This festive Holiday Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart captures the flavors of winter's best along with the magic of the holiday season, all in one delicious tart shell! Each bite is perfectly balanced between sweet ganache, sugared cranberries, pomegranate seeds, and buttery shortbread tart dough.
Jump to:
- The Ultimate Tart for the Holidays
- Holiday Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart ingredients
- How to make and form the tart shell
- How to make the dark chocolate ganache filling
- Bringing it all together
- The garnish
- Tips to make the best dark chocolate ganache tart
- Frequently asked questions
- Here are more delicious desserts to serve for the holidays!
- Holiday Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart
The Ultimate Tart for the Holidays
Everyone will make some room for dessert when you unveil this at your next holiday party: Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart topped with sugared cranberries, pomegranate seeds, and slivered almonds! The tender tart shell and creamy ganache filling is made with French butter - the higher fat content in the cream of cow's milk gives French butter its deliciously creamy taste making each and every bite oh-so decadent.
Holiday Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart ingredients
- Sweet tart shell - Learn how to make your own tart shell at home! This sweet shortbread cookie-like tart shell is easy to tackle once you learn all of the tips and tricks.
- Dark Chocolate - Deep, rich chocolate flavor is the hero of our tart full of dark chocolate ganache!
- Butter - Unsalted French butter is what I used here. This will also work with vegan butter if you are dairy free.
- Eggs - A few eggs in the tart filling will emulsify the mixture and help it hold its shape.
- Fresh Cranberries - Cranberries are an obvious choice during the holidays to me, but this technique will work to make any kind of sugared berries. (You can also make sugared rosemary for some Christmas tree themed decor!)
How to make and form the tart shell
Mix the sugar, butter, vanilla paste, salt, almond flour, and all-purpose flour together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Scrape down the sides before mixing in one egg at a time. To finish, slowly add in the bread flour until it’s just combined.
Wrap the ball of tart dough in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and press it gently into your tart pan. Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the dough. Place it in the freezer.
Add a layer of parchment paper on top of the dough in the pan, place the pie weights on top, and blind bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove the pie weights and bake until slightly browned, an additional 10 minutes or so.
Check out my Sweet Tart Shell recipe to learn more.
How to make the dark chocolate ganache filling
Place chocolate and butter into a large bowl.
In a small saucepan, bring cream just barely to a simmer.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and butter, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. After 5 minutes have passed, stir with a spatula until all three ingredients are combined and smooth.
Bringing it all together
Pour the chocolate ganache into the cooled tart shell. Smooth out the top and place in the fridge to set for 1-2 hours
The garnish
While the dark chocolate ganache tart is already bursting with beautiful colors and flavors, you can really take it up a notch with a festive garnish. Any of these suggestions would be delicious:
- Powdered sugar
- Whipped cream
- Chopped walnuts
- Pecans
- Cacao nibs
- Chocolate ribbons
- Caramel drizzle
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Hazelnuts
Tips to make the best dark chocolate ganache tart
Pie weight alternatives
If you don’t own traditional pie weights, dried beans and uncooked rice are some of the best alternatives. You can’t eat the beans or rice after they’ve been used as pie weights, but you can save them to continue using as weights!
Don’t overmix the dough
Overmixing or over kneading the tart dough could lead to a shell that shrinks in the oven. Only mix in the ingredients until each one is just combined. If you notice the dough becoming hard to work with or tough, let it rest (more on that below).
Is the dough hard to roll?
If the dough is springing back into a ball or is generally fighting as you roll it out, one of the best things you can do is leave it alone. Let the dough rest for 10 to 30 minutes to help relax all of the gluten that has formed. It’ll be a lot easier to roll afterward!
Freeze the dough
Freezing the dough for 20 to 30 minutes after it’s layered into your tart shell is essential! If you skip this part, the dough could shrink and you won’t achieve that perfect level edge around the tart pan.
Frequently asked questions
Of course! Both the filling and the tart dough can be prepared the same as the larger tart. Just replace the large pan with small circular tart pans. The mini tarts shouldn’t need as much time in the oven so be sure to watch them carefully.
To make the tart dough made ahead of time, simply wrap the ball of dough or pastry-filled tart pan in plastic wrap and keep it in your fridge for up to 1 week. It’s also really easy to freeze (see instructions below)!
