling combine the cranberries, water, maple syrup, and rosemary sprigs in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the rosemary stems and leaves and use an immersion blender to blend the cranberries until smooth. Return the mixture to the stove and stir in one teaspoon of agar agar. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour into the prepared crust and allow to cool. Store in the fridge overnight. 

Before serving melt the chocolate using your preferred method (I melted it by putting it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until fully melted and smooth). Stir in the butter and combine fully. Carefully pour the white chocolate over the cranberry filling and smooth out with a spatula. Allow to harden before serving.