Cranberry-Orange Layer Tart
I’m going to be honest: this tart is a time-consuming process. It involves a lot of patiently chilling things in the refrigerator and twiddling your thumbs in the meantime. Truly, though, if you need a dessert that will impress people with minimal actual technical skill involved, this is the answer. Seriously, bring this to whatever holiday party or work event, and people will NEVER believe you when you say it’s not from a bakery, you made it yourself. It looks GORGEOUS whole, with dark, shiny cranberry jelly garnished with candied oranges, but when you cut into it, each slice has clean, distinct layers of crust, orange curd, and cranberry jelly. The key is making sure that you completely cool each component before combining them in the tart. The tart crust is the fiddliest part, so if you don’t want the trouble, your local grocery store probably has pre-made crusts in the frozen section. But also, even if your crust is a little lumpy and bumpy, you’re going to fill it with orange curd and cranberry jelly, so no one will be at all the wiser. I always make my lemon/orange curd using this recipe which is eggless because ONE: who is wasting half a dozen egg yolks on a tart in this economy and TWO: it’s actually much simpler to make since you don’t have to worry about accidentally scrambling your eggs, lol. The cranberry jelly is sharp and tart and provides the perfect counterbalance to creamy orange curd and buttery crust. This makes one 9” tart.
Ingredients
Tart Crust:
1 1/4 cups (150g) flour
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
Orange curd:
175 ml fresh squeezed orange juice
25 ml lemon juice
60g granulated sugar
50g unsalted butter
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cool water
Cranberry jelly:
12oz fresh cranberries
2 oranges (peels and juice)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
Optional
Candied orange slices, for garnish
Powdered sugar, for garnish
Fresh whipped cream, for serving
Directions
First, prepare your tart crust. In a medium bowl, combine your flour, sugar, and salt.
Work in the cold butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter, breaking it down into smaller pieces until the mixture has an almost breadcrumb-like appearance.
In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla, then mix them into the dough. Knead the dough gently for a minute or two until it comes together. Plastic-wrap it and chill for an hour or two until it feels firm.
When your dough is ready to use, press it gently into a 9 inch tart pan (ideally with a removable bottom) and do your best to get it smooth. You can press down on the bottom and against the sides with a flat bottomed glass to get rid of bumps. Trim the excess dough from above the walls of the pan and use those to patch any holes.
Poke the tart dough all over with a fork and chill it for another half hour.
When your tart crust is done chilling, preheat your oven to 375F. Place a sheet of parchment paper full of pie weights or dried beans/rice on top of the tart crust to prevent it from puffing up in the oven.
Bake for about 15 minutes and then remove the sheet and pie weights (the bottom of the crust should look mostly dry at this point) and bake for another 10 minutes or so uncovered.
Set your tart crust aside to cool.
While the crust cools, make the orange curd. In a small saucepan, combine your orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, and butter over medium heat until just boiling.
In a small dish, combine your cornstarch and water to make a thickening agent, and quickly stir it into the bubbling orange juice mixture. Stir constantly while it thickens, about a minute.
Remove the pot from the heat, pour the curd into a bowl and let it cool.
Once the curd and the tart crust have cooled, carefully pour the curd into the tart crust, spreading it evenly, and smooth with a spoon or spatula. Return it to the refrigerator and chill until the curd is completely set, at least 1-2 hours.
While the curd sets, make the cranberry jelly. In a large saucepan, combine your cranberries, sugar, water, orange juice, and strips of orange peel/zest (just the orange part, none of the bitter white pith).
Mix together over medium heat as the sugar dissolves and the cranberries begin to pop. Simmer until all the cranberries have popped and the mixture has reduced and thickened, 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the orange peels and use an immersion blender to blend the mixture to a more uniform consistency.
Strain the mixture through a sieve into a heatproof bowl and stir in the vanilla extract. Let it cool at room temperature but mix it with a spoon every 20 minutes or so to make sure it hasn’t set.
Once the orange curd in the tart crust has set and the cranberry jelly is no longer hot, spoon the jelly over the curd and spread it evenly, smoothing as best you can. It should come up the the top of your tart crust walls, or close.
Return the tart to the refrigerator and chill again until the cranberry jelly is completely set, 1-2 hours.
Once the jelly is firm to the touch, garnish with candied oranges and powdered sugar and serve with fresh cream, if desired. Each slice should have distinct, clean layers of crust, orange curd, and cranberry jelly. Enjoy!
