Rich ripples of caramel balance out cranberry’s tart flavor in this elegant cranberry-caramel holiday tart. Pecans pull double duty as the toasted base for the crust and an additional source of crunch in the filling. Find more pies and tarts in our Artisan Pies and Tarts 2017 Special Issue!
Cranberry-Caramel Tart
Makes 1 (9-inch) tart
Ingredients
- Pecan Dough (recipe below)
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240 grams) heavy whipping cream, warmed
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups (226 grams) chopped pecans
- 2 cups (216 grams) frozen cranberries
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Press Pecan Dough into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch round removable-bottom tart pan. Freeze for 10 minutes. Prick bottom and sides of Pecan Dough with a fork. Top with a piece of parchment paper, letting ends extend over edges of pan. Add pie weights.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove paper and weights. Bake until lightly browned, about 5 minutes more. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
- In a 10-inch skillet, sprinkle sugar in an even layer. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until sugar is dissolved and turns amber colored, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; carefully whisk in cream and butter until combined. Stir in pecans, cranberries, and salt. (Mixture will bubble up.) Spoon mixture into prepared crust.
- Bake until bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Pecan Dough
Makes 1 (9-inch) crust
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (94 grams) all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons (42 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup (36 grams) toasted pecan halves
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup (76 grams) unsalted butter, softened and cubed
Instructions
- In the work bowl of a food processor, place flour, confectioners’ sugar, pecans, and salt; pulse until finely ground. With processor running, gradually add butter, pulsing until dough comes together.
My crust completely stuck to the parchment and ruined it when I tried to remove the pie weights! Any idea why this happened? Did it need to stay longer than the 20 minutes to cook up more?
Hi Elizabeth!
I’m sorry to hear that! Can you tell me what brand/type of parchment that you used? Some of the more economical brands do not offer the same non-stick capacity. If this is the case, you may need to apply a thin coat of butter onto the paper pressing it into the crust. Also, you do not want to press the paper in too much, just lightly to form to the tart. A trick here is to completely crumple the paper into a ball and then uncrumple it before filling. It helps to fill the nooks and crannies a little more easily. Also, you’ll want to make sure it is parchment not other types of paper (like wax paper), but I am sure you know that! Please let me know if you have any more trouble!
Can you post the nutrition facts for this recipe?
Hello Stephanie,
Thank you for your question! Unfortunately, we don’t typically post nutrition information with our recipes, and therefore don’t have this information available. So sorry for the inconvenience, but we hope you enjoy the recipe!
Happy Baking!
Can this be made in a pie dish instead of the tart pan?
Hi Mary,
Thank you for your question! We haven’t tested this recipe in a pie dish. That being said, the only potential issue you might have is getting the tart out of the pie dish. Lining the bottom of the pie dish with parchment paper could help to combat any sticking. Also, when pressing the Pecan Dough into the pan, you won’t want to press the dough all the way up the sides of the pie dish because pie dishes aren’t straight sided and tend to be deeper than tart pans.
We hope this helps! Happy baking!
Again I am baking this for thanksgiving. What a simple, sublime tart.
Can you use fresh cranberries or do they have to be frozen?
Hi Brooke,
Thank you for your question! You can absolutely use fresh cranberries in place of the frozen cranberries called for in the recipe. You’ll just want to substitute using the volume measurement (in this recipe, 2 cups).
Hope this helps, and happy baking!