Blackberry season almost completely passed me by this year. Normally I’m out scouring the neighbourhood ditches and roadsides for blackberries the minute I notice they are ripe, but somehow I missed the signs and nearly forgot. Luckily, once I remembered, the blackberry item I had in mind only required a small handful of berries, which is how I ended up foraging for blackberries in the rain at the very tail end of the season and came up with just enough for this pretty little tart.
Inspired by the gorgeous creations of majachocolat on Instagram, I decided to pair my little haul of blackberries with basil – a delicious combination I discovered a while back – and white chocolate to make a two-tone layered ganache tart. It sounds much more complicated than it is, I promise. There are a few steps, true, but none of them are difficult, and the end result is 1000% worth it: a delicately crisp cookie-like tart shell, bursts of tart whole blackberries, and creamy-sweet layers of white chocolate ganache infused with floral basil and bright blackberry.
White chocolate can be pretty sweet, so to keep itfrom being too cloying, I used tangy crème fraîche in the ganache instead of plain heavy cream, added a few pinches of salt, and with the aforementioned whole blackberries strewn across the bottom of the tart, it is just right.
I actually made this tart twice – the first time I underestimated the amount of blackberry and basil ganache that I needed to fill the tart shell and had to add a third layer of dark chocolate ganache. It was tasty and pretty but not quite what I wanted it to be, so I scaled things up and tried again, and it actually turned out better than I imagined. Don’t you love it when that happens?
Makes one 9″ round tart (1″ deep), about 10-12 servings. The photos below show a scaled-down, slightly smaller tart for just me and Nate, however the amounts in the recipe as written are for a full 9″ tart. Click here for a printable PDF of the recipe.
Tart Crust
Pastry from Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Blind baking method from BraveTart by Stella Parks.
In a food processor, pulse together:
204 g all purpose flour (I recommend bleached flour for the most tender results)
60 g icing sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Add 128 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, and pulse several times until it the butter is in small pieces ranging from the size of oatmeal flakes to peas.
Beat 1 egg yolk with a fork to break it up, then add it slowly to the food processor via the feed tube while pulsing the machine. Once the yolk is added, run the food processor in longer pulses until the mixture forms small curds and just starts to clump together. It will seem too dry at first, but keep pulsing and it will magically transform. The sound of the machine will change just before it happens, and you should be able to squeeze a bit of the mixture in your palm and have it stick together.
Turn the dough out onto an unfloured work surface and mound it together with your hands. Using the heel of your hand, frissage the dough – that is, smear little bits of the dough away from you. This will make the dough cohesive without overworking the gluten, keeping the baked tart shell nice and delicate.
Form the dough into a round disc and place it between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Roll it out to about a 12″ circle, about 1/4″-1/8″ thick. Slide the dough, still between the parchment paper, onto a cookie sheet and chill it in the freezer until it is firm.
Remove from the freezer and let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes, until it is just pliable. Peel off the parchment paper and fit the pastry into a 9″ fluted tart pan (1″ deep), pressing it against the bottom, corners, and sides of the pan. If the pastry rips, just patch it with a little scrap of dough. Trim off the excess pastry and set it aside (I baked it off as cookies and drizzled them with melted chocolate – yum!). Place the lined tart pan in the freezer for at least 20 minutes, until it is completely firm.
While the pastry is in the freezer, preheat the oven to 350˚F (325˚F). Once the pastry is sufficiently chilled, line it with aluminum foil and fill it with granulated sugar – this will weigh down the bottom and sides of the pastry and keep it from puffing or shrinking.
Bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry is set. Remove the foil and sugar and bake for another 8-10 minutes, until evenly golden brown. Cool on a rack.
Tart Filling
Once cool, brush the bottom of the tart shell with 50 g melted while chocolate. Scatter 1/2 cup whole blackberries evenly over the bottom of the tart. You want them to be covered by the ganache, so if they are sticking up above the edge of the pastry, cut them in half.
For the basil ganache layer, heat 100 g crème fraîche until steaming (I did this in the microwave). Stir in 16 basil leaves, roughly chopped, and let steep for about 20 minutes. Strain out the basil leaves and re-measure the crème fraîche, adding more if needed to bring it back to 100 g.
Place300 g white chocolate in a medium bowl and heat in the microwave (in 30 second bursts, stirring after each) or over a double boiler until just melted. Re-heat the basil-infusedcrème fraîche until steaming, then stir it into the melted chocolate, starting in the middle and stirring outwards, until smooth and emulsified. Stir in apinch of fine sea salt.
Pour the basil ganache evenly over the blackberries in the bottom of the tart shell, then place in the fridge to chill while you prepare the next layer.
For the blackberry ganache, mash 50 g blackberries with a fork. Stir in a squeeze of lemon juice, then press the blackberry pulp through a fine sieve to remove the seeds and skins.
Measure out 25 g of the resulting blackberry purée and stirit into 40 g crème fraîche.
Place 200 g white chocolate in a medium bowl and heat in the microwave (in 30 second bursts, stirring after each) or over a double boiler until just melted. Heat the blackberry-crème fraîche mixture until steaming, then stir it into the melted chocolate, starting in the middle and stirring outwards, until smooth and emulsified.Stir in apinch of fine sea salt.
Pour the blackberry ganache evenly over the chilled basil ganache layer in the tart shell, using a spatula to gently spread/nudge it right to the edge of the tart, and smooth out the top. Place the tart in the fridge to chill and set completely, at least a few hours.
To decorate, melt 75 g white chocolate and place it in a small piping bag. Snip off the tip of the bag to make a small hole. Remove the sides and bottom of the tart pan, then drizzle the chocolate artfully over the tart, in parallel lines or squiggles or circles or whatever you like.
Top with a few perfect blackberries and small basil leaves, then carefully move the tart to a serving plate.
To serve, run a large sharp chef’s knife under hot water and dry off the blade, then use the hot knife to cut the tart into clean slices. The tart cuts best when cold from the fridge, but let the slices sit at room temperature for a few minutes before eating for the best texture. Leftovers can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
