Nut Free Cranberry Curd Tart

This Nut Free Cranberry Curd Tart has a nut free sweet cookie crust and is filled with a smooth cranberry curd. The vibrant pinkish red color makes it the perfect addition to a Thanksgiving or holiday gathering, or even for Valentine's Day.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 50

Chill Time 16

Total Time 17 50

Servings slices

Calories 479kcal

Author Meghan

Equipment

1 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom

Ingredients

For the Tart Shell:

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour 6¼ ounces
⅔ cup powdered sugar 2⅔ ounces
¼ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter very cold and cut into ½-inch cubes

For the Cranberry Curd:

2 eggs
2 egg yolks
4 ounces butter
12 ounces cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup freshly squeeze orange juice juice of 1 orange
orange zest from 1 orange, no white pith

Instructions

Make the Tart Dough:

Whisk together the egg yolk, cream and vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
1 large egg yolk, 1 tablespoon heavy cream, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine the flour, sugar and salt.
1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour, ⅔ cup powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon table salt
Scatter the pieces of butter over the flour mixture, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses.
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
With the food processor running, add the egg mixture and process just until the dough comes together, ~25 seconds.
Remove the dough to a piece of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch disk, wrap up, and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 48 hours.

Bake the Tart Shell:

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. If it has been longer than 1 hour, let the dough stand at room temperature until it is malleable. Unwrap the disk and roll it out into a 13-inch round between 2 pieces of floured parchment paper. If the dough becomes soft and sticky, slip it into the refrigerator until for another 20 - 30 minutes before proceeding.
Loosely wrap the dough around a rolling pin and carefully unwrap it over a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Ease the dough into the pan edges and press it into the fluted sides.
Run the rolling pin over the top of the tart to remove the excess dough that hangs over the top edge. Set the pan on a plate and freeze for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat to 375°F. Alternatively, place the pan in a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag and freeze for up to 1 month.
Set the dough-lined tart pan on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and place a 12-inch square of aluminum foil over the surface of the dough, putting pie weights inside to keep the foil on the dough surface. Bake for around 30 minutes until golden brown, rotating half way through.
Remove from oven, carefully removing pie weights and foil. Continue baking until deep golden brown in color, about 5 - 8 more minutes.
Set the baking sheet with the tart shell on a wire rack to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. If making the shell the day before assembling the tart, cover the cooled shell loosely with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

Make the Cranberry Curd:

Put the eggs and egg yolks into a non-reactive bowl and beat lightly. Set aside.
2 eggs, 2 egg yolks
Cut butter into pieces and set aside to soften.
4 ounces butter
Place a fine-mesh strainer and whisk over a non-reactive bowl. Set aside.
Put the cranberries, sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a saucepan. Stir together over medium heat.
12 ounces cranberries, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup freshly squeeze orange juice, orange zest
Simmer until cranberries have popped and softened, about 10 minutes.
Purée the cooked cranberry mixture in a food processor or blender.
Whisk the puree through a fine-mesh sieve into a non-reactive bowl.
Slowly whisk a cup of the warm cranberry puree into the eggs to temper, then whisk in the remaining puree.
Clean out the saucepan then return the cranberry liquid to the pan. Cook over low heat until nearly bubbling and thickened, about 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat. Whisk the softened butter into the warm liquid.
Transfer the curd to a non-reactive bowl. Cool to room temperature.
Press plastic wrap against the curd to cover. Refrigerate overnight. The curd may be cooked up to 1 day ahead.

Assemble the Tart:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Transfer the chilled cranberry curd to the cooled, prebaked tart shell. Smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake for 10 minutes to set the curd.
Cool on a rack until tart reaches room temperature. Loosely cover the tart with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Serve chilled or at room temperature, depending on your preference.

Notes

Nutritional information is only an estimate and will vary based on your ingredients and substitutions.

Source: curd adapted from the New York Times, crust adapted from America's Test Kitchen Complete TV Show Cookbook

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