Eating From the Ground Up

MENUMENU
  • About
  • Recipes
    • By Category

      • Bites
      • Breads and Crackers
      • breakfast
      • drinks
      • Home Dairy
      • Mains
      • On the Side
      • Pickles and Preservation
      • salads
      • Sauces, Dressings and Spreads
      • snacks
      • soups
      • Sweets
    • By Ingredient

      • apples
      • asparagus
      • Beans
      • Beef
      • beets
      • Berries
      • Broccoli and Broccoli Raab
      • brussels sprouts
      • cabbage
      • carrots
      • cauliflower
      • celeriac
      • Cheese
      • Chick Peas
      • Chicken
      • chocolate
      • corn
      • eggs
      • Fish
      • garlic
      • Grains
      • Herbs and Flowers
      • kale
      • leeks
      • lentils
      • pasta
      • pears
      • peppers
      • Pork
      • potatoes
      • Quince
      • radishes
      • rhubarb
      • stone fruit
      • summer squash
      • Tomatoes and Tomatillos
      • winter squash
      • yogurt
  • Not Recipes
    • Family
    • Politics and Activism
    • The Writing Process
    • travels
    • Kids in the Kitchen
    • My Berkshires
    • 1st of the Month
    • The Garden
  • Classes & Events
    • Classes

      Join me and Courtney Maum for an empowering writers' retreat this fall! Head here to apply to RISK MORE, WRITE BETTER.

    • Book-Tour Events

      No book events scheduled at this time. How about a class?

  • My Books

    • Signed copies from my local bookstore
      From Amazon
      From B&N


    • From Amazon
      From B&N
      From Powell's

    • Front cover The Homemade Pantry
      From Amazon
      From Barnes and Noble
      From Indie Bound

  • Yogurt
  • contact
  • Blog

cranberry maple tart

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 by alana

Oh, yes. Here we are.

When I was sixteen, my friend Jette and I hopped on a bus to New York late late the night before Thanksgiving. The ride took nearly the whole night, and we arrived in the city just as the sun was starting to come up. We sat on the sidewalk and watched the massive balloons inflate for the Macy’s parade. We wandered the empty city, resting in parks with the pigeons. (I know, I know. What did our mothers say? Honestly, I don’t even remember.)  It was a gray day, and we had no plan. Somehow, we got on a train and ended up at a friend’s house outside of Philadelphia. I don’t remember how we got the invitation, but I do remember sitting at his fancy table with his very proper family, struggling to use my knife and fork correctly. I remember being bleary with sleeplessness and thankful to be in that strange and warm place. I remember that Jette and I were proud of ourselves for stepping out of the lines, for making the holiday an adventure, and for making the holiday our very own.

Four years later, my friend Eilen and I cooked for days, and we invited every straggler we could find. My parents were there too, visiting our woodsy home in Santa Fe. My mother and I were really fighting for the first time in my life, and she kept out of the kitchen. Eilen and I rolled and chopped and baked, and we were grownups in our own kitchen. We, too, made that holiday our own.

We’ve had Thanksgivings with friends and Thanksgivings with family. We have cooked and been cooked for. Every year has been different. But through these years with all of those meals, we are always finding ways to make the holiday our own.

How do you do it?
Have you found traditions that make this one yours?
We have an appreciations box. We learned that one from Gould Farm. Everyone writes down the things they are thankful for, and then we read them. That’s a good one.

I woke up thinking about this tart last week. I made it a few times before I found it. Joey and the girls can attest to this. (It’s a hard life in the kitchen of a food writer) But then I found it.

I thought you might be interested, just in case you haven’t settled on your dessert options for next week. This is easy to put together, and the maple, cranberry, and orange sing to each other in a way that brings out the best in each.

And while we’re at it, shall we take a moment for some dessert inspiration? I’ll give it a go…

Pear pie. Poached quince. Damp gingerbread with pears (I can’t get enough of that one). Indian pudding. Sweet cornmeal biscuits. Apple rhubarb pandowdy. Olive oil and sherry pound cake. Apple pie. Pumpkin Mexican hot chocolate. Buttermilk spice cake. Are we there? Did we find it? Let me know- we can definitely keep the list going.
But in the mean time, let’s have a piece of this one to keep the hunger at bay.

 

Cranberry Maple Tart
serves 8 to 10, or thereabouts

For the crust:
scant 1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) all purpose flour
1 stick+1 tablespoon (4.5 ounces) cold unsalted butter (cubed) plus extra for greasing the pan
the zest and juice of 1 orange (this will be in both the crust and the filling)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg

For the filling:
3 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Lightly grease a 10-inch tart pan with butter. Combine the flour, butter, orange zest, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fit with the chopping blade. Pulse about 10 times. Add the egg and 1 tablespoon orange juice, reserving the rest of the juice for the filling. Process just until the dough comes together around the blade. If it’s too crumbly, you can add another teaspoon of juice.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is a circle at least 14 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to the tart pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take the tart pan out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you are ready to bake. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, peeking in to gently press down any air bubbles that might rise in the crust over that time. Remove the crust from the oven, but leave the heat on.

