A buttery almond shortbread crust, slathered in a velvety tart and slightly fruity custard, and topped in soft, fluffy meringue clouds – cranberry curd tart recipes have been making their rounds this holiday season, and I couldn’t wait to take a stab at my own version of it for Thanksgiving this year.

Ingredients:

Almond Crust

• 1 1/2 cup Flour
• 3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
• 3/4 cup Butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup Almond Flour
• pinch of Salt
• 1 tsp Almond Extract

Cranberry Filling

• 1 1/2 cup Sugar
• 3 tbsp Flour
• 1 tbsp Lemon Zest
• 5 Eggs
• 3 cups unsweetened Cranberry Juice
• 1/2 cup fresh Cranberries

Meringue

• 3 Egg Whites
• 1/3 cup Sugar

Recipe makes a 12 inch tart.

Directions:

1. A few hours before, or even the day before, baking the tart, cook down the cranberry juice until only about 2/3 of a cup remains and set it aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F (~177 C).
3. In a food processor combine all the ingredients for the crust, and pulse them together until a light crumb forms.
4. Lightly press the crumbs across the bottom of the tart pan.  You don’t need to form it into a firm, solid layer like a pie crust.  It should more closely resemble a crumble topping that’s been slightly pressed in.  It’ll bake into a solid bottom, and pressing it too firmly will make it tough and hard to cut through.
5. Bake your crust for about 25 minutes.
6. While your crust is baking, grind up, or finally chop, your cranberries in a food processor.
7. In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour and sugar.
8. Whisk in the lemon zest.
9. Pass your eggs through a sift and into the mixing bowl.  This step keeps the tougher clumps of protein from getting into the custard, but you might need to use a spoon to help things along.
10.  Add the cranberry juice, and whisk it all together until well combined.
11. Add in the fresh cranberries.
12. Pour the filling into the baked tart shell.  Do not cool the crust before adding the filling.  You should just pull the crust from the oven, pour in the filling, and return it to the oven.
13. Bump the temperature down to 325 F (~163 C)., and bake for 25-35 minutes.
14. Allow the tart to cool fully, preferably overnight, before decorating and serving.
15. Make meringue:
    1. Beat egg whites, until they start to thicken.
    2. Gradually add in the sugar.
    3. Continue to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and the meringue has a nice shine to it.
16. Pipe the meringue onto the tart.
17. Brown with a torch, or quickly brown in the broiler – make sure the tart does not get reheated.