Cranberry Curd Tart
When you really want to WOW friends and family during the holidays, this cranberry curd tart needs a spot on your holiday table. Not only is it gorgeous showstopper...it's also downright delicious.
🔍 Recipe At-A-Glance: Cranberry Curd Tart
- 🕰️ Prep Time: 35 minutes
- ⏰ Cook Time: 45 minutes
- ⏱ Chill Time: 3 hours
- ❤️ Flavor Profile: The tart cranberries, zesty oranges, and crisp almond crust nicely balance the sweetness of the curd for a dessert that everyone will love.
- 🦃 Good For: Adding some color to your Thanksgiving or Christmas table!
- 🔄 Make Ahead: Make up to two days ahead of time.
- 🧡 Difficulty: A little more complex of a pie recipe, but I'll walk you through it!
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🧡 Why You'll Love This Recipe
Hiya friend: When everyone's bringing a traditional pie, you'll be a standout with this cranberry tart!
I know the holiday season is all about pie, pie, and more pie. And I love pie, I really do. But this cranberry curd tart is the real must-have on my holiday table. I know this gorgeous red tart will stand out amidst the oranges and beiges of a table full of pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, and caramel apple pie. I make it every year to rave reviews!
Here's why you'll love this recipe:
- It's the perfect make-ahead dessert. The holidays are a bustling time, so I love that I have options when I make this tart! You can make it up to two days in advance of serving. You can also make the parts ahead of time (the curd and the crust) separately, and then assemble them, bake, and chill.
- This recipe is a two-for-one. Making this recipe will also teach you how to make fruit curd. And once you've made it, you'll realize just how simple and delicious it is. You'll want to make curds from all the fruit in your house!
- It's naturally gluten-free. This will serve your gluten-free and gluten-full friends and family...no adjustments needed! Serving this means more dessert options for everyone. I recommend putting it out with my sugar cream pie recipe on a gluten-free pie crust!
❤️ The Ingredients You Need
- Almond flour: The almond flour and almond extract will give your crust a slightly nutty flavor. This is an essential part of the overall flavor of your cranberry curd tart, so I wouldn't recommend substituting it with another flour. You can make your own almond flour by pulsing blanched almonds in a food processor until they form a fine flour. Make up a big batch, and you can also use it for almond flour banana muffins, almond flour pizza crust, and gluten-free brownies.
- Cranberries and cranberry juice: A fruit curd is a soft filling or spread made out of the juice of fruit (typically citrus fruits like lemons and limes, but we went rogue here with cranberries). Our cranberry version is packed with cranberry flavor and bright, neon red color!
- Eggs and butter: Eggs and butter are the other ingredients you need for the silky, rich, and decadent cranberry curd.
Make sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, along with quantities and my expert tips and tricks.
🔁 Variations & Substitutions
- Sugared cranberries: To make sugared cranberries for the top, soak cranberries in a simple syrup that is equal parts sugar and water. Drain and allow to partially dry on a wire rack. When the cranberries are tacky, roll in granulated sugar to coat. These are also delicious on my orange cranberry Christmas cake!
- Candied citrus peel: Cut strips of orange peel and scrape off any of the white pith with a knife. Blanch the peel three times for five minutes each...this should remove any bitterness. Simmer the strips of orange peel in a 1:1 ratio simple syrup for 40-60 minutes, until they are soft and starting to go translucent. Lay them out on a wire rack to dry, tossing them with granulated sugar when they are cool enough to handle.
🥣 Cranberry Curd Tart How-To
Step 1: Start up your stand mixer or use some elbow grease to beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until it's pale and thick. Then toss in the almond flour, almond extract, and salt and keep mixing until the dough comes together.
How will you know when it's ready? It'll hold its shape when squeezed together! If it's still too crumbly, you can add cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is juuuuust right.
Step 2: Divide the dough in half, then press one half into the bottom of your tart pan and the other half into the sides of the pan. Poke the bottom of the crust with a fork and freeze it for 30 minutes. This will help it keep its shape when it bakes!
While it's freezing, preheat the oven to 350°F. When the 30 minutes are up, pop your frosty tart pan and crust into the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until it's lightly brown. Set it aside to cool while you make the cranberry curd.
Step 3: Toss cranberries, orange zest, and cranberry juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil. We wanna get those berries to burst! Give it a stir every now and then while you watch and listen for those pops. When all the cranberries have opened, blend it up with an immersion blender (or very carefully in a regular blender) and pass it through a fine-mesh strainer for good measure.
Step 4: Temper the eggs. Don't worry-it's not as complicated as it sounds. We're basically warming up the eggs slowly so they don't cook! Whisk up your eggs and egg yolks in another large bowl. Then slowly add the cranberry mixture a little at a time to the eggs while whisking until it's all incorporated. You've got this!
Step 5: Here comes the best part-when you add the sugar and butter to make everything come together. Pour the cranberry and egg mixture back into the saucepan you used for the cranberries. Add sugar and salt and cook on medium, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens slightly. You'll know it's done when it can coat the back of a spoon.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Your cranberry curd is ready!
