I love this grapefruit and cranberry meringue tart! It has a rich, tangy and delicious fruit curd filling with a fluffy and delicious toasted meringue topping and a buttery tart shell! If you love fruit curd and meringue tarts you will love this variation.
My 10 year old daughter was eating a slice of this and I heard her whisper under her breath “this is my favorite thing”. I had to giggle at her secretive response. I agreed with her that it was delicious! I love the combo to the tangy and rich curd and the fluffy marshmallow like meringue topping.
I love grapefruit, it’s one of my favorite citrus fruits. I love the fruits sweet, sour and refreshing flavor and the almost tingly numbness that your tongue gets after eating it. I also love cranberry and when you blend to two flavors together it works beautifully.
I also love to make a grapefruit and cranberry smoothie and it is one of my favorite winter treats and that smoothie is what inspired this tart. The smoothie is a fresh grapefruit and cranberry flavor blast and this tart is a cooked and more decadent variation on the flavor combo. Both are lovely.
The grapefruit slices and sugared cranberries on top of this tart are mostly for design and a way to showcase what’s in the tart, so they are definitely optional when making this tart, I actually just ate the slices from off of the tart separate from the tart when it came time to eat this tart. So keep in mind that I am not suggesting eating the whole grapefruit and raw cranberries along with your tart.
The meringue in this tart is fluffy and delicious, you can leave it untoasted or toast it. The toasting gives it a little crunch on the top when you bite through it and it’s a fun textural thing, however, leaving it untoasted is still delicious. To toast it I place it under the broiler for 2 minutes or until the top starts to brown slightly. you have to watch is very closely if you do this because it will brown really quickly. You can also take a kitchen torch and toast the tops that way.
What you need to make this grapefruit and cranberry meringue tart:
Makes 9 or 10 inch tart – I use a 10 inch pan but you can use a 9 inch as well and will have a slightly thicker curd and meringue filling
Grapefruit and Cranberry curd: (recipe card is below or click the link for full recipe post)
- 16 ounces grapefruit and cranberry curd – that recipe is below or HERE
Tart shell:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter – cold, cut into chunks, if you like your crust slightly saltier use salted butter or if you don’t use unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup cold water
Meringue Topping:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish – optional
- 1/2 grapefruit sliced into thin slices
- 1/4 cup cranberries – rinse in water then roll in sugar
Instructions
For tart shell:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
- Mix together the flour, the sugar and salt.
- Add the cold butter chunks and use a pastry cutter or fork to work butter into dough until dough starts looks crumby.
- Add the cold water one tablespoon at a time and mix until dough can form a ball.
- Roll dough out on a piece of parchment paper so it’s thin and the right dimensions for your tart pan.
- Place tart pan on top and slide your hand under the parchment paper and flip the pan over with the tart dough on top.
- Work dough into the edges of your tart pan then take a knife and trim along the top edge of the tart pan so you have a clean edge.
- Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and fill the inside of the shell with dried beans or baking beans.
- bake for 20 minutes with bean inside.
- Remove the beans and parchment paper and continue baking 7 minute so the center can bake.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool fully.
To make the meringue:
- In a clean electric mixing bowl or bowl that can handle heat with an electric mixer using a whisk attachment ( the bowl needs to be clean or it will effect your eggs ability to whip into peaks), add your egg whites and begin beating until they get to soft peaks. Soft peaks are when you dip the end of your whisk in and the egg whites form a peak then it quickly slumps to the side or off the whisk.
- Once to that stage, set egg whites aside while you make your sugar mixture.
- In a sauce pan, add sugar, corn syrup, water, vanilla and a pinch of salt, stir together and bring mixture to a boil.
- Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pot. I also always add a glass of ice water to the side so I can manually check my candy stage, see directions for that below.
- Once sugar mixture is to 270 F. or at soft crack stage, remove from stove and bring to mixing bowl. Turn mixer on while you pour the hot sugar towards the inside side of the bowl, that way it won’t splash hot sugar around and it won’t create sugar art on the whisk but instead goes directly into the egg white mixture.
- Let the mixture whisk on high for 5 minutes or until mixture gets shiny and fluffy and cools down to a warm temperature.
- *Cold water candy test. You do this by dipping a spoon into hot sugar mixture and pouring a spoonful into the glass of cold water, then feeling the mixture with your fingers. If it quickly falls apart it’s thread stage, if it forms a soft squishy ball it’s soft ball stage, if it forms a firm ball that’s hard ball stage, a really firm ball that only gives way when you pull hard, that soft crack and if it harden immediately and you can break it, that is hard crack stage.
Assembly:
- Once tart shell has cooled, add grapefruit and cranberry curd to the center.
- Make your meringue and add on top.
- For toasted meringue topping, place under broiler or 2 minutes or use torch to toast, can be left untoasted too.
- Garnish with grapefruit slices and cranberries if desired.