Combine the cranberries, 1/4 cup of the maple syrup, brown sugar, and remaining orange juice (it should be about 1/4 cup) in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the berries burst and the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the cream, egg yolks, vanilla, remaining 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, and salt in a mixing bowl.

Spread the cranberry mixture into the crust, then pour the cream mixture over it. Put the tart pan on top of a baking sheet and bake until the top is firm and golden, about 40 minutes.

Allow the tart to sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving. If preparing a day or two ahead (totally fine- this holds up beautifully!), store in the refrigerator, then let it come to room temperature for at least an hour before serving. This is good on it’s own, but also lovely with whipped cream. I served it with orange flower whipped cream (1 cup heavy cream+1 tablespoon sugar+1 teaspoon orange flour water).

 

 

Filed Under: Berries, Sweets, thanksgiving Tagged With: baking, holidays, pie

« quince jelly
the weekend mix »

Comments

  1. Barbara Fields says

    Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 2:46 am

    always an inspiration. Thanks, Alana.
    Barbara

  2. Tess says

    Friday, March 22, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    I am trying this one out, it’s in the oven right now. When I baked the crust, it ‘collapsed’, the sides didn’t hold. I hurried to take it out of the oven, rolled it out again while hot and managed to put it into its form again without the crust totally breaking into pieces. I guess I didn’t freeze it long enough? The rest of the recipe went perfect. My kitchen smells divine right now..! I think it’ll be a huge succes. Thank you for the recipe.

    • alana says

      Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 6:18 pm

      Oh, a collapsed crust! It sounds like you saved it. But my guess was that the crust just wasn’t cold enough when it went into the oven. I’d try actually freezing it next time instead of refrigerating.

  3. Claire Swauger says

    Sunday, November 24, 2013 at 5:46 pm

    What the heck is orange flour water??? I’d love to make that whipped cream to go with the tart, but…. no idea what that is or how to make it 🙂

    • alana says

      Monday, November 25, 2013 at 2:08 am

      Hi Claire! Orange flower water is a flavoring that’s quite popular in Persian and Middle Eastern cooking, but it’s widely available. It smells wonderful- some people even use it as perfume. If you can’t find it at your store, it’s also easy to find online.

      • Claire says

        Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at 7:59 pm

        Thanks! I’ll look for it 🙂

  4. Beth says

    Wednesday, November 27, 2013 at 5:07 pm

    My local store does not carry creme fraiche, but does have mascarpone. Do you think that would work as a substitute? Thanks!excited to make this!

    • alana says

      Wednesday, November 27, 2013 at 7:50 pm

      Beth, there’s no creme fraiche in here- did you mean to leave your comment on the pumpkin pie post? If so, I’d sub in sour cream- that should do it!

Trackbacks

  1. ginger pumpkin pie | Eating From the Ground Up says:
    Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 12:04 am

    […] Indian Pudding, although it will be a last minute decision. And my hope is that last year’s Cranberry Maple Tart will make its way in too, just because I love […]

  2. you can if you want to (a pie crust tutorial) | Eating From the Ground Up says:
    Sunday, November 24, 2013 at 5:23 pm

    […] do the same things ever year, or else there’s a rebellion. This pecan pie, ginger pumpkin, maple cranberry tart, and damp gingerbread with […]

  3. eyes closed, ears open says:
    Monday, November 23, 2015 at 10:04 am

    […] We’re having a smaller Thanksgiving than usual this year–just family. It’s just worked out that way, as some years do. I’m making just the basics, which for us is turkey, mashed potatoes, a few different kinds of stuffings (repeating this one, which everyone’s been talking about for a full year), and pan fried brussels. Then there’s cranberry sauce (my grandmother’s, which is in The Homemade Pantry if you need a nice simple recipe), and lots and lots of gravy. For dessert there will be pumpkin pie and pear gingerbread (both in the new book), Indian Pudding (my new favorite is from this book), this pecan pie (since you have the Lyle’s for your gingerbread, and if I’ve got extra cranberries, this cranberry tart. […]


Welcome!

I’m Alana, and I write about food, family and the wonderful chaos that ensues when the two combine. If you’re new to the site, here are a few good places to start, or learn more about me on my about page.

Follow me on Instagram.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Become a Sponsor

One_Alana_Ad 2016
Load More...Follow on Instagram

My books!

Signed copies from my local bookstore/Amazon/Barnes & Noble

Front cover The Homemade Kitchen

Amazon /B&N /Powell's


Front cover The Homemade PantryAmazon
B&N
Powell's


Tense moments

failed cornbreadPan shattered in the oven? Jelly didn’t set? Trying to find a solution for a problem in the kitchen? Let’s get through the tense moments together, starting here.

Classes and workshops

Occasionally I teach workshops, and I have one coming up this fall. Join me and stellar novelist Courtney Maum for RISK MORE, WRITE BETTER, an empowering weekend in a gorgeous old B&B that will jumpstart that project you've been wanting to work on. Space is limited, so apply here!

My latest book!

Learn more about my latest book, Eating from the Ground Up. It's perfect for all you vegetable lovers out there.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

COPYRIGHT © 2019 EATING FROM THE GROUND UP.