Warning: This beautiful tart might upset your Thanksgiving pie rankings and jump to the top of your list. My family (including every child) devoured this cranberry curd tart in one sitting. Don’t try it unless your other pies have thick skin and do OK with rejection.

Finished cranberry tart topped with sugared cranberries, orange peel, and rosemary sprigs.

I’m going to be honest with you. This recipe is a tad labor intensive. It’s not difficult, but might dirty a few extra dishes and takes more time than a stir and dump pie. I tried to mitigate this as best as I could for you, but I promise it’s well worth the effort. I about took a spoon to the finished cranberry curd and ate half of it before it made it to the tart shell.

Another overhead shot of the finished, garnished cranberry tart.

This Cranberry Curd Tart is a stunning holiday dessert!

Confession: sometimes bright colors are the biggest reason I push recipes in a special direction. Cranberry curd is STUNNING. I can’t even with the fuchsia of this cranberry tart!

Besides it’s gorgeous fuchsia hue, this tart is rich and creamy and perfectly tart-sweet. You’ll love how easy the press-in shortbread crust is, too! Top it with some sugared cranberries and orange peel for a showstopper dessert that everyone will rave about!

Ingredients for the cranberry tart: gluten free flour, eggs, butter, fresh cranberries, sugar, powdered sugar, lemons, and oranges.

Cranberry Tart Recipe Ingredients

Flour: You can use all-purpose flour or a 1:1 gluten free flour blend for this tart. I used King Arthur’s 1:1 and it worked beautifully.
Powdered Sugar
Butter
Salt
Granulated Sugar: I have not tested this recipe with an alternative sweetener, so I can’t guarantee the outcome if you make substitutions.
Oranges
Lemons
Fresh Cranberries
Eggs
9-Inch Tart Pan: You’ll need a tart pan with a removable bottom for this. I got this 9-inch tart pan on Amazon. I don’t recommend using a pie plate because there won’t be enough filling or crust dough.

The beginnings of the crust: dry ingredients in a clear bowl with small cubes of soft butter on top.

Fingers pinching the butter into the dry ingredients.

Tart dough beginning to be pressed into the tart pan.

Pressing the dough into the sides of the tart pan.

How to make a Cranberry Tart

Mix the flour, powdered sugar, salt, orange zest and softened butter cubes together with your hands forming a dough. Press the dough into a tart pan and bake for 14 min at 375F.
Make the filling by simmering the cranberries, sugar, and some water until a thick jam forms. Blend until smooth.
Put the blended cranberry mixture in a heat-safe bowl fitted over a saucepan containing a few inches of water (a double broiler situation). Add the eggs, yolks, orange juice & zest, and lemon juice & zest.
Stir and cook until the mixture becomes hot and thickens slightly. Pour it into the tart pan and chill for 2 hours.
Meanwhile make the sugared cranberries by heating some water and sugar in a small saucepan, adding the cranberries for about a minute. Remove them to cool and then chill for 20-30 min before tossing them in the remaining sugar. Arrange them on the finished tart before serving.

Cranberries simmering in a little water and sugar.

Cranberry mixture has been reduced to a jammy-like consistency.

Pureed cranberry mixture cooked over the stove and mixed with eggs, orange juice and zest, and lemon juice and zest.

Filling has been blended with softened butter and is being transferred to the baked tart shell.

Cranberry Curd Tart Recipe Variations

I wouldn’t mess with the filling recipe much. You could try using lime zest and juice in place of the orange zest and juice (adding about 1/4 cup sugar to the filling if you do this).

You could play with the crust, though! Try using a graham cracker crust or a pie crust.

The garnishes can be a beautiful way to change it up. In addition to sugared cranberries and orange peel, try adding some rosemary sprigs, whipped cream, a dusting of powdered sugar, or some candied nuts for a change.

Making sugared cranberries by cooking the fresh cranberries in a simple syrup for a minute and now they're resting on a wire baking rack.

Chilled cranberries dipped in orange sugar and ready to go on top of the pie.

Tips for a perfect Cranberry Orange Tart

Make sure you cook off the liquid when you’re simmering the cranberries. It should be a thick, jammy texture. Any extra liquid could cause your filling to be too runny.
It’s much easier to remove zest from citrus before you cut and juice it. So do that first, as well as remove some peel for the garnish later.
Make sure to chill the tart for at least two hours so it can set well. It shouldn’t be runny at all when you slice into it. The natural pectin in the cranberries plus the eggs should take care of the thickening process.
This tart is a great make-ahead dessert. Feel free to make it 3-4 days in advance, storing it in the tart pan until you’re ready to remove it and serve. If you’re using sugared cranberries, I suggest making those no earlier than 2 days in advance so they don’t get mushy.

Finished pie has been sliced. A slice sits on a white plate.

How to store a Cranberry Custard Tart

Make sure you cover the tart with plastic wrap or store in a lidded container while it’s in the refrigerator. This goes for before you serve as well as any leftovers.

Leftovers (if you have any) will last up to a week in the fridge.

