With a pretzel crust, creamy center, and raspberry sauce, this Frozen White Chocolate and Raspberry Dessert is just what you need to cool off this summer. It’s a beautiful way to enjoy the season’s fresh raspberries!
An Easy Raspberry Dessert
If I had to name a favorite fruit, I do believe it would be the raspberry. So of course I love that we have our own raspberry patch. I revel in every last juicy berry, and am always looking for new ways to feature them!
This summer has dealt us an extra dose of excessive heat. So we often turn to ice cream or other frozen desserts for a sweet treat. This Frozen White Chocolate & Raspberry Dessert is a welcome sight. Built on a salty, crumbly pretzel crust, it brings back tasty childhood memories of potluck desserts. And filled with a frozen creamy base that’s speckled with fresh raspberries, it’s total summertime fun!
There’s white chocolate in the creamy frozen base of this dessert. And I’ve shared before that I’m not the biggest fan of white chocolate, even though the rest of our household really likes it…
But as it turns out, this is one incredibly delicious recipe with white chocolate!
The filling is truly delicious, with the white chocolate rounded out by freshly whipped cream and cream cheese. And the red raspberries add sweet, fresh bites, along with beautiful cut-throughs from the slicing of each frozen piece. It all comes together in such a great way, with the contrast of the salty pretzel crust.
What You’ll Need
These raspberry bars are prepared in 3 parts – the pretzel crust, the creamy white chocolate filling, and the raspberry sauce. Each part is prepared separately and then layered together.
For the Pretzel Crust
- Crushed pretzels – Thin sticks or twists crush easiest and provide the base of this crust.
- Sugar – White sugar adds the sweet taste to the crust.
- Butter – I prefer unsalted butter. You’ll want to melt it for this recipe.
For the White Chocolate Filling
- Heavy cream – Divided, and added a couple different ways in the recipe.
- White baking chocolate – Use a high quality baking chocolate, like Ghiradelli.
- Light corn syrup – Adds sweetness and a creamier consistency.
- Cream cheese – For creaminess and tang!
- Powdered sugar – Added to some of the cream, and whipped. This adds a lightened texture!
- Pure vanilla extract – For flavor.
- Fresh raspberries – Fresh raspberries are the heart of this dessert. In a pinch, frozen whole raspberries could be used.
For the Raspberry Sauce
- Raspberry jam – You can use homemade jam (recommended) or store-bought.
- Water – Used to thin the jam into a thinner sauce.
How to Make Frozen White Chocolate & Raspberry Dessert
Though this frozen dessert needs to be prepared at least 6 hours in advance (so it can set up in the freezer!), the actual hands-on time is less than 30 minutes!
- Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray.
- Make the crust. Mix together all crust ingredients, then press into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven, and allow to cool.
- Make the filling. Whisk 1/3 of the cream, white chocolate, corn syrup, and cream cheese over low heat until completely smooth. Allow to cool. In a separate bowl, beat the remaining cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Stir in the cooled white chocolate and then gently fold in the raspberries.
- Assemble and freeze. Spread the white chocolate and raspberry filling over the pretzel crust. Cover and freeze until firm, about 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- Add the topping and serve. Remove the dessert from the freezer 15 minutes before you’re ready to enjoy it. Remove from the pan and slice into individual portions. Mix the jam and water together, then slowly drizzle some over each piece of dessert.
Tips for Success
For the most decadent white chocolate and raspberry dessert, follow these easy tips:
- Thaw for a few minutes before serving. The dessert cuts easily when frozen, but is easier to eat if it has that 15 minutes of thawing time. It also holds its shape very well, even after sitting out for awhile.
- Remove from the pan before serving. To remove the dessert from the pan, gently pull up on the foil overhangs. Then peel the foil down from the edges.
- Try other berries. If you don’t have raspberries, you can also recreate this white chocolate dessert with strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries.
- Add the raspberry sauce just before serving. For best results, wait until the dessert has completely set before adding the raspberry sauce to the top.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this frozen white chocolate and raspberry dessert after it’s set for several hours. As mentioned, it’s best to pull it from the freezer 15 minutes or so before it’s time to eat so the texture is easier to bite into.
Though this shouldn’t be left on the counter for an extended period of time, it will hold it’s shape and texture for awhile.
