Cranberry Curd Tart, a garnet-hued delight
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Cranberries are the under-appreciated fruit of fall and winter.
They're often relegated to a sad cylinder of canned cranberry sauce at the edge of the Thanksgiving table, an afterthought to the apples and pumpkins taking up the dessert space.
Which is a shame, because when strategically deployed, cranberry desserts not only bring a welcome burst of color, they bring a lovely puckery acidity to punctuate a big meal.(Sort of the way this lemon ginger tart does.)
Not that there's anything wrong with a classic apple pie. But it's not the only way to celebrate fall and winter.
This cranberry curd tart is the cold-weather dessert you didn't know you needed.
The curd itself is a deep-red garnet color, with a silky smooth texture and the tart cranberry flavor gets rounded out with vanilla and orange (and not a small amount of butter and sugar and eggs).
It comes together in a few minutes on the stove, and it doesn't even require you to set up a double boiler.
And honestly, the curd itself is worthy of licking off the spatula.
But this dessert gets even better.
It sits on a super-easy press-in shortbread crust that doesn't need any resting time, making this even easier than most pies.
And, because the curd leaves a couple of egg whites behind, I like to top it with a bit of Italian meringue that I hit with a blow torch.
Which, honestly, is a totally unnecessary bit of showing off and you don't have to do it if you don't want to.
(You know you want to.)
A puffy oven pancake studded with cranberries and scented with Chinese five spice
Cranberry Curd Tart
This cranberry curd tart uses a press-in shortbread crust inspired by one Alice Medrich uses in everything. This one has a bit of orange zest and powdered sugar to keep it tender. The cranberry curd itself is a riff on one I've been making for years that's rounded out with a generous splash of vanilla, some freshly squeezed orange juice from the orange you just zested, and an optional splash of any orange liqueur you like (but don't bother going out to buy Grand Marnier or Dry Curacao just for this). The tart crust can be made and baked up to two days ahead, and the curd can be cooked and chilled up to a week in advance, you can then assemble and bake the tart on the day (or day before) you want to eat it. The meringue is totally optional, but because the tart leaves you with extra egg whites from the curd, it's easy to go that extra step and add the meringue. The amount of meringue isn't as much what you would typically do for a towering lemon meringue pie, but it's plenty for piping decoratively on the top (and enough to cover the whole top with dots like you see pictured if you wanted to do that). You'll need a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom for this recipe.
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113 grams) unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of one orange
For the cranberry curd
- 12 ounces cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- juice of one orange
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier (optional)
For the Italian meringue
- 2 egg whites
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
Make the crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Add the flour, powdered sugar, and salt to a small bowl and whisk together. Melt the butter in a small saucepan (or in the microwave), add the vanilla extract and orange zest to the butter and stir, then pour into the dry ingredients and stir together until thoroughly moistened. The crust will look wet. Let cool for a few minutes until it firms up slightly.
- Press the dough evenly along the bottom and sides into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Make the cranberry curd
- Heat the cranberries and orange juice in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the cranberries split. Strain through a food mill or fine mesh sieve and discard the skins. [Edit: this mixture is thick and takes some muscle to press it through a fine mesh sieve. It's easier with a food mill, but if you're struggling with this, put the mixture in a blender and then pass it through a sieve.]
- Return the strained cranberry mixture to the saucepan and add the sugar, eggs, egg yolks, butter, vanilla, and orange liqueur (if using) to the pan and give everything a good stir. Heat gently over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and registers 170°F on an instant read thermometer (this usually takes about 8-9 minutes). Immediately strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl (ideally with a pouring spout) and then pour into the prepared crust. Bake (still at 350°F) until the curd is set (it should jiggle but not slosh), about 10 minutes.
- Let cool at room temperature for about 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill. You can serve this chilled or at room temperature.
Make the Italian meringue topping (totally optional)
- Add egg whites and cream of tartar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium high heat. When the sugar mixture registers about 220°F turn on the mixer and begin beating the egg whites on medium speed. When the sugar mixture registers 240°F remove from heat and carefully pour into the mixer over the egg whites. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag (or zip top bag) and pipe onto cooled tart as desired. If you want, torch the meringue with a kitchen torch. (But since it is cooked, this is totally optional).
Notes
Tart is best on the day it is made, but keeps well, refrigerated, for up to two days.
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Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, 4 ounce -
Frontier Cream of Tartar, 3.52 Ounce Bottle
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 312Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 203gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 164mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 56gProtein: 9g
I made this for our Christmas dinner for two and absolutely loved it! I followed the recipe for everything up until the merengue (I used baking powder because I didn’t have any cream of Tatar). It’s a beautiful tart and I am NOT a baker but was still able to pull it off. I did end up cooking the tart for about 3-4 minutes over the prescribed 10 but like guys - this dessert is incredible. I love lemon tarts/desserts and this guy just hits all the marks and is really a lovely dessert to make. I made the shell about 2 days in advance and assembled 1 day before eating (with merengues made the day of).
Since it was Christmas for me I made a pistachio crust and topped the cranberry curd with chopped pistachios. The red and green dessert was the definite eye catcher as well as tongue pleaser on the sweets table.