The baked and cooled tart with dark chocolate ganache (without the garnish) can be made 2 days ahead of time. Just keep it covered in the fridge until it’s time to eat.
Absolutely! Just wrap the unbaked dough or baked shells in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.
Here are more delicious desserts to serve for the holidays!
As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you made this recipe for my Holiday Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart, please be sure to rate and review it below. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
Holiday Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- Rolling Pin
- Tart Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Weights or Beans/Rice
- Bowls
- Whisk
- Saucepan
- Spatula
- Paper Towel
Ingredients
Tart Dough
- ¾ Cup + 2 Tablespoons unsalted French Butter, room temperature, 200 g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste, or vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ Cup powdered sugar, 150g
- ½ Cup almond flour, 50g
- ¾ Cup all-purpose flour, 100g
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 ¼ Cups bread flour, 291g
Dark Chocolate Ganache
- 1½ cups chopped dark chocolate, 340g
- 4 tablespoon unsalted French butter, room temperature, cut into cubes, 56g
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 240g
Sugared Cranberries & Assembly
- ½ cup water, 118g
- ½ cup granulated sugar, 100g
- 1 cup cranberries, 130g
- ¼ cup slivered almonds, 18g
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds, 40g
Instructions
Tart Dough
- In a stand mixer using a paddle attachment, start by mixing sugar, butter, vanilla paste, salt, almond and all-purpose flour mixing until combined. Take a moment to scrape the mixing bowl¾ Cup + 2 Tablespoons unsalted French Butter, room temperature, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ¼ Cup powdered sugar, ½ Cup almond flour, ¾ Cup all-purpose flour
- Add room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing between additions2 eggs
- Add bread flour, making sure to not overmix2 ¼ Cups bread flour
- Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap – then place in the fridge to chill before using for at least one hour.
- I tend to make my tart dough ahead of time so I throw it in the fridge until the next day. If using this method, remove your dough from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to roll it out – you’ll find that it will be MUCH easier to work with!
- Once your dough is rolled to the desired thickness, press gently into the bottom of your buttered tart pan, poking the bottom of the tart LIBERALLY with a fork, and place in the freezer to chill for 20-30 minutes. This is essential – your tart shells are less likely to shrink while baking if you take the time to freeze your shells.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Line the shell with parchment paper and baking rice/beans/pie weights to further prevent the dough from puffing up.
- Bake for 20 minutes before removing from the oven and removing the parchment paper and pie weights then bake for another 10-15 minutes until ever so slightly browned.
Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Place chocolate and butter into a large bowl.1½ cups chopped dark chocolate, 4 tablespoon unsalted French butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
- In a small saucepan, bring cream just barely to a simmer.1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and butter, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. After 5 minutes have passed, stir with a spatula until all three ingredients are combined and smooth.
- Pour the chocolate ganache into the cooled tart shell. Smooth out the top and place in the fridge to set for 1-2 hours
Sugared Cranberries & Assembly
- Bring water and sugar to a simmer making sure that the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.½ cup water, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Add cranberries and let the cranberries sit in the sugar syrup for 10-15 minutes.1 cup cranberries
- Remove the cranberries from the syrup and allow them to dry on a paper towel for one to two hours. Note that you can certainly use the cranberry syrup for other purposed – there’s no need to get rid of it! ( Happy Hour Anyone?!)
- Coat the dried berries in granulated sugar and start to garnish the edges of your tart with slivered almonds, cranberries, and pomegranate seeds!¼ cup slivered almonds, ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
Video
Notes
- Can you use this recipe to make mini dark chocolate ganache tarts? Of course! Both the filling and tart dough can be prepared the same as the larger tart. Just replace the large pan with small circular tart pans. The mini tarts shouldn’t need as much time in the oven so be sure to watch them carefully.
- Can you make this ahead of time? To make the tart dough made ahead of time, simply wrap the ball of dough or pastry-filled tart pan in plastic wrap and keep it in your fridge for up to 1 week. It’s also really easy to freeze (see instructions below)! The baked and cooled tart with dark chocolate ganache (without the garnish) can be made 2 days ahead of time. Just keep it covered in the fridge until it’s time to eat.
- Can you freeze tart dough? Absolutely! Just wrap the unbaked dough or baked shells in plastic wrap and freeze up to 2 months.
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