A Cranberry Curd Tart that is out of this world! This is truly the best cranberry curd tart out there. The combination of a toasty, full-flavored crust and a luscious, vibrant, sweet-tart cranberry curd creates a certain kind of harmony that truly makes taste buds sing.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
The balance of flavors in this tart is out of this world. A toasty, herby crust holds a creamy sweet-tart filling that is just sweet enough. This dessert hits every note.
Aside from the balance of flavors, this cranberry tart is not overly complicated—my kind of dessert! It’s made with a simple press-in crust which means most of the work comes in the form of the cranberry curd.
Curds certainly aren’t the simplest thing to make but they also aren’t the most difficult. Which means out of all the desserts you could bring to the holidays, this is likely one of the easier.
Olive Oil Crust
For our cranberry curd tart recipe, we turned to my go-to whole-wheat olive oil crust. Here’s why:
- It’s incredibly easy to make.
- It has an wonderfully toasty, nutty flavor (while being nut-free).
- It’s healthyish and flavorful!
Thanks to being made with olive oil instead of butter, this tart crust recipe can be mixed together in a bowl with a spoon (no food processor or pastry cutter necessary).
It’s pressed into the tart pan—not rolled out and gently nudged into the pan. Plus, even though it gets prebaked, it doesn’t need to be blind-baked (which is usually the most annoying step of pre-baking a crust).
If you want something a bit more classic, try our classic tart crust recipe. You’ll need to blind bake it with foil and baking weights (also called pie weights—you can also use dried beans).
Honey Cranberry Curd
It’s no secret that we prefer to bake and cook with natural sweeteners so it won’t come as a surprise that our cranberry curd (and lemon curd) are sweetened with honey instead of white sugar. First of all, it’s more natural. But more importantly, it’s more flavorful.
The cranberry curd used in this tart (a slight riff on our original cranberry curd) marries together the delicious flavors of fresh cranberries, orange zest and honey. It’s so delicious you can eat it with a spoon.
Decorating
We love to top this tart with candied cranberries, candied oranges, fresh rosemary and a sprinkling of pearl sugar. You could also top the tart with a mix of segmented citrus fruit including clementines, oranges, and grapefruit. Candied slivered almonds or pistachios would also be delicious on top!
Thanksgiving Dessert Options
- Our Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are an absolute crowd pleaser! Soft, moist and filled with a bourbon cream cheese filling.
- This Sweet Potato Cake is an absolute delicious addition to the Thanksgiving table, whether you’re serving this for dessert.
- For something fruit-forward, try our mouth watering Apple Crisp!
- Thinking something citrusy? This Orange Olive Oil Cake (or Lemon Olive Oil Cake) is absolute showstopper.
FAQs
When it comes to this cranberry curd, it’s important to use large eggs. If you are using farm-fresh eggs and aren’t sure of size, go by weight.
One large whole egg should weigh 50 grams (without the shell). One large egg yolk should weigh 18.5 grams. Adjust with additional eggs and yolks (or partial of each) as needed to reach the listed weight. If medium-sized eggs are used there will be less curd (which means less filling) and there is a greater risk that the curd won’t set correctly.
Unlike a pie plate, a tart pan has a removable bottom which makes for easy slicing and serving. They also have straight, short edges which are ideal for the cookie-like crust most tarts use.
Make sure you use a 9-inch tart pan (this one is my favorite) for this recipe.
You can make this up to 1 day ahead of time though the crust will not be quite as crunchy. If you do make it ahead, cover it loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring it to room temperature before serving.
If you want to get ahead, I actually recommend making the components ahead of time and baking it the day you plan to serve it. (Instead of making the entire tart ahead of time.) The curd can be made and refrigerated up to 4 days ahead of time and the crust can be made and baked up to 1 day ahead of time.
It can also be referred to as a fine mesh strainer. It’s a small hand-held strainer made of fine mesh. It’s perfect for straining sauces, gravies, puddings and of course fruit curds.
Yes! Thin the cranberry curd with a bit of orange juice to create a cranberry sauce. Drizzle the sauce over our Orange Olive Oil Cake, Mini Pavlovas, or even ice cream.
Watch How to Make It
Cranberry Curd Tart with Olive Oil Crust
Description
Ingredients
Olive Oil Crust
- 1 ¾ cups (215g) whole-wheat pastry flour
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar or coconut sugar*
- 2 teaspoons minced rosemary, optional
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Cranberry Curd
- 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh or frozen cranberries
- 3 large oranges
- 1 teaspoon pink peppercorns, optional
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed, chilled
- 2 large egg yolks (37g)
- 2 large eggs (100g)
- 1 tablespoon orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or brandy
Toppings
- Sugared cranberries
- Dried orange wheels
- Rosemary sprigs
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350ºF (176ºC) with rack set in middle position.
Olive Oil Crust
- Whisk together flour, sugar, rosemary, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, mix oil and 1 tablespoon water into flour until combined and mixture looks slightly crumbly. If it still very dry and crumbly, mix in ½ tablespoon water.
- Crumble three quarters of dough into bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Press dough into an even thickness lining bottom of pan. Crumble and scatter remaining dough around edge of pan; firmly press dough up and into edge into an even thickness.
- Bake crust, on a rimmed baking sheet, until deep golden brown and firm to touch, 30–35 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer sheet to a wire rack and let crust cool completely.
Cranberry Curd
- Zest one orange and juice all three oranges. Combine cranberries, ¾ cup orange juice, 1 teaspoon grated zest, and peppercorns in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries burst and mixture becomes thick and jammy, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer cranberry mixture to a food processor and purée.
- Strain cranberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve back into saucepan; press on solids using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to extract purée. Discard solids. Stir honey, butter and salt into saucepan with purée.
- Cook mixture over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture registers 130ºF (54ºC) on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk together eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl. Very gradually whisk cranberry mixture into egg mixture; transfer mixture back to saucepan over low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened, coats back of a spoon, and registers 170ºF (77ºC) on an instant-read thermometer, about 8 minutes.
- Off heat, stir in liqueur then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap on surface of curd and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 4 hours (or up to 4 days).
- Heat oven to 350ºF (176ºC) with rack set in middle position. Spread cooled curd into cooled crust and smooth. Bake tart until filling is set; 12–15 minutes.
- Transfer tart to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove tart from pan by placing on an inverted cup and pressing pan edges down. Set tart on a flat surface, then slide a thin metal spatula between tart and pan bottom; carefully slide tart onto a serving platter. Garnish with desired toppings and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More Tart Recipes to Try
Desserts
Blueberry–Lemon Curd Tart
Tarts and Pies
Lemon Rhubarb Curd Tart
Fruit Dessert
Classic Lemon Tart Recipe
What a stand out dessert!!!! The color is so brilliant. My friends literally gasped when I brought it to the table. Thank you for this amazing recipe.