Cranberry Tart

- Total Time
- 2 hours plus 1 hour’s chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1¼cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½cup instant or fine polenta
- 1¾cups sugar
- 1¼teaspoons salt
- Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
- 4ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
- 1large egg plus 3 large egg yolks
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½cup light corn syrup
- 3cups (12-ounce bag) fresh cranberries, picked over
- ½cup heavy cream
- Confectioners' sugar, optional
Preparation
- Step 1
Place 1¼ cups flour, polenta, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and lemon zest in a food processor and process to blend. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand. In a small bowl, beat whole egg with oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Uncover processor, pour in liquid ingredients and pulse until a ball of dough forms. This may take 20 or more quick pulses. If necessary, sprinkle in a little water if mixture does not come together. Form dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour.
- Step 2
In a 3-quart saucepan, melt remaining sugar over low heat. Stir in syrup and bring to a boil. Add cranberries and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes, until they begin to release juice. Remove to a bowl and allow to cool about 20 minutes.
- Step 3
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough to an 12-inch circle and fit into a 10-inch loose-bottom tart pan. If dough tears, it can easily be pressed together.
- Step 4
In a bowl, whisk together cream and 2 tablespoons flour. Whisk in three egg yolks, remaining vanilla and a pinch of salt. Pour over cranberries and fold together. Pour into tart shell, place pan on a baking sheet and bake about 40 minutes, until filling bubbles but is not yet firm, and pastry browns. Cool in pan before removing sides; if desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Private Notes
Comments
Made this for the first time several years ago - followed the directions to melt/boil sugar before adding cranberries. When I added the cranberries I ended up with a giant cranberry lollipop on my wooden spoon. Ever since I've heated the sugar, syrup, and cranberries at the same time and all is well. I usually make this at least once per holiday season.
It would be great if the ingredients lists for the crust and filling were listed separately. I mistakenly added the 2 T extra flour and 1/2 c extra sugar to the crust. Yes, I should have read more thoroughly, but the author could also have arranged the ingredients separately or included the instruction "(divided)" after listing the aggregates.
My grandmother and mother always made cranberry pie. We just cut the berries in half, add sugar to taste with a tablespoon of flour or cornstarch for thickener and bake them in your favorite pie crust. You can get fancy and add spices and substitute marmalade for some of the sugar. There's no amount, I put in about 3/4 cup, whatever looks right or how sweet or tart you want to make it.
I have been making this pie for TG (from a now yellowed and slightly sticky clipping) ever since this article was published. My only change over the years is the use of GF flour to accommodate my daughter. There is no discernible difference. (This pie is her yearly exception to being a vegan.) I have had problems over the years with melting the sugar. I have found that only cane sugar works. (The only other TG constant is the apple pie from Bubby’s. )
The crust is absolutely delicious but I modify the filling, leaving out cornstarch and heavy cream. It tastes so much better with just sugar to taste, a bit of flour for thickening and.a bit of lemon juice. A splash of framboise is delicious in it as well!
Help, my guests love this so didn’t mind chipping the crust out of its dish. I don’t use a tart shell but my regular 10” white ceramic tart pan should not be a problem. Should I oil it first?
