Cranberry Curd Tart

I was inspired to make this tart from the New York Times recipe. The picture with the New York Times recipe shows a tart with a truly gorgeous color, but every comment on the recipe warned that the actual tart couldn't match that, so I wasn't surprised when mine turned out a less vibrant pink. The recipe also called for cooking down whole berries and milling them. Although I recognize this approach as more economical in terms of money, I sided with the many commentators who did not like its time economy and wanted to use juice instead. One helpful commentator linked to this recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/fall-recipe-cranberry-squares-133199, and another commentator said they used the crust from Melissa Clark's ricotta tart. So I went from there.

Almond-Orange-Poppy crust 

1 ½ c AP flour

½ c ground almonds

1/3 c confectioners sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange

Pinch salt

½ c (1 stick) butter, cold and cubed

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 T+  poppy seeds

Combine almonds, flour, sugar, zest, and salt. Pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse till coarse meal. Add egg and pulse just until a crumbly dough comes together. Add poppy seeds, pulse. Mine was really crumbly at this point. Press into disk, wrap in plastic wrap, chill for at least 1 hr or overnight. Press into 9 inch tart pan, chill 30 hours. Set oven to 325. Line with foil, add pie weights. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, weights. Bake 15 minutes more.

Cranberry Curd

¾ c cranberry juice

 ¼ c lemon juice + 2 T lemon juice

3/4 c sugar

4 large eggs

4 large egg yolks

¼ t salt

½ c (4 oz) butter, softened and cut into T pieces

zest from 1 orange

To room temp juices, add sugar, eggs and yolks, lemon juice, and salt (NOT the butter). Stir thoroughly until the mixture is even. Set over medium heat. Stir the curd continuously, scraping bottom and corners. Cook till the curd starts to thicken, coats the back of a spoon, and registers about 150 (doesn’t have to be exact). 10-12 minutes.

Remove from heat and add butter all at once. Stir until butter has completely melted, then pour curd through strainer and into clean bowl. (This was the first time that I ever thought something like this NEEDED to be strained-- there were bits of egg white in it. I might modify the method next time). Pour warm curd onto crust. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (LONGER if using juice), until curd has set but still jiggles slightly in the center. Cool completely and refrigerate before cutting. Keep refrigerated. (Or NYTimes says RT for 2 days ok).

NOTE: A few days ago, David Tanis commented on his own recipe-- too late for my purposes. But with his information, I will include the NYTimes recipe as well:

12 oz berries, 1 c sugar, 1/2 c OJ, zest from 1 orange, 4 oz softened butter, 2 eggs, 2 egg yolks. 

Put berries, sugar, OJ, and peel in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until cranberries have popped and softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to food mill or mesh sieve, press cooking liquid into a bowl. This should equal scant 1 1/2 c. Whisk in butter. Beat eggs and yolks lightly. Temper them with berry mix, then combine both and whisk together. Return to pot and cook over low heat until nearly bubbling and thickened, about 10 minutes. Cool to RT, put in shell, bake at 350 for 10 minutes to set curd. "For the best color, make sure the curd is not overcooked (ie grainy) and be sure to cool it (thickens as it cools) before pouring into tart shell." So yes, maybe this would help-- maybe I'll have to make it again.

1. 
   

•