Spiced Cranberry Curd Tart Recipe

4.89 from 9 votes

This spiced Cranberry Curd Tart with a graham cracker crust and smooth tart and sweet cranberry curd filling will be the festive showstopper your dessert table needs.

Recipe from 'Pie All The Time' Cookbook by Taylor Harbin of All-Purpose Flour Child

Prep Time25

Cook Time35

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 255kcal

Author: Emma Duckworth

Equipment

10-inch tart pan with removable base
Heavy based saucepan
Fine-mesh sieve

Ingredients

Crust

85 g unsalted butter
30 ml honey
30 ml molasses
230 g graham crackers (or digestive biscuits)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon fine salt

Curd filling

340 g fresh cranberries, washed or thawed frozen (3 cups worth)
120 ml water
60 ml orange juice, freshly squeezed
2 cinnamon sticks
3 cardamom pods
2.5 cm chunk fresh ginger peeled and cut into thin coins
150 g granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
55 g unsalted butter room temperature
1 orange zest finely grated

To decorate (optional)

whipped cream, red currents, sugared rosemary

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

For the crust

Melt the butter and add sweetness. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the honey and molasses. Set aside the pan.
Prepare the tart base. In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a large bowl, and add the butter, and honey-molasses mixture, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Mix until well combined and clumpy.
Pack crumbs into the tart pan & bake. Transfer the mixture to a 25cm (10-inch) fluted tart pan with a removable base. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides evenly, using a glass or measuring cup. Ensure the crust is packed in firmly into the whole tart.
Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes or until it's golden brown and set. If the bottom puffs up during baking, then gently press it back down again once it's finished baking.

For the curd filling

Cook cranberries. Meanwhile, make the filling. In a saucepan set over medium heat, bring the cranberries, water, orange juice, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and cook the mixture until the cranberries pop and have broken down, about 12-15 minutes.
Whisk eggs and sugar. Whilst the cranberries mixture cooks, in a separate bowl, combine the yolks and sugar and whisk until they are pale in colour, about 2 minutes, then set aside.
Extract the cranberry sauce. Pour the cranberry mixture into a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing the pulp gently with a spoon to get as much puree out as possible. Be sure to scrape the underside of the strainer as well to get all the puree. Discard the pulp and spices and pour the strained puree back into the saucepan.
Add back into the saucepan and make the curd. Add the egg mixture and cook over medium heat, constantly whisking, until the consistency thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
Finish curd, add to a tart base and bake! Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the butter and orange zest. Pour the filling into the crust and bake the tart until the curd is firm, with just a slight wobble in the centre, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours until the filling is completely set.
Decorate! Decorate the tart as you would like. A liberal dusting of powdered icing sugar would be beautiful in its simplicity. Or decorate with seasonal fruit such as red currants, such as I did.

Notes

Step-by-Step Photos: My blog post includes helpful step-by-step photos to help guide you through making this recipe.

To Store: Wrap cranberry tart in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Note that the crust will start to soften the longer it is kept. Also, if you've decorated the top of the cranberry tart with whipped cream, then the cranberry colouring will start to seep into the cream.

To Freeze: The crust can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. The cranberry curd can be made, stored in a freezer-safe container and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and continue on with the recipe.

Make-ahead: The biscuit crust base can be made ahead and wrapped in plastic wrap and stored overnight in the refrigerator. Cranberry curd can also be made ahead and stored overnight in the refrigerator. Bring both components to room temperature before filling the base with the curd and baking.

TIP 1: Biscuit crumbs. If you don't have a food processor then add the crackers/biscuits to a sandwich bag, seal shut and crush with a rolling pin.

TIP 2: Pack into the tin. Use a ⅓ measuring cup to compact the crumbs for a neat finish.

TIP 3: Heat the curd gently. When the cranberry sauce and whisked eggs are added back into the pan to heat through, do it gently on low heat. The last thing you want is scrambled eggs! Pass curd through a sieve if you do see any lumps.

Note: In the original recipe, Taylor decorates the tart with a Honey Whipped Cream, 5g (1 tbsp) crystallised chopped ginger and a few fresh cranberries. To make the honey whipped cream, in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip 235ml (8oz) double cream (heavy whipping cream) on high until the whisk starts to leave marks on the surface, but it's not quite at soft peaks yet. Add 1 tablespoon honey, ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste and a pinch of salt and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Makes about 470ml (2 cups).

Nutrition