Do. Not. Get. Scared. Sometimes I feel like people tune out or run away scared as soon as an ingredient is introduced that they aren’t familiar with, but guess what, 5 years ago people couldn’t pronounce let alone describe what quinoa was and now most have a favorite recipe that uses it, like our pesto aparagus quinoa. It’s all about giving things a chance and when presented with the opportunity to work with Vermont Creamery on using creme fraiche (it’s like sour cream but has more depth of flavor and is over all more awesome) I pretty much leaped at the chance. We have a creme fraiche cake on our site from a gazillion years ago but I wanted to really get into it with you all and convince you to try it!
It’s not just a typical sour cream like ingredient, this stuff is fantastic and you’ll even feel fancy when you say, creme fraiche. We chose to make these easy white chocolate cranberry cream bars with it because they get baked and creme fraiche wont curdle over high heat and it works really well sweetened which is what we want in this recipe. The sweet tart crust, sweet cream filling and those tart berries make a match made in heaven.
I loooooove creamy recipes and while I know someone out there will be tempted to not use what we are recommending I just want you to know that this is like using fresh whipped cream or a tub commonly found in the freezer section. I promise the flavor is going to be all kinds of lovely without even doing anything other than buying one new ingredient.
So let’s give these a whirl, yes?
Can Blackberries Be Dehydrated?
Blackberries can be dehydrated, but because of the waxy coating on each little globe of juice, the are not quick-drying.
It could take up to 16 hours in your dehydrator to completely dehydrate blackberries.
Are Blackberries Low Sugar?
Blackberries are a low-sugar fruit.
They contain 7 grams of sugar per cup.
Can White Chocolate Be Colored?
Water based food color will destroy white chocolate.
Even a tiny drop of water can make your chocolate gritty and crumbly.
To color your chocolate, you must use powder or oil-based food coloring.
White Chocolate Blackberry Cranberry Cream Bars
White Chocolate Blackberry Cranberry Cream Bars
Ingredients
For the Tart Crust
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 Tablespoon Heavy Cream
- 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 1/4 Cups Flour
- 2/3 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 8 Tablespoons Butter, Cold, Cut in cubes
For the Berries
- 1 Cup Blackberries, Frozen
- 2 Cups Cranberries
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Orange Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Flour, heaping
For the Filling
- 8 Ounces Creme Fraiche, Vermont Creamery
- 3 Large Eggs, plus 1 Egg Yolk, lightly whisked
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 3/4 Cup Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Orange Juice
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
For the Topping
- 1/2 Cup Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Butter, cold and cut in cubes
- 1 Cup White Chocolate Chips
For Garnish *Optional
- 1 Cup Cranberries
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup White Chocolate
Instructions
For the Tart
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, cream and vanilla.
- In a food processor, add the flour, powdered sugar, and salt.
- Add the butter and pulse a few times until it resembles coarse sand.
- With the machine on, pour in the egg mixture and continue to run the machine until the dough begins to come together.
- Create a flat disc with the dough and wrap in saran wrap.
- Place in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Place parchment paper in an 8x9" baking dish and press the dough across the bottom.
- Prick all over with a fork.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven to cool while you proceed with the bars.
For the Berries
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat add the blackberries, cranberries, sugar, orange juice and flour.
- Stir everything together and bring to a boil.
- Turn down to a simmer and allow to cook for about 10 minutes or until the cranberries have burst and the mixture is beginning to thicken.
- Place in a strainer bowl to release any excess juice so the bars will set up, and put in the fridge to cool.
- Turn the oven down to 350.
- Begin the filling by whisking together the creme fraiche, eggs, egg yolk, sugar, flour, orange juice and vanilla.
- Pour onto the baked tart crust.
- Remove the berry mixture from the fridge and scoop large spoonfuls over the creme fraiche and then use a spatula to swirl everything together.
- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cover with the streusel topping.
- Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the top is beginning to turn golden. The center will still be a little jiggly.
- Remove from the oven.
- Allow the bars to cool for 30 minutes then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours to set up.
- For serving, melt the white chocolate at 15 second intervals, stirring each time.
- Drizzle over the bars and sprinkle with sugared berries.
For the Sugared Berries
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the water and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the cranberries and toss to coat.
- Spread over a cooling rack for 1 hour.
- Place the cranberries in a bowl with the 1/3 cup sugar and toss to coat.
- Serve over the bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Recommended Products
Nutmeg Nanny
Vermont Creamery is my favorite! They make the best products (their vanilla creme fraiche is my jam!) and they look perfect in these bars. That topping is so not optional in my book 🙂
Susan
These bars are just lovely and perfect for the season. I think the creme fraiche addition is just perfect. I could see sneaking off a bite of these first thing in the morning.
Sweet Basil
Haha! Which I totally did!
Jamie | My Baking Addiction
These bars are so darn pretty! I’m such a sucker for cranberries.
Sweet Basil
Thank you!
Lori @ RecipeGirl
The blackberry addition is brilliant!
Sweet Basil
Thanks Lori!
Jeannette
CONGRATULATIONS AND MUCH LOVE,
I just read this!
Aggie @ Aggie’s Kitchen
These look so pretty!! I love blackberries!
Elizabeth
These sound great, you need to make a correction on the ‘crust’ part, it says 2/3 c powdered. I think you mean sugar.
Congratulations on safe arrival of your son.
Sweet Basil
Boy, I must have new baby brain, haha! Thank you for catching that!
Jeannette
Hello! How are you? Did you have the baby yet? I am way behind in checking my emails.
This dessert looks scrumptious! But, I’m one of those people you talked about!! 😉 I am going to double the cranberries or add chopped walnuts because I can’t see mixing cranberries and blackberries together. By the way, I’m from Vermont, so the Creme Fraiche should be easy to find.
Hope all is well.
Sweet Basil
Oh I am jealous, I hear Vermont is jus beautiful! And yes, we had the little guy a month early, two weeks ago. https://ohsweetbasil.com/baby-boy-is-here.html