How to Store Leftovers
Leftovers should be stored in the freezer, in freezer-safe containers, either in its whole form or in slices. These white chocolate raspberry bars will hold up well in the freezer for at least a month, when properly stored.
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Frozen White Chocolate & Raspberry Dessert
Ingredients
for the crust:
- 1.25 cups crushed pretzels use a thin pretzel for best results
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
for the filling:
- 1 pint heavy cream divided
- 12 ounces good quality white baking chocolate
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
for the raspberry topping:
- ¼ cup raspberry jam
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Fold a 16” long piece of heavy duty foil to an 8”x16” strip and place in an 8” square pan, leaving overhang on 2 sides. Repeat with another sheet of foil in opposite direction, lining pan completely. Spray foil on bottom of pan with nonstick spray.
for the crust:
- Stir together all crust ingredients and press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on a rack.
for the filling:
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, cook 1/3 cup of the cream, white chocolate, corn syrup, and cream cheese over low heat. Whisk constantly until completely smooth, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat remaining cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold the white chocolate mixture in by hand. Then gently fold in the raspberries.
- Scoop mixture on top of the pretzel crust and gently spread it out evenly, tapping the pan gently on the counter a couple times to settle in the filling. Cover pan and freeze until firm, 6 to 8 hours, or overnight.
for the raspberry topping:
- Stir together the jam and water.
- About 15 minutes prior to serving, take the dessert out of the freezer. The dessert cuts easily when frozen, but is easier to eat if it has 15 minutes of thawing time. It also holds its shape very well, even after sitting out for awhile.
- To remove the dessert from the pan, gently pull up on the foil overhangs. Peel the foil down from the edges and slice into individual pieces. Then drizzle some raspberry topping over each dessert portion.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
More Raspberry Recipes:
- Heart Shaped Brownies with Raspberry Cream
- Fresh Raspberry and Brownie Chunk Ice Cream
- Raspberry Smash
- Raspberry Rhubarb Skillet Coffee Cake
This post was originally published in 2012, and then updated in 2021.
This is such a pretty dessert. And love the idea of the pretzel crust. How fun to grow your own raspberries too. Looks soooo good.
oh how beautiful and delicious Brenda! I LOVE raspberries and enjoy finding new recipes for them!
Thanks so much for linking up! I featured your post in my wrap up http://tidymom.net/2012/bright-ideas-for-summer/ Have a fabulous rest of the weekend!
This looks so yummy and refreshing Brenda. I bet the pretzel crust makes you think of that strawberry salad/dessert that so many of us made years ago.
I too love white chocolate…well and brown chocolate too ; ) This dessert looks amazing. You did it again lady!!!
This is beautiful! And that crust, suc a nice salty-sweet combo.
Thank you, Cathy! :)
i agree with shaina- you had me at the pretzel crust. this looks amazing!
xo
kellie
You had me at “pretzel crust.”
I’ve been wanting to add a raspberry bush to our garden…there’s nothing like sweet raspberries that melt in your mouth! Frozen fruity desserts are very appealing to me especially when it’s hot outside. White chocolate and raspberry are a match made in heaven!!
Loving this, especially that pretzel crust!
Lucky you with the raspberry patch! I would love that as raspberries are my favorite fruit. And then pair it with white chocolate! OMG I am in love! That photo of this recipe makes me want to melt into the picture to get at it! Amazing looking!
We always had a huge raspberry patch growing up on the farm, so having my own really feels like home. I love it! :)
This looks so refreshing and delicious! Frozen desserts are essential on these steamy summer days!
Can I just tell you how much I love that you used pretzels for the crust? This dessert is gorgeous!!
Thank you, Jen. I had completely forgotten how much I like pretzel crusts. Now my daughter will surely keep on me to make them more often!
Such a lovely raspberry dessert!
What a wonderful dessert!
I looooooooooove white chocolate, and I’d love to eat such a dessert.
Look at those berries, this is just beautiful!
Beautiful, as always :)
I love raspberries! This dessert is calling my name!
How fun! These sound wonderful Brenda. They are gorgeous!
Raspberries are beautiful right now in Washington State. This recipe looks so good. I’ll try it…
This sounds like a wonderful combination of sweet and creamy from the white chocolate and tart from the raspberries. Gorgeous!
Thank you, Kathryn. :)