Step 6: Before you give into the urge to eat the entire batch of curd one spoonful at a time (it's really that good!), pour your cranberry curd into the cooled tart crust. Spread the curd into as even a layer as you can, then bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. You want the outside edges to be set and the middle to be just slightly jiggly in the center.
Let the tart cool on a cooling rack for an hour, then another two hours in the fridge before serving. I love serving this with sugared cranberries and candied citrus peels for garnish!
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🙋🏻♀️ Cranberry Curd Tart FAQs
All the eggs and butter in the filling point to yes! So shift some things around in your packed fridge to make room for the tart pan.
From my experience, you might be hard-pressed to pour the curd into the tart shell and not just eat it all with a spoon! But you can also make some extra to swirl into homemade yogurt, slather it on a soft dinner roll or drop biscuit, or spread it on almond pancakes!
👩🏻🍳 My Expert Tips & Tricks
- Zest your orange: To zest an orange, you can use a zester or the finest side of your box grater. Make sure your orange is washed well before you grate it. Lightly scrape the outside of your orange, stopping when you reach white.
- Break it up: The easiest way to separate the yolk from the egg is to crack it in your hands and let the egg whites drip out through your fingers into a bowl below. This may seem a little messy, but it's the simplest way to separate out the yolk.
- Hold your temper: Slowly adding a hot liquid to an egg mixture is known as tempering. This allows the eggs to rise in temperature gradually. Tempering your eggs is important because it prevents them from cooking. You don't want scrambled eggs in your cranberry curd tart!
- Keep it chill: Do not skip freezing the crust! Chilling your crust before you add your filling allows it to relax and spread out a little. I tried skipping this step once, and the crust shrank when it baked...so don't make the same mistake!
- Make it pretty: If you're looking to add a sprinkle of flavor and color to this cranberry curd tart recipe, you can't go wrong with candied orange peels. Sugared cranberries are another excellent topping for a little more sweetness.
🥧 More Great Pie Recipes:
If you tried this cranberry curd tart or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Cranberry Curd Tart
Ingredients
For the almond crust:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter softened, plus more as necessary
- 2 cups finely ground blanched almond flour (220 grams)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Cold water
For the cranberry curd:
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries (about 3 cups)
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- ⅔ cup 100% cranberry juice
- 4 large eggs
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter softened (1 stick)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For assembly
- Sugared cranberries and candied citrus peel for garnish
Instructions
To make the crust:
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, in a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in a food processor, cream together the ½ cup granulated sugar and 6 tablespoons butter until pale and thick.
- Add 2 cups finely ground blanched almond flour, ½ teaspoon almond extract, and ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt.
- Mix until the dough comes together. If the mixture seems too crumbly to work with, add in Cold water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms into a rough ball when squeezed.
- Press the dough evenly into a 10-inch tart pan. You should use about half the dough for the sides, and half for the bottom of the pan. Prick bottom of the crust with a fork and freeze for 30 minutes.
- When chilling time is almost up, heat the oven to 350℉. Bake the chilled tart shell until lightly brown, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.
To make the curd
- Place 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries, 1 tablespoon orange zest, and ⅔ cup 100% cranberry juice in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until all the cranberries have burst open, about 5 minutes. Blend the mixture either using an immersion blender or by pureeing it in a blender.
- Fit a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Pour the blended cranberry mixture through the strainer, using a spatula to press the mixture through. Discard the pulp left in the strainer. You should have about 1 ⅓ cups of cranberry puree.
- In a large glass measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the 4 large eggs and 4 large egg yolks. Then temper the eggs by adding a few tablespoons of the warm cranberry puree to the eggs and whisking. Continue adding the cranberry puree a small amount at a time-increasing the amount added each time-until all the cranberry puree has been incorporated into the eggs.
- Wipe out the saucepan used for the cranberries, and then pour the cranberry and egg mixture back into the saucepan. Add in the 1 cup granulated sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over medium heat and stir the curd constantly, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottoms of the pan. Cook until the mixture comes to a mixture and thickens slightly, about 5-7 minutes. It should coat the back of a spoon, and it'll read around 150ºF on a thermometer.
- Remove the pan from heat, and add in all the 8 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, stirring well until the butter is completely melted.
To assemble the tart
- Pour the cranberry curd into the pre-baked tart crust and spread in an even layer. Bake in the preheated oven until the curd is set, but is still slightly jiggly in the center-about 12-15 minutes.
- Let the tart cool on a wire rack for one hour, and then transfer to the fridge until chilled through-at least 2 hours-before serving. Garnish with Sugared cranberries and candied citrus peel.
Notes
- Wash your orange well before zesting with a zester or the finest side of your box grater. Stop before you get to the bitter white pith.
- Freezing the crust before you bake it will help it stay the right size and shape, filling the whole pan. Skip it, and your crust will shrink!
- Make sure you add the warm cranberry puree to the eggs a little at a time to keep the curd silky-smooth. Adding it too fast will give you little pieces of scrambled eggs in your curd...not good eats!
- To make sugared cranberries, soak cranberries in a 1:1 simple syrup. Drain and allow to partially dry on a wire rack. When the cranberries are tacky, roll in granulated sugar to coat.
Jaws will drop when you put this ruby-red tart out on the dessert table this holiday season. Plus, it adds a delicious tart flavor to the dessert spread!