This cranberry crackle tart recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's new book
Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere. The book is a collection of simple desserts from French chefs and home cooks.
The tart is comprised of a sweet, cookie-like crust, a layer of jam (I used cherry), and a mixture of sweet meringue and about 10 ounces of cranberries (one bag, more than called for in the original recipe).
According to Dorie, cranberries, although getting easier to find, are quite dear in France. How lucky are we in the U.S. to be able to buy multiple bags of them this time of year. They are so easy to freeze and use whenever we get a cranberry craving.
We loved this tart. From the crackly meringue, the juicy tart cranberries, to the sweet crust, all of the flavors and textures go together so well. This is a grown-ups' dessert (the kids wouldn't even try it). More for us, right?
I only have one regular oven, which was occupied with the Thanksgiving turkey, so I actually baked this tart in
my (albeit large) toaster oven! While the book says the tart should be served the same day, based on the tastiness of the leftovers, I think you could get away with making this the night before.
I will definitely be making this easy and delicious dessert again!
The
Tuesdays with Dorie group is just getting started baking through the book. To see how the participants fared with the recipe, visit
this link.
You can find the original recipe
here.
Cranberry Crackle Tart
1 recipe Sweet Tart Dough (below)
Filling Recipe
2 tablespoons cherry jam
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
10 ounces cranberries (if they're frozen, don't thaw)
- Butter a 9-inch pie pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Place the dough between two sheets of parchment or wax paper and roll it out until it is about 1/8 inch thick.
- Lift the dough into the pie pan, with the excess to drape over the sides. Gently press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan and trim the dough to about one third down from the rim of the pan. Prick the bottom of the tart shell all over with a fork and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line the crust with a piece of parchment or a buttered piece of aluminum foil and weight it down with rice, dried beans or light pie weights. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the paper and weights and bake for 8 to 12 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown. Set the crust on a rack to cool to room temperature.
- To bake the tart, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Spread the jam evenly over the bottom of crust. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the salt at medium speed just until they turn opaque. While the mixer is still going, slowly add the sugar and keep beating until the whites are shiny and form droopy peaks.
- Add the cranberries to the bowl and fold them into the meringue. Spread the meringue over the jam, adding a few swirly flourishes.
- Bake the tart for 1 hour, until the top is light beige and likely cracked a bit on top.
- The tart can be kept in a refrigerator for about 2 days.
Sweet Tart Dough
Makes one 9 inch crust
1 1/2 cups (204 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces; 128 grams) very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
- Put the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to blend. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely.
- Whisk the yolk and add it slowly, pulsing after each addition. Once the egg is incorporated, process in long pulses, about 10 seconds each, until the dough forms clumps. Once you have clumps, stop processing.
- Turn the dough out and knead briefly with the heel of your hand to further incorporate the butter.
- Shape the dough into a disk and put it between two sheets of parchment or wax paper. Roll the dough out evenly, as instructed above.