Yorkshire Curd Tart
A classic North Yorkshire tart filled with spiced curd cheese, sweet currants, and fragrant allspice encased in crisp shortcrust pastry.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 75 min
- Servings
- 8
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 360 kcal
Equipment
- •20cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin
- •rolling pin
- •ceramic baking beans
- •mixing bowl
- •wooden spoon
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- fat
- 19 g
- carbs
- 38 g
- fibre
- 1.5 g
- protein
- 9 g
- calories
- 360 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Rub chilled diced butter into the plain flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- 2
Add cold water gradually and stir until the dough just comes together into a ball.
- 3
Wrap pastry in greaseproof paper and rest in the fridge for thirty minutes.
- 4
Roll pastry on a lightly floured worktop to line a 20cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
- 5
Prick base with a fork, line with greaseproof paper and baking beans, then chill for ten minutes.
- 6
Bake blind at 180°C fan for fifteen minutes, remove beans and paper, then bake five minutes more.
- 7
Beat softened butter and caster sugar together in a mixing bowl until pale and creamy.
- 8
Gradually beat in the eggs, then fold in the drained curd cheese.
- 9
Stir in the currants, allspice, grated nutmeg, and lemon zest until evenly distributed.
- 10
Spoon the curd filling into the warm pastry case and smooth the top.
- 11
Bake at 160°C fan for twenty-five minutes until the filling is lightly set and golden.
- 12
Cool completely in the tin on a wire rack before slicing.
Chef's tips
Drain the curd cheese thoroughly in a sieve lined with muslin or kitchen paper to avoid a soggy pastry base. Traditional curds are tangy and crumbly rather than smooth like cream cheese. If real Yorkshire curd cheese is unavailable, cottage cheese sieved dry or fresh ricotta will provide the closest texture.
Ingredient substitutions
- curd cheese → well-drained full-fat cottage cheese or whole-milk ricotta
- currants → sultanas or raisins
- caster sugar → golden caster sugar
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Reheating
Bring to room temperature for thirty minutes before eating, or warm gently in an oven at 150°C fan for eight minutes.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Using wet curd cheese which makes the filling watery and separates during baking.
- •Overbaking the tart, causing the curd filling to crack and dry out.
- •Substituting cream cheese, which yields a heavy cheesecake rather than a light curd texture.
Serving suggestions
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