Cranberry Crumble Tart

While I made this stunning cranberry crumble tart for Thanksgiving, I think it's perfect any time cranberries are in season.

It's best served warm and bubbly with vanilla ice cream.

Cranberry Crumble Tart (adapted from The Art & Soul of Baking)
(Printable version)

Ingredients

Flaky Tart Dough
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling
20 ounces (or 5 cups) fresh cranberries (I used 20 ounces, which ended up being a lot more than 5 cups)
3/4 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
4 teaspoons flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preparation

Make the tart dough: Place butter pieces on a plate, and chill them in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.

Pour the water in a small bowl or measuring cup, and keep it refrigerated until needed.

Place flour, sugar, and salt in food processor, and process for 10 seconds, just until mixed.

Add frozen butter pieces, and pulse 6 to 10 times. The mixture will be clumpy.

Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water over the mixture, and stir it in by fluffing the mixture with a fork. Continue adding water one tablespoon at a time and fluffing the mixture after each addition until you have added 3 tablespoons.

Take a handful of dough and squeeze it. If the dough is too dry, it will crumble and fall apart. Add another tablespoon of water, and fluff it in. If the dough is just right, it will hold together when you squeeze it.

Turn the dough out onto the counter, and knead it gently a few times. Flatten it into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

Lightly flour your countertop, and place the dough on it. Roll the dough out into a 14- or 15-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Place the dough circle on a sheet pan (fold it in quarters to make it easier to lift and move it), cover it with plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator for another 15 minutes.

Press the dough into and up the sides of a tart pan. (The original recipe calls for a 9-inch tart pan, but I used an 11-inch pan.) Trim the dough so that it fits the tart pan, leaving a 1-inch overhang (reserve excess dough for patching). Dip your finger in cold water, and run it around the inside wall of the dough to moisten it. Fold down the overhang and press it against the dough on the inside edge of the pan to seal it. Cut away any overhanging dough. Return the tart to the fridge.

Pre-bake the tart shell: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Once oven is preheated, retrieve the tart from the fridge. Line the chilled tart shell with foil, and fill it with pie weights, beans, or rice.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the foil can be lifted easily away from the dough (bake for 5 to 6 minutes longer if foil sticks to the dough). Remove the tart from the oven, lift out the foil and weights, and return the tart to the oven.

Continue baking for another 10 minutes. Check to see if any cracks have formed. If there are any, smear a little bit of the reserved dough in the cracks. Continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until tart is evenly golden brown. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

Make the filling: Coarsely chop about half of the cranberries with a knife or in food processor. In a large bowl, combine the chopped and whole cranberries, sugar, orange zest, flour, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape the filling into the cooled tart shell. (It may look like too much filling, but trust me -- it all fits and it didn't bubble over! And because my tart pan has a removable bottom, I placed it on a sheet pan just to be sure.)

Make the topping: Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of stand mixer. Add butter, and mix on medium-low until mixture forms lumps. Use your hands to crumble the topping over the filling.

Bake the tart: Reduce oven to 350 degrees, and bake tart for 40 to 45 minutes, until fruit is bubbling and topping is golden brown. Carefully transfer the tart to a cooling rack.

You can serve it warm or let it cool completely and reheat it for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven when ready to serve.

The tart keeps for 1 day at room temp or up to 3 days wrapped in plastic and refrigerated.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Do you like cranberry desserts? What are your favorites?