Cranberry Curd Tart With Toasted Meringue

Quick Recipe Version (TL;DR)

A festive Cranberry Curd Tart with Toasted Meringue, featuring a crisp, buttery pastry shell, jewel-red cranberry-orange curd, and billowy Italian meringue with golden toasted peaks.

• Yield: 1 9-inch tart, 10 servings
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Cooling and Chilling Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
• Total Time: 7 hours 15 minutes, including cooling and chilling; some tasks can overlap

Quick Ingredients

• Pastry: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 g), 1/3 cup powdered sugar (40 g), 1/4 teaspoon fine salt, 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (113 g), 1 large egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon ice water (15 ml).
• Cranberry curd: 12 ounces fresh cranberries (340 g), 1/4 cup orange juice (60 ml), 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g), 2 large eggs, 2 large egg yolks, 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest, and 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (85 g).
• Italian meringue: 3 large egg whites (90 g), 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g), 1/4 cup water (60 ml), 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• Optional finish: 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest.

Do This

• 1. Make the pastry, shape into a disk, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out, line a 9-inch tart pan, and freeze for 30 minutes.
• 2. Bake the weighted shell at 375°F (190°C) for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and bake for 12 minutes more, until golden. Cool for 30 minutes.
• 3. Simmer cranberries with orange juice for 10 minutes, then press through a fine-mesh sieve.
• 4. Whisk sugar, eggs, yolks, and zest together. Gradually whisk in the hot cranberry purée, then cook gently to 170–175°F (77–79°C), about 8 minutes. Strain, whisk in butter, and cool for 10 minutes.
• 5. Fill the cooled shell with curd and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until cold and set.
• 6. Cook the meringue sugar and water to 240°F (116°C). Slowly pour into softly whipped egg whites and cream of tartar while beating; add vanilla and whip until glossy and barely warm.
• 7. Spoon meringue over the chilled tart, leaving some cranberry curd visible. Toast with a kitchen torch for about 1 minute and serve chilled.

---

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• A beautiful Christmas centerpiece: Ruby-red cranberry curd and snowy, toasted meringue make a striking holiday dessert.
• Sweetness with balance: Bright cranberry and fragrant orange keep the buttery pastry and sweet meringue from feeling too rich.
• Wonderful contrasting textures: Crisp pastry, silky curd, and soft, marshmallow-like meringue make every bite special.
• Easy to prepare in stages: Bake and fill the tart ahead, then add the meringue on the day you serve it.

Grocery List

• Produce: 12 ounces fresh cranberries (340 g) and 1 large orange for 1/4 cup juice and 2 teaspoons zest, plus a little extra zest if desired.
• Dairy: 14 tablespoons unsalted butter (198 g) and 5 large eggs total. You will use 2 eggs whole, plus 3 yolks and 3 whites. Choose pasteurized shell eggs for the meringue, or purchase 90 g pasteurized egg whites labeled suitable for whipping.
• Pantry: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 g), 1/3 cup powdered sugar (40 g), 2 cups granulated sugar (400 g), fine salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract.

Full Ingredients

Helpful equipment: A 9-inch (23 cm) metal tart pan with a removable bottom and sides at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) high, rolling pin, baking sheet, parchment paper, pie weights or dried beans, fine-mesh sieve, heatproof spatula, digital thermometer, stand mixer, and kitchen torch.

Measuring note: Use the gram measurements for the most consistent pastry. If measuring flour by volume, spoon it into the cup and level it without packing.

Sweet Pastry Crust

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 g), plus 1 tablespoon for rolling
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar (40 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 g), cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large egg yolk, about 18 g; reserve the white for the meringue
• 1 tablespoon ice water (15 ml)

Cranberry-Orange Curd

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries (340 g), rinsed and picked over
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (60 ml)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
• 2 large eggs, about 100 g without shells
• 2 large egg yolks, about 36 g; reserve the whites for the meringue
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest, avoiding the white pith
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (85 g), cut into small cubes and brought to room temperature

Italian Meringue

• 3 large egg whites (90 g), at room temperature; pasteurized whites suitable for whipping are recommended
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
• 1/4 cup water (60 ml)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (2.5 ml)

Optional Finish

• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest, sprinkled on after toasting

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Make and chill the pastry

Whisk the flour, powdered sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few small, pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Alternatively, pulse the ingredients in a food processor.

Add the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon ice water. Stir with a fork, then gently squeeze the mixture together until it forms a cohesive dough. It may look crumbly at first; press it together rather than kneading it. Flatten into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Line the tart pan and freeze the shell

Lightly dust your work surface with the reserved rolling flour. Roll the chilled dough into a roughly 12-inch (30 cm) circle, about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. If it cracks around the edges, press the cracks back together; this tender pastry is easy to patch.

Ease the dough into the 9-inch tart pan without stretching it, pressing it gently into the corners and fluted sides. Trim the excess dough level with the rim and patch any thin spots with the trimmings. Prick the base lightly with a fork, then freeze for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375°F (190°C), conventional, with a rack in the lower-middle position.

Step 3: Fully bake the pastry shell

Set the frozen tart shell on a baking sheet. Line it with crumpled parchment paper, allowing the paper to extend above the rim, and fill with pie weights or dried beans all the way up the sides. Bake for 20 minutes.

Carefully lift out the parchment and weights. Bake for another 12 minutes, or until the base looks dry and the pastry is an even golden brown. If the base still looks pale or damp, give it another 2–3 minutes. The shell will not return to the oven after filling, so it should be completely baked. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 30 minutes.

