Cranberry Curd Tart with Meringue
Sweet and tangy cranberry curd tart topped with toasted meringue topping
Equipment
- 1 10" Tart Pan
- Pie Weights optional
- 1 Kitchen Torch
- 1 Stand or Hand Mixer
Ingredients
For the Curd
- 12 Oz Fresh Cranberries
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 4 Oz Butter room temperature, cubed
- 2 Whole Eggs
- 2 Egg Yolks (you'll use the whites for the meringue!)
- 1 tsp Fresh Grated Ginger or Ginger Paste
- 1 Orange Zest and Juice
- 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
For the Meringue
- 2 Egg Whites
- ⅛ tsp Cream of Tartar
- 4 Tbsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Pie Shell Store Bought
Instructions
For the Cranberry Curd Tart
- Start by blind baking your crust in the tart pan. I fill my crust with a piece of parchment and weigh it down with beans or rice while it bakes for an even cook on the crust. this also helps the crust to not shrink down into the pan as it bakes. Bake the crust at 350° for 15 minutes or until it is a pale golden brown color.
- While the crust is baking, make the curd. In a small pot, combine cranberries, sugar, ginger, and orange zest and juice. Cook this on medium heat until the cranberries burst and become soft. You can use an immersion blender at this point if you'd like to extract more color from the cranberry skins but this step is optional.
- Strain the cranberry mixture through a layer of cheesecloth to get all of the solids strained out. This is best to do in 2 batches so you can squeeze the liquid through the cheesecloth.
- When your cranberry mixture is strained, mix in your eggs and egg yolks. If the mixture is still hot you will need to temper the eggs by adding a little bit of the cranberry mixture to the eggs at a time. Return the mixture to low heat stirring constantly until the mixture is warmed through. It just needs to be warm enough to melt the butter. Do not let it boil!
- Finish the sauce by adding in your butter and heavy cream, stirring until all the butter has melted and the mixture is nice and glossy.
- Remove your crust from the oven and pour in the cranberry mixture. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the curd is just set. remove and let cool.
For the Meringue
- In a mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until frothy.
- add in the cream of tartar and continue to whip the egg whites on medium high speed until soft peaks begin to form
- with the mixer running, add in your sugar on tablespoon at a time until it is fully incorporated.
- Continue beating until firm peaks have formed, add in the vanilla a mix thoroughly.
Assembling the Tart
- When you are ready to serve the tart, spoon the meringue into the center of the cooled tart and spread around to decorate. Use the back of your spoon to create peaks and swirls as desired.
- Using your kitchen torch, carefully toast the meringue all around.
- Serve immediately, do not top with meringue until you are ready to serve.