Cranberry and Apple Cornmeal Shortbread Tart

Hello bakers this is Isaac, and I am excited to share a new holiday recipe with you!

If Linzer torte had an American cousin, this shortbread tart is it – a new favorite at the G&T test kitchen as we experimented with a variety of fillings over the summer. The recipe is adapted from Allison Roman’s article in the New York Times, “What To Do With All That Summer Fruit.” As always, we adapted this into a whole-grain Grist & Toll version and utilized fall fruit for a holiday spin.
We are currently sourcing Sonora landrace wheat and an heirloom Navajo corn, Hopi Red, from Ramona farms in Arizona. Quantities of this corn are extremely limited, so if you are reading this and we are out of stock, please know that our California grown corn will always work with beautiful results. The heirloom corn varieties are especially aromatic and flavorful and are worth snatching up when available. Sonora, known for its pale color and creamy, buttery-nut flavor, pairs nicely with the sweet-rich cornmeal. Of course, other whole grain flours from our lineup will also work, such as Spelt, Einkorn and Emmer.

Cranberry and Apple Cornmeal Shortbread Tart Recipe

Ingredients

Crust & Topping:
285g Sonora flour (2 ¼ C)
82g Cornmeal (1/2 C)
75g confectioners’ sugar (2/3 C)
82g light brown sugar (1/3 C)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 ¼ sticks unsalted butter, melted (20 Tbsp)

Filling:
12 oz cranberries, fresh
2 large baking apples, or 3 small, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Sonora flour
Pinch of kosher salt

Method 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and Spray or butter an 11” tart mold with removable bottom.
  2. Make the crust: Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and pour in the melted butter. Bring the dough together until a solid mass is formed. Use two-thirds of the dough to press into prepared mold, making sure the dough is evenly distributed on the surface and up the sides of the ring mold. We aimed for a crust that was 1/4” thick. Once the dough is formed in the tart mold, save the remaining one-third dough to crumble on top.
  3. Now make the filling: In a medium bowl combine cranberries, cubed apples, both sugars, vinegar, flour, and salt. Thoroughly mix until the fruit is coated. Pour the fruit mixture into the crust. Any sugar mixture left in the bowl can be sprinkled evenly over the fruit.
  4. Crumble the remaining dough on the top. Bake the tart until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Let the tart stand at room temperature for one hour. Once cooled, remove from tart mold and serve.
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