Strawberry Champagne Tart

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This Strawberry Champagne Tart is light and smooth and has the most lovely champagne and mascarpone flavor that’s perfectly complimented by the strawberries on top. The strawberries are even covered in a light champagne glaze! A simple but elegant dessert that’s perfect for New Year’s Eve or a special occasion!

Champagne Desserts

When it comes to New Year’s Eve, I just can’t help myself. Bring on the desserts with champagne! I love them. There aren’t many other occasions where champagne gets highlighted as much, so it makes sense to bring it into a dessert for New Year’s. Plus, champagne lends great taste to desserts when done right. If you haven’t ever tried a dessert with champagne, you will love Strawberry Champagne Tart. For a few other favorites, don’t miss my Strawberry Champagne Tiramisu, Champagne Cupcakes or my Champagne Cheesecake.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Sweet and light. I cannot express accurately through words just how delicious this tart is, but it is. The champagne and mascarpone compliment each other beautifully and give lovely light flavor to the creamy filling. And the fresh pop of fruit from the strawberries is both beautiful and delicious. The whole thing is just amazing.
• Easy and almost no bake. While you bake the crust, it’s for less than 10 minutes and then you’re done with the oven. There’s a little bit of cooking on the stove to help thicken the filling with cornstarch, but that’s it. Each part of the recipe is simple and it comes together quickly, which we all need this time of year.
• Elegant. Strawberries + champagne, in tart form? You really can’t make a more elegant dessert.

Ingredient Notes

This light and dainty strawberry champagne tart uses ingredients that aren’t very complicated. Check out the printable recipe card near the end of this post for specific amounts.

• Vanilla wafer crumbs – I like to use a food processor to crush up my wafers. You could also use graham cracker crumbs.
• Powdered gelatin – To help the filling set. Don’t be intimidated by it! It really is so simple. Quick rundown – you moisten it to activate it. Just sprinkle it over cold water or champagne and gently stir it to be sure there aren’t any dry lumps of it sitting anywhere. After about 5 minutes, it’ll be firm, like gelatin. Heat it up for about 10 seconds to melt it so that it can be incorporated. As it cools down, it’ll firm back up. That’s it! Just don’t boil it.
• Water – This should be nice and cold. It’s used to activate the powdered gelatin. You could also use cold champagne.
• Champagne – Feel free to use your favorite champagne. You won’t notice a huge difference in taste in the mousse between different champagnes, since it’s combined with other things and sweetened.
• Cornstarch – This also helps thicken the filling by thickening the champagne over the stove.
• Mascarpone cheese – This adds lovely light flavor to the filling. It’s usually not real firm when cold, so you can use it straight out of the fridge, or let it sit for 5-10 minutes at room temperature. Just keep in mind that if it gets too warm, it’ll get watery and it doesn’t thicken back up very well.
• Heavy whipping cream – Heavy whipping cream and heavy cream are the same thing, so whichever label you see first in the store will work. Be sure it’s nice and cold so that it whips properly.
• Powdered sugar – I recommend sifting out any lumps in your powdered sugar before you begin.

How to Make a Strawberry Champagne Tart

• Combine crust ingredients. Spray a 9-inch tart pan with non-stick baking spray and preheat oven to 325°F. Combine the vanilla wafer crumbs and sugar, then add the melted butter.
• Bake. Press the mixture into the tart pan and bake for about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.

• Activate gelatin. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Stir to moisten all of the gelatin powder. Set aside for about 5 minutes.
• Cook champagne mixture. Add cornstarch and sugar to a saucepan and whisk together to break up any lumps. Add the champagne and heat over medium heat until the champagne mixture just begins to boil. Remove from heat.
• Melt and add gelatin. Heat gelatin for about 10 seconds, until melted, then whisk gelatin into champagne mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into another bowl and let cool until it’s about room temperature.

• Whip cream. In another bowl, whip heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar until it starts to thicken. Add the mascarpone cheese and whip on low speed until it’s incorporated and no longer lumpy, then increase to medium speed. Whip just until the whipped cream thickens and holds shape.
• Combine. Carefully fold cooled champagne mixture (it should be thickened and jiggly, but not firm yet) into mascarpone cheese mixture in two parts, until well combined.
• Add to pan and cool. Spread mixture evenly into crust and refrigerate until firm, 2-3 hours.

• Make champagne glaze. Combine champagne, cornstarch and sugar for the glaze in a small bowl. Microwave in 10 second increments until it begins to boil and thicken, about 30-40 seconds. Set aside to cool a bit.
• Add strawberries. Layer sliced strawberries on top of tart filling, then brush cooled glaze onto strawberries with a pastry brush.
• Chill and serve. Refrigerate tart until glaze it cool, about 30 minutes to an hour, then serve.

Tips for Success

• Wet the gelatin. It’s important that all of the gelatin is touching the water – if it doesn’t naturally incorporate when you sprinkle it on top, give the mixture a gentle stir. Otherwise, it’ll end up lumpy.
• Don’t boil the champagne mixture too long. Allowing the champagne mixture to boil for too long can break down the thickening power of the cornstarch. Once it starts to boil, remove it from the heat.
• Cool, but not too cool. When allowing the champagne and gelatin mixture to cool, you want it cool enough that it won’t melt the whipped cream when you add it, but not so cool that the gelatin is getting too firm and will clump.
• Don’t over mix. When folding the champagne mixture into the whipped cream, don’t over do it. Fold just until you no longer see streaks. Over mixing it will deflate the whipped cream and leave you with a dense filling.
• Cool mascarpone cheese. You to avoid letting your mascarpone cheese get too warm or it can separate and get watery and it doesn’t really come back together after that. It can also leave you with a filling that isn’t as smooth. I often use my mascarpone cheese straight out of the fridge, but you can let it sit out for 5-10 minutes. I just wouldn’t let it sit for much longer.

Recipe Variations

• Change the shape. This strawberry champagne tart recipe originally used a 9.75 by 4.25 inch rectangular tart pan. The crust and filling can be used as-is for that size pan, if you’d like to change up the shape.
• Use different fruit. You can make this tart with any kind of fruit you like! Raspberries or blueberries would also be good.
• Make a graham cracker crust. I personally love how this tart tastes with a vanilla wafer crust, but you can totally make it with a graham cracker one if preferred. Just substitute the wafer crumbs for equal parts crushed graham crackers!
• Omit the glaze. This tart is still delicious without the glaze, but I do recommend adding it if you expect to have leftovers. It actually helps preserve the sliced strawberries, making your tart hold up better in the fridge.

How to Store Extras

• Store in the fridge: This strawberry tart is best fresh, but it will stay good in the fridge for 2-3 days, or as long as your strawberries hold up. Be sure to keep it in an airtight container.
• Don’t freeze it. Due to the nature of the filling and the sliced berries, I don’t recommend freezing this tart. The freezing process would diminish the quality of the strawberries.

More Champagne Dessert Recipes

• Champagne Mousse
• Strawberry Champagne Tiramisu
• Champagne Cheesecake
• Champagne Pound Cake
• Champagne Cupcakes
• Strawberry Champagne Layer Cake

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