White Chocolate Thandai Tart – No Bake
Mar 19, 2024
Looking for a show stopper dessert for Holi? Try this white chocolate thandai tart which needs only 30 minutes of prep time & a handful of ingredients! And the best part? It is no-bake!
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Make this creamy White Chocolate Thandai Tart to celebrate Holi, the festival of colors! This tart uses my homemade thandai powder and needs only about 30 minutes of prep time. And the best part? It is no-bake! You can make this tart a day or two in advance which makes it perfect to make for your festive parties and get-togethers.
Holi has always been one of my favorite festivals. I really miss those days when I would sit with mom a week before Holi and help her in making gujiya and all other Holi snacks like namak para, shakarpara and so much more. While those wonderful childhood days can’t come back, I try to relive those moments through food. And while the traditional gujiya and dahi bhalla are always on the Holi menu, so are the fun fusion dessert recipes.
As soon as we approach spring & Holi, I make a batch of thandai powder and keep it in my pantry. I love doing this because I can make so many wonderful things from this starting from thandai to thandai cookies, thandai burfi and so on. This year, I used it to make this no-bake white chocolate thandai tart.
This tart is so easy to make that literally anyone can make it and it needs zero baking skills. Are you ready to make it for your Holi party this year?
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Ginger snaps: for the crust of this tart, I have used ginger snaps. The reason is that white chocolate is quite sweet in itself so ginger snaps with that spicy flavor helps to balance all the sweetness. And the thandai powder is also spicy so the flavors go well together. Having said that, you can use any cookie of choice. But a very sweet cookie/biscuit might make the tart too sweet, so keep that in mind.
- White chocolate: use a good quality white chocolate for this recipe. If you live in the US, I recommend using Ghirardelli white chocolate.
- Heavy cream: use a cream with more than 35% fat content for this recipe. I use one which had 36% milkfat.
- Thandai Powder: I use my homemade thandai powder for this recipe. The powder can be made in advanced and stored in the pantry or in your refrigerator.
This tart is not easy to make but also looks so pretty and if you have been following me for for long, you know I am all about easy but stunning looking desserts and this Thandai tart ticks all those boxes!
How To Make No-Bake Thandai Tart
Start by making the crust
Add 300 grams of ginger snaps (around 45 ginger snap cookies or any other cookie that you are using) into your food processor.
Pulse a few times until the cookies turn into crumbs. Then transfer the cookie crumbs into a bowl.
Meanwhile, melt 8 tablespoons of butter (113 grams, I used salted butter but you can use unsalted butter) and let it cool down a bit. Then mix this melted butter with the cookie crumbs.
Mix until the butter is well combined with the cookie crumbs and the mixture resembles wet sand.
Now take your tart pan with a removable bottom (I used a 9.5 inch pan) and add the cookie crumbs to the pan. Press the crumbs into the tart pan using your hands first. Press the crumbs to the sides first with your fingers.
And then press them into the center using the back of your measuring cup until it is tightly packed. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Make the filling
First chop 340 grams (12 oz) of white chocolate into small equal size pieces. This is to make sure that all the chocolate melts evenly when we pour hot cream over it. I like to soften the chopped white chocolate a little before pouring cream over it.
So, transfer the chopped white chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and then microwave it for 1 minute in 20 seconds increment. So after every 20 seconds, take the bowl out, stir the chocolate and place it back into the microwave and do another 20 seconds and then the final 20 seconds. This softens the white chocolate a little making it easier to melt when cream is poured over it.
Add 4 tablespoons of butter (around 56 grams) to the white chocolate bowl now. Make sure the butter is also chopped into small pieces before you add that to the bowl. Also add 3 tablespoons of thandai powder. You can even add 2 tablespoons if you want a subtle thandai flavor but 3 is what worked best for me.
Now, heat 1/2 cup heavy cream (120 ml/4 oz) in a pan until it just about begins to boil (do not boil it). Pour this hot cream over the bowl of white chocolate (to which we also added thandai powder & butter) and let it sit for 3 to 4 minutes.