Step 4: Make the cranberry-orange curd

Combine the cranberries and orange juice in a medium, nonreactive saucepan, such as stainless steel. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, then uncover and cook for another 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the berries have burst and softened. Mash them with a spoon or potato masher.

Press the hot cranberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl. Push firmly with the back of a spoon to extract as much smooth pulp as possible, and scrape the purée clinging to the underside of the sieve into the bowl. Discard the skins.

In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, and orange zest until combined. Gradually whisk the hot cranberry purée into the egg mixture in three additions. Return everything to the cleaned saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom and corners with a heatproof spatula, for about 8 minutes, until the curd reaches 170–175°F (77–79°C). It should thickly coat the spatula, and a line drawn through it should remain visible. Do not let it boil; the temperature and thickened texture matter more than the clock.

Immediately strain the curd through a clean fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Whisk in the softened butter a few cubes at a time until completely melted and glossy. Let cool for 10 minutes, stirring twice.

Step 5: Fill and chill the tart

Spoon the warm, not piping-hot, curd into the cooled pastry shell and smooth the surface. Keep the tart in its pan and refrigerate on a level shelf for at least 4 hours, until thoroughly cold and set. Once the curd is cold, cover loosely without letting the covering touch the surface.

The curd should hold its shape when sliced but remain silky rather than rubbery. For the neatest slices, do not shorten this chilling time.

Step 6: Cook the syrup and start the meringue

When the tart is fully chilled and you are ready to finish it, place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the clean, grease-free bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Make sure there is no yolk in the whites.

Combine the granulated sugar and water in a small, heavy saucepan. Stir gently over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and bring to a boil. If sugar crystals collect on the sides, brush them down with a pastry brush dipped in water.

When the syrup reaches 230°F (110°C), begin whipping the egg whites on medium speed until they form soft peaks. Continue cooking the syrup to 240°F (116°C); the syrup generally takes about 8–10 minutes in total. If the whites reach soft peaks first, reduce the mixer to low while the syrup finishes.

Step 7: Whip the Italian meringue until glossy

Immediately remove the syrup from the heat. With the mixer running on medium-low, pour the hot syrup into the whites in a slow, steady stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Avoid pouring directly onto the whisk, which can fling hot syrup, or against the bowl, where it can harden.

Once all the syrup is added, increase to medium-high speed and beat for 6–8 minutes, until the meringue is thick, glossy, and holds firm peaks, and the bowl feels only barely warm. Beat in the vanilla during the final 30 seconds. The meringue should be cool enough that it will not soften the chilled curd.

Step 8: Decorate, toast, and serve

Carefully remove the cold tart from the outer ring of the pan, leaving it on its metal base if that makes transferring easier. Set it on a heatproof serving plate. Spoon the meringue over about two-thirds of the tart, leaving a crescent of cranberry curd visible. Use the back of a spoon to create generous swoops and peaks.

Hold a kitchen torch about 3–4 inches (8–10 cm) from the meringue and move it continuously in short, sweeping passes. Toast for approximately 1 minute, until the ridges are golden brown with a few deeper caramel-colored tips. Keep the flame moving so the meringue does not burn.

Finish with the optional orange zest. Serve chilled, cutting with a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between slices. Refrigerate the tart if you are not serving it immediately.

Pro Tips

• Keep the crust cold: Chilling the dough and freezing the lined shell help prevent shrinking. Fill the parchment with weights right up the sides for the best support.
• Use a thermometer for both components: The curd needs to thicken without boiling, while Italian meringue depends on syrup reaching 240°F (116°C). Do not judge the syrup by cooking time alone.
• Strain for a silky finish: The first straining removes cranberry skins; the second catches zest and any tiny bits of cooked egg.
• Choose pasteurized whites when appropriate: Hot syrup does not reliably pasteurize all the egg whites. Use pasteurized whites labeled suitable for whipping, especially when serving pregnant people, young children, older adults, or anyone with a weakened immune system.
• Torch rather than broil: A kitchen torch browns the peaks without warming the curd or softening the pastry. Add the meringue on serving day for its best texture.

Variations

• Gently spiced Christmas tart: Add one 3-inch cinnamon stick and 2 whole cloves to the cranberries and orange juice. Remove them before pressing the fruit through the sieve.
• Cranberry-lemon tart: Replace the 2 teaspoons orange zest with 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest. Keep the orange juice as written so the filling does not become overly sharp.
• Whipped cream finish: Instead of meringue, whip 1 cup cold heavy cream (240 ml) with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (15 g) and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla to soft peaks. Spoon over the chilled tart just before serving; do not torch.

Storage & Make-Ahead

Pastry dough: Refrigerate the wrapped dough for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the refrigerator. Let very firm refrigerated dough stand at room temperature for 10–15 minutes before rolling.

Baked shell: Bake up to 2 days ahead. Cool completely, then store airtight at cool room temperature. Fill no more than 24 hours before serving for the crispest result.

Filled tart: The tart without meringue can be refrigerated, loosely covered, for up to 24 hours before finishing. Make and add the meringue on serving day.

Leftovers: Refrigerate loosely covered and eat within 3 days of making the curd. The meringue may release a little moisture and the crust will gradually soften. Do not freeze the assembled tart. Keep refrigerated except while serving, and do not leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Nutrition (per serving)

Estimated for 1 of 10 slices, including the full meringue topping and excluding optional garnish.

Calories: 433 kcal | Carbs: 63g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 46g | Sodium: 100mg | Cholesterol: 135mg