Nut Crusted Cranberry Tart Recipes

CRANBERRY NUT TARTS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and cream cheese. Mix in the flour until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• While the dough chills, make the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. Press the balls into the cups of mini muffin pans so that the dough covers the bottom and sides. Fill each one with a generous teaspoon of the filling.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges of the tarts are lightly browned.

CRANBERRY CURD TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Put hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until skins darken and crack. Put roasted nuts in a clean towel and rub off skins. Discard skins and let nuts cool.
• In a food processor, grind nuts with half the rice flour until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining rice flour and salt and pulse briefly.
• Cream sugar and butter in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon for a minute or two until pale and thick. Add nut mixture and combine until dough comes together. If it seems crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons softened butter or a little cold water.
• Press dough evenly into a 10-inch tart pan; use half the dough for the sides and half for the bottom. Prick bottom with a fork and freeze for 30 minutes (or several days if desired).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake chilled tart shell about 15 minutes until lightly brown. Cool.
• While the crust bakes and cools, make the cranberry curd: Put cranberries, sugar and orange juice and peel in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until cranberries have popped and softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food mill or medium mesh sieve and press cooking liquid and solids into a bowl. (Alternatively, for the most vibrant color, purée the cooked cranberry and orange mixture with an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender. Press through a fine-mesh sieve.) Whisk the butter into the warm liquid.
• Put eggs and egg yolks into a bowl and beat lightly. Slowly whisk a cup of warm cranberry liquid into the eggs to temper, then combine both and whisk together. Wipe out pot if necessary, return liquid to pot and cook over low heat until nearly bubbling and thickened, about 10 minutes. If using immediately, let cool to room temperature. If working ahead, cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap (press wrap against curd) and refrigerate. (Curd may be cooked up to 1 day ahead.)
• Pour cooled cranberry curd into the cooled prebaked tart shell and smooth top with a spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes to set curd. Cool on a rack. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

NUT-CRUSTED CRANBERRY TART

Steps:

• Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Combine cranberries, sugar, jelly, and cognac in a saucepan and cook over low heat until cranberries are soft but not bursting, 12 to 15 minutes. Do not overcook or the mixture will become too watery. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Stir in gelatin mixture and let cool completely.
• Pour cranberry filling into cooled tart shell and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

CRANBERRY CURD TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a tart pan with a removeable bottom with butter or baking spray making sure to pay attention to the sides.
• Combine the oats, walnuts, brown sugar and spices in a food processor. Process until finely chopped then pulse in the cubes of cold butter one by one until the mixture starts to come together.
• Turn the ingredients out into the prepared tart pan and press evenly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides.
• Place the crust in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Remove from the refrigerator, place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, gently press down the middle if it's puffed up a bit from baking and let cool while you make the curd.
• Combine the cranberries, lemon zest, 3/4 cup sugar and water in a sauce pot. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to help break down the cranberries.
• Turn off the heat and let cool for 5 minutes then transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.
• Return the mixture to the sauce pot over medium-low heat.
• One by one add the remaining ingredients including the leftover 2 tablespoons of sugar to the pot whisking constantly as you go.
• Once all ingredients are added to the pot, continue cooking for 10 minutes whisking constantly until the mixture has thickened.
• Strain the cranberry curd over a large bowl through a fine mesh strainer using a spatula to push the curd through.
• Pour the strained filling into the cooled tart crust and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until set.
• Keep refrigerated until serving. Garnish with sugared cranberries or candied lemon slices.

PERFECT NUT CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine walnuts, butter, sugar, flour, salt, yolk, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Firmly press into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch or 11-by-8-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake until edges are set and golden, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

POPPED CRANBERRY TART

Steps:

• Nut Crust: Mix butter, sugar, pecans, whole egg, egg yolk, and salt with a wooden spoon until barely blended. Add flour and knead until a small ball forms. Wrap in plastic and chill about 4 hours.
• After chilling dough, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll chilled dough to about 1/4 inch thickness or divide into 8 parts and press into 8 individual tart pans, 3-inch round x 1 inch deep. The crust should be thick.
• Bake empty tart shells 12 to 15 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile make pastry cream, and prepare berries.
• Pastry Cream: Mix 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth. Add egg yolks and mix until a paste is formed. Stir in 1/2 cup milk.
• Combine remaining milk and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Pour hot mixture into mixture in bowl, whisking constantly. Pour back into pan.
• Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat and stir an additional minute. Stir in vanilla and transfer to a bowl. Cover with buttered parchment paper touching top and chill a minimum of 2 hours or as long as 2 days.
• Cranberries: Combine sugar, jelly and orange zest in sauce pan and boil until thick, about 5 minutes. Fold in cranberries, and cook another 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then assemble tart.
• To Assemble: Spread prepared nut crust with a layer of chilled pastry cream and top with cooled cranberries. Serve chilled.