Then take a wire whisk and mix everything together. Since we softened the white chocolate a little before, it all melts smoothly and nicely. In case you see some chunks of white chocolate, you can always microwave the mixture for 15 seconds and then stir again.
Now, take the tart pan out of the fridge and pour this white chocolate thandai ganache over it. Spread it out over the tart using a spatula. Transfer the tart pan back into the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours. You can even do this overnight.
Once set, decorate the white chocolate thandai tart with crushed pistachios and dried rose petals. You can even pipe some whipped cream if you like. Remove the removable bottom from the tart pan and transfer your tart to your serving plate. Cut into slices and enjoy!
Make Ahead
This is a great dessert to make ahead for your Holi party. It can easily be made up to 48 hours in advance. Just bring it to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. It actually holds very well at room temperature and you will not have any problems slicing it.
Manali’s Tips
- I have used ginger snaps cookies for the crust because they do go well with the spices in the thandai powder and also with the white chocolate but you can use any cookies of choice.
- White chocolate can be tricky to work with at times, while softening it in the microwave, do that in 20 seconds increments. We don’t want it to clump up. If you don’t have a microwave, I would soften the chocolate a little using the double boiler method. Place the chopped white chocolate in a bowl and then place it on top of a pot with simmering water (making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the surface of water) and then just let the chocolate soften a bit. We don’t want it to melt, so softening it for 1 minute should be good.
- You can garnish this thandai tart with whipped cream. You can either use plain whipped cream or thandai flavored whipped cream. For thandai flavored whipped cream, add thandai powder to heavy cream along with some powdered sugar and whip.
White Chocolate Thandai Tart – No Bake
Ingredients
- 300 grams ginger snaps around 45 cookies, or use cookies of choice
- 12 tablespoons butter divided, you can use either salted or unsalted butter
- 340 grams white chocolate 12 oz, chopped fine
- 3 tablespoons thandai powder
- 1/2 cup heavy cream 120 ml/4 oz
- crushed pistachios to garnish
- dried rose petals to garnish
Instructions
- Start by making the crust. Add the ginger snaps to a food processor and pulse a few times until the cookies turn into crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and then add 8 tablespoons of melted butter to it (melted but cooled) and mix until the butter is combined with the crumbs the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Take your 9 or 9.5-inch tart pan with removable bottom and add the crumbs to the center. Press the crumbs into the pan. First press it to the sides using your fingers and then pack it tightly into the center using your palms or the back of a measuring cup. Then place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the filling.
- To make the filling, chop the white chocolate into small equal size pieces so that they all melt evenly when hot cream is poured over it. Transfer the chopped chocolate to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute in 20 seconds increments (so you stop every 20 seconds and do this 3 times). This just softens the white chocolate a little and makes it easier to melt when hot cream is added to it.
- Now, cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and add that to the same bowl as the white chocolate along with 3 tablespoons of thandai powder (you can even add 2 tablespoons for a more subtle thandai flavor).
- Heat heavy cream in a pan on medium heat until it's just beginning to boil (do not boil it, but just when you see bubbles around the edges). Pour this hot cream over the chocolate bowl and let it rest 3 to 4 minutes. Do not touch.
- Then take a wire whisk and mix everything together until smooth. In case you see some chunks of white chocolate, you can always microwave the mixture for 15 seconds and then stir again.
- Once the ganache is complete smooth, take out the crust from the refrigerator. Pour the filling (ganache) over the crust, the filling will be thick so use a spatula to spread it. Now, place the tart back in the refrigerator and chill for 2 to 4 hours or until set.
- Garnish the thandai tart with crushed pistachios, dried rose petals and serve. If you take it out of the refrigerator, let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes and then slice for better texture.
Notes
- This is a great make ahead dessert. You can make this 48 hours in advance and keep it refrigerated. Keep it at room temperature for around 20 minutes before serving.
- Make the thandai powder in advance, it keeps well in the pantry for 10 days or 3 to 4 weeks in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Mmm, sieht köstlich 😋 aus, Rezept werde ich mir merken.
Danke für die Gramm und Milliliter Angaben.
Viele Grüße,
Gabriel