Vegan White Chocolate Tarte with Pink Pepper
When I think of Christmas, I immediately picture many pine branches, colorful lights, chocolate Santas, and red-and-white striped candy canes. Above all, I loved candy canes. My grandpa used to hang them on the tree for me at Christmas, and after the holidays, I was allowed to pick them off and eat them carefully. I looked forward to this part of taking down the decorations every year!
For several years, I've been in charge of decorating my Christmas tree, which means there's no more candy cane harvesting for me after Christmas. To avoid being too sad about it, I came up with a substitute that reflects the red-and-white colors of my beloved candy canes: a crispy tart with a sweet and tangy red berry compote and a white chocolate cream with pink pepper for an extra kick!
Conveniently, I can now enjoy it even before Christmas, and it's far more exciting than just a candy cane. I prefer pink pepper from LEBENSBAUM for this recipe because it's 100% organic and has a wonderfully sweet and aromatic flavor. It pairs perfectly in both taste and color with the white chocolate cream. By the way, pink pepper isn't related to black, white, or green pepper. The red berries grow on the Brazilian pepper tree, while the other varieties come from India. At LEBENSBAUM, sustainability, fair working conditions, and top-quality products are always the highest priorities. They work closely with small-scale farmers, allowing their products to grow with care and attention. For their sustainability commitment in the coffee, tea, and spice sectors, LEBENSBAUM was even awarded the German Sustainability Award 2024!
Don't let the legumes in the ingredients list confuse you! We pre-bake the base of the tart using a technique called blind baking. You first cover the tart with baking paper, then fill it with dried peas or lentils and finish baking the base. After baking, carefully lift the baking paper and the legumes out of the tart and bake the tart again for a few minutes. By filling it with legumes, the shape of the tart is retained during baking and the edge of the dough remains intact. If you baked the base without a filling, the edge would become soft from the heat, collapse and you would end up with a large, flat cookie. You can also use clay balls or pebbles, but legumes are the cheapest and food-safe.
Vegan White Chocolate Tarte with Pink Pepper
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 250 g (2 cups) wheat flour (Type 405)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) ground almonds
- 200 g (1.75 sticks) vegan butter, cold
- 100 g (3.5 oz) raw cane sugar
- 2 pinches pink pepper (e.g., from LEBENSBAUM)
- 1 pinch salt
- 500 g (1 lbs) dried legumes (peas, lentils, chickpeas)
For the white chocolate cream:
- 300 g (10.50 oz) vegan white chocolate
- 300 g (10.5 oz) silken tofu
- 2 vanilla pods
- 2 tbsp agave syrup
- 3 pinches pink pepper (e.g., from LEBENSBAUM)
For the berry layer:
- 200 g (1.00 cup) sugar
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) water (split up)
- 750 g (1.66 lbs) frozen red berries
- 1 pinch ground vanilla
- 25 g (2 tbsp) cornstarch
Additionally:
- 100 g (3.5 oz) vegan white chocolate (for brushing)
- 50 g (1.75 oz) chopped almonds
- 100 g (3.5 oz) vegan white chocolate (for decorating)
- 12 pink peppercorns (e.g., from LEBENSBAUM)
Instructions
For the crust, preheat the oven to 180 °C / 356 °F (top and bottom heat). Place wheat flour, shredded almonds, vegan butter, raw sugar, pink pepper, and salt in a bowl and knead with your hands into a smooth dough. Spread the dough evenly in a tart pan (ø 24 cm / 9.5 inches) and press it down firmly. Place the pan in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Remove the tart from the refrigerator and line the surface of the dough with parchment paper. Spread dried legumes on top (make sure they don’t touch the dough directly). Bake the tart on the middle rack at 180 °C / 356 °F for 20 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and take out the parchment paper with the legumes (you can let the legumes cool and store them in a container for future tarts). Return the tart to the oven without the parchment paper and bake for another 10–15 minutes until golden brown. Let the tart crust cool completely.
Coarsely chop the white chocolate and melt it over a double boiler. Brush the cooled tart crust with the melted chocolate and refrigerate for 10 minutes until the chocolate has set.
4.For the compote, heat the sugar with 3 1/2 tablespoons (50 ml) of water until the water evaporates and the sugar caramelizes into a golden syrup. Add the berries and vanilla, then simmer everything for 10 minutes. Mix the cornstarch with another 3 1/2 tablespoons (50 ml) of water and stir it into the compote. Let it cook for another minute, then set aside to cool.
5.For the white chocolate cream, melt the vegan white chocolate over a double boiler. Place the silken tofu in a tall container, add the melted chocolate, and scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the mixture. Purée everything until smooth. Adjust to taste with agave syrup and pink pepper.
- Spread the compote evenly over the tart crust, followed by the white chocolate cream. Smooth the surface, then refrigerate the tart for at least three hours to set. For decoration, sprinkle chopped almonds around the edge of the tart. Using a kitchen grater, shave a bar of white chocolate into wide curls and distribute them over the tart. Finally, sprinkle pink peppercorns on top.