Cranberry Curd Tart FAQs

How do you know when a curd tart is set?

If you shake the pan a little and there’s no jiggling around, then the tart is set. When you slice into it, the tart should not be runny.

Why is my tart base so hard?

Not sure! I’ve never experienced that with this recipe. Perhaps it was overbaked?

Why is my tart not setting?

Two reasons: the liquid wasn’t cooked off the cranberries at the beginning or the filling mixture wasn’t heated well enough during the double broiler phase.

Can I use a pie pan instead of a tart pan?

This recipe was formulated specifically for a 9-inch tart pan which is inexpensive and widely available. I get it though… if you already have a pie plate you’d like to use that. I don’t recommend it, though. You won’t have enough dough or filling to fill the pie plate.

A sliced of the finished cranberry tart with a fork bite taken out.

More Gluten Free Holiday Dessert Recipes on Perry’s Plate

If you like this recipe, try one of my other gluten free holiday desserts!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe – I love this maple and chai-infused pumpkin pie!

Gluten Free Hand Pie – Filled with my SUPER easy berry filling! Can also convert this into a full-sized gluten free berry pie.

Chocolate Silk Pie – Rich and decadent!

Pineapple Pie – My grandma’s recipe and our most beloved pie recipe.

Best Chocolate Flourless Cake – These individual flourless chocolate cakes are a great make-ahead dessert topped with whipped cream and berries.

Strawberry Trifle – One of our family’s favorite desserts!

Coconut Trifle – To die for fluffy coconut dessert with layers of sponge cake, coconut cream, and sweet pineapple.

If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!

Cranberry Custard Tart

Yield: Serves 6

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

Warning: This beautiful tart might upset your Thanksgiving pie rankings and jump to the top of your list. My family (including every child) devoured this cranberry curd tart in one sitting. It's beautiful fuchsia color makes it a perfect showstopping dessert for the holidays!

Ingredients

For the Crust:

3/4 cup flour (all-purpose or 1:1 gluten free blend)
6 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
6 Tablespoons room temperature butter, cut into 1/2" cubes

For the Filling & Garnish:

12 ounces fresh cranberries, divided
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
4 Tablespoons orange juice + 1 1/2 teaspoon zest
2 Tablespoons lemon juice + 1/2 teaspoon zest
10 Tablespoons room temperature butter, cut into 1-Tablespoon pieces

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F. Take a vegetable peeler and peel a thin layer of orange skin from about 1/2 of one of the oranges. Set aside.
Start the crust by whisking the flour, powdered sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons zest from the orange, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add the softened butter cubes to the bowl and use your hands to pinch the butter into the flour mixture. Keep pinching the mixture with your fingers until the butter is incorporated and the dough comes together in a soft ball. (It'll take a few min. Don't add any water!)
Press the tart dough into a 9-inch tart pan. This will take a few minutes as well as you work the dough up the sides of the pan. The dough will be thin, but will thicken after baking.
Bake for 13-14 minute or until lightly golden brown and firm. Set aside.
Start the filling by putting 8 ounces of the cranberries into a medium saucepan (set aside the rest of the cranberries for the topping later). Add 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water.
Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often until the cranberries burst and most of the liquid cooks off. You should end up with a jammy-like texture.
Transfer the cranberry mixture to a blender and process until smooth, and then empty it into a medium or large heat-safe mixing bowl you can use in a double- broiler set up. Let the blended cranberries cool until just warm and no longer steamy.
Set that mixing bowl on top of a saucepan containing 2-3 inches of water. (I rinsed out and reused that same saucepan and the mixing bowl I used for the crust. Just to save you some dishes later.)
Turn your stove to high heat and add the 2 eggs, 2 egg yolks, orange juice & zest, and lemon juice & zest. Whisk to combine well and stir often with a rubber spatula, scraping the sides as the mixture heats from the boiling water in the saucepan below. Once the mixture is hot (not boiling) and thickens slightly to coat the spatula, it's finished.
Pour the filling into the cooked tart shell, let it cool for about 20 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours before serving.

SUGARED CRANBERRY GARNISH (optional): Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining 4 ounces cranberries to the saucepan and let them cook for 1 min.

Remove with a slotted spoon and lay them on a wire rack (instead of a flat surface). Chill until no longer sticky, 20-30 minutes.

Add remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to a bowl. If you have any orange zest you can add 1/2 teaspoon, too. Toss the cranberries in the sugar and the arrange them on the pie with the reserved orange peel and some rosemary sprigs, if you like.

Notes

2 large navel oranges and 1 small lemon should be sufficient for this recipe.
You can make the sugared cranberries up to 2 days ahead of time.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information

Yield 6 Serving Size 1/6
Amount Per Serving Calories 624Total Fat 34gSaturated Fat 21gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 205mgSodium 315mgCarbohydrates 78gFiber 3gSugar 61gProtein 5g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

This post may contain affiliate links. Any purchases made by using these links won’t cost you any extra and helps keep my content free. These links may be Amazon links as I am part of the Amazon Associate Program.