Recipe: Cranberry Curd Tart with Hazelnut Crust

Impress everyone with this brilliant red tart. A twist on traditional cranberry preparations, this curd is rich and sweet. The hazelnut crust pairs perfectly with the fruit and dark chocolate adds a lasting, lingering memory that will endure long after leaving the table.

Cranberry Curd Tart with Hazelnut Crust
Serves: 6-8
Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Crust:
1 ¼ cups (180 grams) raw hazelnuts
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (112 grams) granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (100 grams) butter, softened

Filling:
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 cup (225 grams) granulated sugar
Zest and juice from one medium orange
1 stick (4 ounces or 113 grams) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 egg yolks

1. In a non-reactive pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the baking soda and hazelnuts. Allow to boil for 3 minutes, making sure pot doesn't boil over.

2. Strain hazelnuts and rinse with cold water. Remove skins that are still stuck to hazelnuts after the cold water rinse.

3. In a food processor, grind hazelnuts with half of the flour until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the other half of the flour and salt and pulse to combine.

4. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and thick, one or two minutes. Add the ground nut mixture and mix together until a dough forms. If need be, add cold water a tablespoon at a time if mixture is too dry, or flour a tablespoon at a time if mixture is too wet.

5. Press dough into a buttered 10-inch round or 13.5 x 4.5-inch rectangular tart pan. Be sure to cover the entire bottom and all sides of tart pan. Prick dough with a fork and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

6. Heat oven to 350°F.

7. Place cranberries, sugar and orange juice and zest in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes or until berries are popped and softened. Use a fine mesh strainer or a food mill to separate the cranberry juices from the solids. Whisk butter into the liquid. Discard the solids.

8. Beat eggs and egg yolks lightly in a separate bowl. Slowly whisk a cup of the cranberry liquid into the eggs, tempering them. Pour egg mixture into the rest of the cranberry liquid and whisk to combine.

9. Return liquid to the saucepan, wiping it out if necessary, and cook over low heat until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Let cool to room temperature.

10. While curd is cooling, bake the tart shell for about 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

11. Pour cool cranberry curd into cool pre-baked tart shell and smooth the top with a spoon or spatula. Bake for 10 minutes to set curd. Cool to room temperature before serving with lightly sweetened whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings. Tart can be stored up to two days at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from: David Tanis, New York Times