Cranberry Tart Pie
Cranberry Curd Tart will make a striking addition to your holiday dessert table. Made with fresh cranberries, orange juice and a graham cracker crust. Can easily be made gluten free with an almond or hazelnut crust.
This Cranberry Curd Pie will WOW your holiday guests
“I made this today with a gluten free almond crust. Beautiful and delicious. A great way to use cranberries.”
—Carolyn
Every year, I usually panic buy 2 or 3 bags of fresh cranberries, worried there’s going to be a shortage.
Once I make cranberry sauce and then cranberry sauce muffins, and I still have some left, that’s when this cranberry curd tart happens.
It starts with a classic graham cracker crust with some cinnamon added for extra flavor. There are also gluten free crust options, which I discuss below.
Then, fresh cranberries, orange juice, orange peel and sugar come together on the stove in very much the same way you’d make a traditional cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving (except you’ll be blending it smooth and adding eggs to make it custardy).
The end result is a dessert with a striking appearance and a tart-but-perfectly sweet taste.
Why you will love this Cranberry Tart Recipe
- An alternative to pumpkin pie and apple pie, if you’re looking for something different, or something to add to a dessert spread but the other pies are already spoken for.
- The vibrant, ruby-red color will add a festive touch to your holiday table.
- Simple ingredients that are easy to find, with an easy way to make it gluten-free, too!
Cranberry Tart ingredients
- graham crackers – these form the crust for this cranberry tart recipe.
- sugar – regular old white granulated sugar is what we’re using.
- cinnamon – this adds a warming fall flavor to the crust.
- salt – it’s important to add a pinch of salt to desserts to balance the sweetness.
- butter – we’ll need almost 2 whole sticks of butter. Almost a full stick for the crust, and one full stick for the curd.
- orange juice and zest – the flavor pairs so well with cranberries.
- fresh cranberries – or frozen cranberries work, too! Just thaw them and pat them dry.
- eggs – you can’t make a curd without eggs! We’ll be using 2 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks for a rich, luscious curd.
- vanilla – high quality vanilla extract adds big flavor to the curd.
- whipped cream – for serving.
Cranberry Tart Recipe substitutions – make it gluten free.
A gluten free cranberry tart is super easy – it’s just a matter of changing up the crust. You’ll probably want to turn to either hazelnut flour or almond flour.
Bob’s Red Mill has a great recipe for gluten free hazenut pie crust. I’d obviously make the sweet version of the crust for this tart, and I’d add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to the mixture.
Another source that I trust is King Arthur Flour. They have a recipe for almond flour lemon bars. You can grab the crust recipe from that and again, add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
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How to make Cranberry Curd Tart
- PREP THE CRUST. Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, salt and some melted butter.
- BLIND BAKE. Press the crust mixture into a tart pan and bake until golden brown.
- COOK CRANBERRIES. Cook the orange peel, cranberries, sugar and orange juice in a saucepot until they start to burst. Remove the orange peel and then use an immersion blender to puree the cranberries.
- TEMPER EGGS. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks in a bowl, and then slowly whisk in 1 ladleful of the warm cranberry mixture. Then, add the egg mixture to the pot with the cranberry mixture.
- THICKEN CURD AND STRAIN. Add the butter and vanilla to the cranberry mixture and cook until the mixture is thickened, stirring it constantly as it cooks. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.
- BAKE. Pour the custard into the prepared crust and bake 10 minutes or until the curd is set.
- COOL. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate at least 4 hours.
- SERVE. Slice and serve topped with whipped cream and orange peel, if desired.
Home Chef Tips for making Cranberry Curd Pie
- It’s important to temper the eggs as outlined in the recipe, because if you were to just add all of your cold eggs to the hot cranberries at one time, the eggs would cook, and you’d have scrambled eggs mixed with cranberry sauce. Gross.
- Straining the curd through a fine mesh strainer is also essential – don’t skip it. You need to strain out the cranberry seeds and skin.
Cranberry Tart Pie Storage
Store any leftovers of this cranberry curd tart in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
Cranberry Curd Tart Recipe FAQs
Curd tarts have origins in British and French cuisines, with variations found across the world.
A curd tart is set when the center jiggles slightly but doesn’t slosh around when gently shaken.
Curd tart is typically made from a combination of butter, sugar, eggs and fruit juice.
Yes, fresh cranberries are naturally tart.
Cranberries contain high levels of natural acids, contributing to their tartness.
To balance the tartness of cranberries, it is essential that you balance their flavor with sugar (like we’ve done in this cranberry curd tart) or a sweetener like honey, agave nectar or maple syrup.
Cranberry Curd Pie
Ingredients
For The Graham Cracker Crust:
- 10 graham cracker sheets crushed into crumbs in food processor (1-1/2 cups crumbs)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 7 tablespoons butter melted
For the Cranberry Curd:
- Peel of one orange
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- 2 whole large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces 8 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Serving:
- Whipped Cream store bought or homemade
- Thinly sliced orange peel optional
Instructions
Make the Graham Cracker Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- Add melted butter and stir with fork until combined. Press crust into bottom and up sides of 9-inch tart pan.
- Place tart pan on rimmed baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely before filling. Leave oven on.
Make the Cranberry Curd:
- Stir together orange peel, cranberries, sugar and orange juice in a medium saucepot. Cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until cranberries are very soft and most have burst, stirring frequently.
- Remove and discard orange peel. Using an immersion blender, puree cranberry mixture until smooth (or transfer to a blender and blend until smooth).
- Place eggs and egg yolks in medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Slowly add 1 ladleful of warm cranberry mixture to eggs while whisking constantly. Add entire egg mixture to pot with cranberry mixture.
- Add butter and vanilla to pot and cook over medium-low heat 8 to 10 minutes or until mixture is thickened, stirring constantly. Immediately strain mixture through fine mesh strainer into large liquid measuring cup. Discard solids left in strainer.
- Pour custard into prepared tart crust and smooth top with spatula. Transfer to oven (tart pan should still be on rimmed baking pan) and bake 10 minutes or until curd is set (it should be slightly jiggly but not sloshy when gently shaken).
- Transfer tart to cooling rack and let cool at room temperature 1 hour. Then, cover tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.
- To serve, cut tart into 8 pieces and serve topped with whipped cream and garnished with orange peel, if desired.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from New York Times and Blossom to Stem.
Can I make just the curd? Would I still bake it?
Sure, you can make just the curd! You don’t need to bake it at all. After step 7, chill the curd, and it’s ready to eat!
Can you freeze this tart? Wanting to make ahead for a gathering. Thank you
Hi Olivia! I haven’t tried freezing it, but my intuition is that it would work. Lemon curd usually freezes well, so cranberry curd should be the same. Have a great thanksgiving!