Here are a few recipe you may love:
- Sugar Cookie Tart RECIPE HERE
- Monster Brownies RECIPE HERE
- Dark Chocolate Mango Orange Cookies RECIPE HERE
- Banana Pecan Chocolate Spice Cookies RECIPE HERE
- The Best Chocolate Cake RECIPE HERE
Grapefruit and Cranberry Curd Meringue Tart
Servings: 10 inch tart
Ingredients
- Grapefruit and Cranberry curd:
- 16 ounces grapefruit and cranberry curd
- Tart shell
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter – cold cut into chunks, if you like your crust slightly saltier use salted butter or if you don’t use unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup cold water
- Meringue Topping
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Granish – optional
- 1/2 grapefruit sliced into thin slices
- 1/4 cup cranberries – rinse in water then roll in sugar
Instructions
- For tart shell:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
- Mix together the flour, the sugar and salt.
- Add the cold butter chunks and use a pastry cutter or fork to work butter into dough until dough starts looks crumby.
- Add the cold water one tablespoon at a time and mix until dough can form a ball.
- Roll dough out on a piece of parchment paper so it’s thin and the right dimensions for your tart pan.
- Place tart pan on top and slide your hand under the parchment paper and flip the pan over with the tart dough on top.
- Work dough into the edges of your tart pan then take a knife and trim along the top edge of the tart pan so you have a clean edge.
- Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and fill the inside of the shell with dried beans or baking beans.
- bake for 20 minutes with bean inside.
- Remove the beans and parchment paper and continue baking 7 minute so the center can bake.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool fully.
- To make the meringue:
- In a clean electric mixing bowl or bowl that can handle heat with an electric mixer using a whisk attachment ( the bowl needs to be clean or it will effect your eggs ability to whip into peaks), add your egg whites and begin beating until they get to soft peaks. Soft peaks are when you dip the end of your whisk in and the egg whites form a peak then it quickly slumps to the side or off the whisk.
- Once to that stage, set egg whites aside while you make your sugar mixture.
- In a sauce pan, add sugar, corn syrup, water, vanilla and a pinch of salt, stir together and bring mixture to a boil.
- Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pot. I also always add a glass of ice water to the side so I can manually check my candy stage, see directions for that below.
- Once sugar mixture is to 270 F. or at soft crack stage, remove from stove and bring to mixing bowl. Turn mixer on while you pour the hot sugar towards the inside side of the bowl, that way it won’t splash hot sugar around and it won’t create sugar art on the whisk but instead goes directly into the egg white mixture.
- Let the mixture whisk on high for 5 minutes or until mixture gets shiny and fluffy and cools down to a warm temperature.
- *Cold water candy test. You do this by dipping a spoon into hot sugar mixture and pouring a spoonful into the glass of cold water, then feeling the mixture with your fingers. If it quickly falls apart it’s thread stage, if it forms a soft squishy ball it’s soft ball stage, if it forms a firm ball that’s hard ball stage, a really firm ball that only gives way when you pull hard, that soft crack and if it harden immediately and you can break it, that is hard crack stage.
- Assembly:
- Once tart shell has cooled, add grapefruit and cranberry curd to the center.
- Make your meringue and add on top.
- For toasted meringue topping, place under broiler or 2 minutes or use torch to toast, can be left untoasted too.
- Garnish with grapefruit slices and cranberries if desired.
Grapefruit and Cranberry Curd
A rich, decadent and delicious curd made from grapefruits and cranberries.
Servings: 16 ounces
Ingredients
- Zest of 2 grapefruits
- 2 large grapefruits – juiced or ~ 1 and 1/8 cup grapefruit juice
- 1 cup cranberries or 1/4 cup cranberry juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cups sugar – if using sweetened juices then reduce to 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 8 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup salted butter – cold cut into chunks
Instructions
- In a medium to large sauce pot, zest grapefruits then squeeze in juice of both grapefruits or add grapefruit juice.
- Add fresh cranberries or cranberry juice.
- Add lemon juice and sugar and stir.
- Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until cranberries pop open and then boil for another minute after they pop open, if using juice and not fresh cranberries then bring to a boil and cook until sugar dissolves.
- Remove juice mixture from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove the cranberries and other bits of grapefruit, after straining place mixture back into pot.
- Set aside while you prepare the egg yolks.
- In another bowl, add egg yolks and whisk together.
- Spoon in about 1 tablespoon of the hot mixture and whisk into the egg yolks, followed by another tablespoon and another until you’ve added about 1/2 cup into the eggs.
- This is called tempering our eggs and helps not get chunky fruit curd.
- Once all the hot mixture is mixed into the eggs, add egg and juice mixture into the rest of the juice mixture and turn heat on medium high, whisk continuously while you cook the mixture for 7-8 minutes.
- You do not want the sauce to scorch on the bottom of the pan so you need to be attentive to both heat and whisking to avoid this.
- Once mixture thickens and can coat the back of a spoon with a semi-thickened consistency then it is good and can be removed from heat.
- Take cold butter and add in chunks to mixture while whisking and stir until butter dissolves.
- Allow curd to cool completely for thickness of curd to fully develop.
- This will store in the refrigerator for about 1 week.