Here’s a dessert recipe to take you through the entire holiday season, from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day. A cocoa-flavored creamy mascarpone fills a quick chocolate wafer crust, and the sweet-tart cranberry topping glistens like a jewel.
Cranberry Chocolate Cream Tart
- For the topping:
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- 1 12-ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries
- ¾ cup sugar
- For the crust:
- 30 chocolate wafer cookies
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- For the filling:
- 1 pound Mascarpone Cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- For the topping:
- Sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup water in a small bowl and let soften 10 minutes.
- Put cranberries in a saucepan with sugar and ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil; stir to dissolve sugar. Lower heat to a simmer and cook an additional 5 minutes or so; you want to soften cranberries but retain their plump shape.
- Drain cranberries over a bowl. Add gelatin to juice in the bowl, stirring to dissolve. Add cranberries to the juice, stirring gently. Cover and chill until the mixture thickens, about 8 hours or overnight.
- For the crust:
- Heat oven to 350°F. Pulse cookies, sugar and salt in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add butter and pulse until mixture is moistened and holds together when you pinch it. Press crumbs onto bottom and sides of 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake crust 10 -12 minutes; cool completely on a rack.
- For the filling:
- Beat Mascarpone, sugar, cocoa and cream together just until spreadable. Spread filling over cooled crust and top with cranberries.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
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