This was amazing!! I didn't have a sugar thermometer for the Italian meringue ,yet managed to pull it off anyway. This tart got rave reviews from everyone!
Could you say how much orange juice should come from one orange? I have juiced two oranges and have a scant 1/4 cup. There’s nothing to strain, no liquid at all, just popped cranberries. Thanks.
The amount will vary from a few tablespoons to about 1/3 cup of juice, but any amount in that range will work just fine. You need to push the cranberries through a strainer to separate the skins from the juice. You probably have more liquid in there than you think!
This recipe looks amazing! Could I make it ahead and freeze or would the curd not stand up to that?
Thanks!
I haven't tested it, but it should freeze fine if well wrapped, and then thaw in the refrigerator. (If you want to top it with meringue, wait until after it's thawed to do that.)
This recipe is a disaster . Crust is a puddle of flour and butter The cranberry and orange juice is just pulpy mush that cannot be sieved.
I'm sorry you're having trouble with it. The crust typically bakes up beautifully, though it does look wet before baking. The filling needs to be pressed through a strainer for remove the skins, and it does take some muscle, but it's worked for many many people!
I’ve always been a pie person and I have to stay tarts don’t agree with me haha.
I don’t understand how they set!
The consistency and colour seemed nice upon initially mixing n saucepan like it suggests. Didn’t thicken a whole lot.
After I baked it it just bubbles and went all cloudy with a thin layer on top and isn’t jiggly at all.
Thoughts ?
I’m ready to Toss this thing in the garbage lol
Don't toss it! Some bubbles and cloudiness are common in a tart like this. It can take some practice to nail this one, and it's possible something went sideways in the process, but taste it before you give up on it. This is a favorite dessert for lots of people!
Hi there
I piped the meringue directly onto the tart and after chilling it for a couple hours, the meringue didn’t harden + they seemed to leak water and/or egg white. Any idea where I went wrong? Thanks so much
What is the shelf life? I am preparing for the majority of thanksgiving and I want to spread out some dishes before tday. Would it last in the fridge for a few days before serving?
You are GREAT to share this! I couldn't even get it on the NYT recipe page! They wanted me to PAY to subscribe. That made me SO MAD! So God bless you for sharing! --gv
Hello! I was wondering if it’s possible to make this in a 9 inch springform pan instead of a tart pan? I can’t seem to find any near me, and don’t have time to order online. Thanks!
You could absolutely do it. A tart pan is much shallower than a springform, so the crust should only go about 1/2 inch up the sides and may be a little tricky to keep tidy. But it would work in a pinch.
I just put this in the oven and realized that I left out the butter. Duh! Hope it sets up. I did tast the filling and it was very delicious
Has anyone ever forgot to put the butter in the curd like I just did? It still looks good, but we’ll see how it tastes tomorrow
Really disappointed in this recipe. Followed exactly and after baking for twice the specified time, it's still really sloshy and boiling over the sides of the tart pan.
@Erin same! Mine was really sloshy for 15-16 mins and then puffed up a ton (while still sloshing) and went over the sides, although it was all below the sides when it started baking. Plus cracking at the edges
I bake a ton and haven’t had a curd tart (or any dessert for that matter) fail that spectacularly. I can only assume I missed the sweet spot between sloshy and jiggly 🙁 pretty bummed as the curd did take a bit of time, this is gonna be embarrassing to serve. I might be able to save with merengue but it’s going to have to travel and sit for a while so I originally wasn’t even going to do that step
I'm sorry this didn't go well. It sounds like this was overbaked (that's why it's cracking). I know emotions run high around holidays. Sometimes ovens run hot too.
This sounds overbaked. In the future when baking curd pies, err on the side of a little more sloshy than you were thinking here. It will set as it cools.
I love this recipe! I have made it 3 times and it always turns out beautifully! Make sure you warm the curd to 170° before baking. I process the cranberries and OJ in my vitamix before straining through a sieve, so much easier for me. I also get about 2/3 cup juice from my fresh orange.
The color of this tart a stunning! Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Just pulled this beauty out of the oven. I found that the crust totally slumped into a flat cookie but went ahead and used it anyway. Am keeping my fingers crossed that once it has chilled in the fridge it will be set enough to hold its shape without the tart form. The curd that I licked off of the spatula was delicious!
Can I substitute something for the orange juice ( water? Cranberry juice?) I’m not a fan of Orange with my cranberries.
The orange is mild and is mainly there to add a little bit of liquid. Water or cranberry juice should work fine.
MY cranberry tart tasted delicious. However, it did not set and was runny. Any suggestions? I will make this again
I followed the instructions exactly. After 10 minutes it was definitely sloshy. Cooked it 5 more. Still sloshy. 5 more, sloshy. Ten more. Now I am worried it will be more like candied glue than curd.
I'm learning that some people interpret "slosh" differently. I suggest cooking it for the time suggested if your oven generally runs true to temperature.
The thing I love most about cranberries is their tartness. This tart was good, but I feel like this recipe ruins the wonderful tartness of the cranberries by using far too much sugar. If I make it again, I will reduce the sugar by half.