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Overhead view of sliced Yorkshire curd tart on a wooden board, nutmeg-flecked custard and currants visible in each wedge

Traditional Yorkshire Curd Tart with Nutmeg and Currants

A classic Yorkshire dessert with tangy curd cheese, currants, and nutmeg baked into a crisp shortcrust shell.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 475
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Shortcrust Pastry
  • 250 g plain flour
  • 125 g cold butter cubed
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 cold water to 3 tbsp
Curd Filling
  • 500 g curd cheese or well-drained cottage cheese, blitzed smooth
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 75 g unsalted butter melted
  • 3 eggs large
  • 75 g currants
  • 1 lemon zest lemon; zested
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg freshly grated, plus extra for topping

Method
 

Make the Shortcrust Pastry
  1. Whisk the flour with a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Rub in the cold cubed butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
  2. Add the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing gently with a knife until the dough just holds together. Turn onto a floured surface, pat into a disk, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
  3. Heat the oven to 200 C / 400 F. Roll the chilled dough on a floured surface to fit a 23 cm / 9-inch loose-bottomed tart tin. Press into the tin, trim the edges, and prick the base with a fork.
  4. Line the pastry with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Blind bake for 15 minutes, then remove the weights and parchment and bake 5 more minutes until the base looks dry, not raw. Reduce the oven to 180 C / 350 F.
Make the Curd Filling
  1. Beat the curd cheese with the caster sugar until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter, eggs, lemon zest, and grated nutmeg until combined.
  2. Fold in the currants. Pour the filling into the warm pastry case and spread level. Grate a little extra nutmeg over the top.
Bake and Cool
  1. Bake at 180 C / 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set at the edges but still has a gentle wobble in the center, around 170 F / 77 C. If the top puffs up and cracks badly, pull it out, it's overbaked.
  2. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Slice and serve at room temperature or lightly chilled.

Notes

  • Drain curd cheese overnight if it looks watery before mixing.
  • Blind bake until the base looks sandy dry, not pale.
  • Filling still jiggles slightly in the middle when done, that's normal.
  • Pastry shrinks if dough is warm, chill the full 30 minutes.