Best Cranberry Meringue Tart Recipes

CRANBERRY-MERINGUE TART

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place crackers in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Add butter and sugar; pulse to combine. Firmly press mixture into the bottom and up sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze 10 minutes. Bake until crust is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Filling: Meanwhile, combine cranberries, orange juice, 1/2 cup water, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until berries burst and are very soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Press mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, scraping back of sieve to get all of pulp (you should have about 1 3/4 cups pulp and liquid); discard solids. Return mixture to pan; stir in sugar and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until dissolved. Whisk in butter.
• In a heatproof bowl, whisk together yolks and whole egg, then gradually whisk in half of hot cranberry mixture. Add egg mixture back to pan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and coating the back of a wooden spoon, about 8 minutes. Strain through sieve (to remove any bits of cooked egg) into tart crust. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of curd and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours and up to overnight. (Tart can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated up to 2 days.)
• Topping: When ready to serve, whisk together egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over (but not in) a pot of simmering water until hot and sugar has dissolved. Transfer to a mixer bowl and beat on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Whisk in vanilla.
• Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large petal tip (such as Wilton 127D) or other decorative tip. To create a wreath, hold bag so wider part of tip faces away from you and bag is almost perpendicular to tart (about 2 inches in from edge, and at a 45 degree angle to it). Press on bag, holding it in one place for a few seconds, then lift up slightly and pull toward you, creating an elongated dollop angled toward edge of tart.
• Repeat, starting at the same point but angled toward center of tart. Continue to repeat around edge of tart to create wreath shape. (You can also dollop all of meringue over top of tart and create swoops with the back of a spoon.) Brown meringue with a kitchen torch or under broiler, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Finished tart is best eaten the same day, but can be refrigerated, covered, up to 1day.

CRANBERRY-MERINGUE TART

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Combine both flours and salt in processor. Add butter; cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons water; process until moist clumps form, using on/off turns. If dough is dry, add more water by teaspoonfuls to moisten. Gather dough into ball. Flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 1 hour. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before rolling.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough on floured surface to 14-inch round. Transfer to 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Trim to fit. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans; bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on rack. Maintain oven temperature.
• Make filling:
• Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt in large bowl until frothy. Gradually beat in 3/4 cup sugar and lemon. Beat until stiff but not dry. Mix cranberries, almonds, cornstarch and cinnamon in medium bowl; gently fold into whites in 3 additions. Transfer filling to crust. Smooth top.
• Bake tart until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.)
• Sift powdered sugar over tart. Cut into wedges and serve.