Cranberry Chocolate Cream Tart
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Cranberry chocolate cream tart filled with cocoa-flavored mascarpone and topped with cranberry compote. A great holiday dessert to make all season long!
This chocolate and mascarpone cheese tart, topped off with ruby-red cranberry compote, is one of those perfect little black dress desserts.
Make this recipe throughout the holiday season from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s day and you’ll have a versatile sweet treat up your sleeve.
Just like the best LBD, the tart is ready to impress for any event you might have coming your way, plus it’s simple and looks good on everyone! 😉 It manages to be glamorous, festive, and streamlined all at the same time.
The crust is easy to make — it’s a basic chocolate wafer cookie crumb pressed into a tart pan and baked for 10 minutes.
The rest of the dessert is fuss-free with no other baking required. Just fill the shell with a lightly sweetened mixture of cocoa powder and mascarpone cheese, refrigerate and top with a glistening cranberry compote just before serving.
More dessert recipes for celebrating:
Creamy Chocolate Cranberry Tart
Ingredients
Makes 1 8-inch tart
Topping:
- 1½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 1 12-ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries
- ¾ cup sugar
Tart
- 30 chocolate wafer cookies, such as Nabisco Famous
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 pound mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
Make the topping:
- Sprinkle 1½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin over ¼ cup cold water in a medium bowl and let it soften for 10 minutes. Put 1 12-ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries in a saucepan with ¾ cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Lower heat to a simmer and cook an additional 5 minutes or so — you want to soften the cranberries but keep their plump shape.
- Drain the cranberries over the bowl in a mesh colander. Stir the juice with the gelatin to combine, then add the cranberries and stir gently. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture thickens, about 6 hours.
Make the tart crust:
- Heat the oven to 350 (175 C) degrees.
- Pulse 30 chocolate wafer cookies, ¼ cup sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add 6 tablespoons melted butter and pulse until the mixture is moistened and holds together when you pinch it.
- Press the crumbs onto the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake the crust 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.
Make the filling:
- Blend 1 pound mascarpone cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, and ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder together until smooth, by hand or using the paddle attachment of a heavy duty mixer. Spread the filling over the cooled crust and refrigerate at least 2 hour.
- To serve, spoon the cranberry mixture over the chilled filling.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
Leave a comment and star rating
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Hi, the Nabisco Famous chocolate wafers were discontinued. Is there another brand you would recommend?
Oh my goodness I had no idea they have been discontinued! I’m sad. Well, it seems like the best alternatives are these Dewey Brownie Crisp cookies or you can use Oreo-style cookies, with the cream scraped off. I haven’t tested either of these yet so please let me know how they work for you in the crust.
“Sprinkle the gelatin over ¼ cup water in a medium bowl and let it soften for 10 minutes.”
Does this water need to be room temperature or warm?
Hi Liz – Use cold water. I just made the correction in the recipe. Thanks for asking!
What a sophisticated and decadent dessert
thats the stuff
Hi, I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I featured this recipe on my blog today and to thank you for it. I see that there are no current posts on your blog so I hope that all is well with you. Merry Christmas.
This looks great and I completely agree that any recipe that can manage to be glamorous, festive, and simple all at the same time is worth knowing about. This would also look gorgeous as little individual tarts. Thanks!
Discovering your blog has been a bright spot in my (dark, dreary Mon)day! I love the versatility of this recipe, and the idea that it could be a go-to dessert from now through February. It would make a lovely contribution to this month’s Shine Supper Club. I hope you’ll consider joining us!
Wow, that looks absolutely divine! I can’t wait to try it!