White Chocolate and Strawberry Tart

Delicious White chocolate and Strawberry tart with a cookie crust and an orange infused white chocolate ganache filling. No baking and easy to put together.

Posting after a while now. How has everyone been? I had a lot going on these past few weeks, the first being a house move which I was totally unprepared for. We were renting this place for almost 3 years now when the owner just sold the property. The new owners wanted to move in quickly and we were asked to vacate. With a huge number of commitments and client work already scheduled for the beginning of June, I had no choice but to book the closest available house and move my entire setup into a new place. Since, I could only afford to take the weekend off from work, I figured out that there was no way I could bubble wrap all my stuff,  box them and unwrap them later. So I made close to 30 trips back and forth loaded with props, backgrounds and a hundred other things so I could place them in shelves (in the new place) just the way they were before. By Monday, I couldn’t move. And then realizing the greatest fear of all, food photographers  would relate to. Light!!! The angle and direction of light was entirely different and I spent a few frustrated days trying to figure out the best solution.Finally, things have settled down…well, sort of, and life is getting back to normal again.

In the middle of all this chaos, the oven in the new house gave me a bit of trouble as well so I just gave up temporarily and started creating no-bake recipes. Always think positive, right? When it comes to desserts, there are enough options, thankfully. Yay! This White Chocolate Tart has a cookie crust made with digestive cookies. I’ve experimented with a number of cookies before and digestive cookies were on my mind for some time, just to find out if they would be a lighter version of the rest. Oreos are generally the best bet when it comes to a no bake cookie crust but I didn’t want a chocolate crust for this tart. The filling is white chocolate ganache infused with freshly grated orange zest that balances out all the sweetness. The idea initially was to create an orange tart until I discovered on that day that our winter strawberries had hit the markets. We are so lucky to have two strawberry seasons in Australia. Look how big, juicy and red they are! The White Chocolate and Strawberry tart comes together quickly and needs no special skills to make. If you’ve always hesitated to make a tart the traditional way, give this a go for sure. There is hardly a thing that could go wrong here. Play around with seasonal fruits that are available near you or simply decorate with grated white or dark chocolate.

White Chocolate and Strawberry Tart
Makes a 14 x 5 inch rectangular tart or a 9 inch round tart.

250 g pack of digestive cookies
100 g unsalted butter, melted
250 g white chocolate, roughly chopped
130 ml heavy/thickened cream
40 g unsalted butter, roughly chopped
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
Fresh strawberries to top

Process cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add the melted butter and mix till well blended.

Press the cookie mixture into the bottom and edges of a rectangular tart pan (14 inch x 5 inch) with a removable base. Use the back of a spoon (and your fingers where necessary) to evenly spread out into a neat tart crust. Place the tart pan onto a plate (this makes it easier to move the tart in and out of the fridge.). Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until crust is firm.

While the crust is in the fridge,  heat the cream in a medium saucepan over low heat until it just comes to a a boil (do not boil). Remove from heat and add the chopped white chocolate. Leave aside for 5-10 minutes until chocolate melts. Add the butter and the orange zest. Mix.

Cool the white chocolate mixture slightly and pour onto the prepared crust. Refrigerate until set (about 2 hours). Serve with fresh strawberries and fresh basil leaves.