Yorkshire curd tart doesn’t try to be photogenic. It’s flat, plain-looking, and about as far from a towering layer cake as dessert gets. It’s also one of the best things that would have come out of an Edwardian kitchen, upstairs or down, and it takes about thirty minutes of real hands-on work. Here’s the full recipe, adapted for an American kitchen where curd cheese isn’t sitting on a grocery shelf.
What Curd Tart Actually Is
Curd tart dates to at least the mid-1600s, when Yorkshire households baked it for Whitsuntide, the church holiday that falls fifty days after Easter. The filling is curd cheese, sweetened and spiced, traditionally made from the rich first milk of a newly calved cow. It’s easy to call it a cheesecake, and it isn’t quite one. The texture is softer, less sweet, and looser than a New York-style cheesecake, because it was built from whatever was left over from making cheese, not from a recipe designed to impress anyone.
It’s still a fixture in Yorkshire today. Betty’s Tea Room in York serves it with the same nutmeg-and-currant filling bakers there have used for generations.
The American Kitchen Problem
Real curd cheese is nearly impossible to find outside the UK. The fix is well-drained full-fat cottage cheese, left overnight in a cheesecloth-lined sieve to lose its excess whey. Farmer’s cheese works too, and skips the draining step entirely. Either way, no specialty order required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use cottage cheese instead of curd cheese?
Yes. Drain full-fat cottage cheese overnight in a cheesecloth-lined sieve to remove the excess whey, then use it in place of curd cheese in equal weight. Farmer’s cheese also works and doesn’t need draining.
How is curd tart different from cheesecake?
Curd tart uses curd cheese instead of cream cheese, and the filling is softer, less sweet, and looser than a New York-style cheesecake. It’s spiced with nutmeg and studded with currants rather than left plain.
Can I make Yorkshire curd tart ahead of time?
Yes. It keeps 2 to 3 days in the fridge. Bring it to room temperature before serving, or warm it slightly.
What does Yorkshire curd tart taste like?
Mild and slightly tangy from the curd cheese, warmed by nutmeg, with bursts of sweetness from the currants and a background note of lemon. It’s less sweet than most American desserts.
Read the Full History
Curd tart is one of four foods that explain why Yorkshire has its own civic holiday every August 1. The full history, including Yorkshire pudding, parkin, and Wensleydale cheese, is in the companion post.
Read Downton Abbey’s Yorkshire: The Real History of Yorkshire Day →
Yorkshire Curd Tart
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (190g)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (50g) for the pastry
- 1 pinch salt for the pastry
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (115g) cubed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tbsp. cold water (30g)
Filling
- 2 cups full fat cottage cheese (450g) * well drained
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter (57g) melted
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (67g) for the filling
- 2 large eggs
- 1 lemon zested
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg freshly grated, plus extra for the top
- 2/3 cups dried currants
- 1 pinch salt for the filling
Instructions
Make the Pastry Dough
- Whisk together in a large bowl the 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and 1 pinch salt. Add 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed and cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter or two knives, then rub the mixture between your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces of butter left.
- Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it, and refrigerate.
- Roll the chilled dough out and fit it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the edges and prick the base a few times with a fork.
- Refrigerate the lined tart pan until chilled (30 minutes).
- Line the shell with parchment and pie weights. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 15 minutes, then remove the weights and parchment and bake 5 minutes more, until the pastry is lightly golden.
Make the Filling
- In a large bowl, whisk together well-drained full-fat cottage cheese, 1/3 cups unsalted butter, melted, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, for the filling, 2 large eggs, 1 lemon, zested, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated, plus extra for the top, and 1 pinch salt, for the filling until smooth.
- Add the currants: Stir 2/3 cup dried currants into the filling.
Fill and Bake
- Pour the filling into the baked shell and spread it evenly. Dust the top with a little extra nutmeg. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 35 minutes until the filling is set but still has a slight wobble in the center
- Cool the tart in the pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
Yorkshire Curd Tart
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (190g)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (50g) for the pastry
- 1 pinch salt for the pastry
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (115g) cubed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tbsp. cold water (30g)
Filling
- 2 cups full fat cottage cheese (450g) * well drained
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter (57g) melted
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (67g) for the filling
- 2 large eggs
- 1 lemon zested
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg freshly grated, plus extra for the top
- 2/3 cups dried currants
- 1 pinch salt for the filling
Instructions
Make the Pastry Dough
- Whisk together in a large bowl the 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and 1 pinch salt. Add 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed and cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter or two knives, then rub the mixture between your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces of butter left.
- Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it, and refrigerate.
- Roll the chilled dough out and fit it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the edges and prick the base a few times with a fork.
- Refrigerate the lined tart pan until chilled (30 minutes).
- Line the shell with parchment and pie weights. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 15 minutes, then remove the weights and parchment and bake 5 minutes more, until the pastry is lightly golden.
Make the Filling
- In a large bowl, whisk together well-drained full-fat cottage cheese, 1/3 cups unsalted butter, melted, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, for the filling, 2 large eggs, 1 lemon, zested, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated, plus extra for the top, and 1 pinch salt, for the filling until smooth.
- Add the currants: Stir 2/3 cup dried currants into the filling.
Fill and Bake
- Pour the filling into the baked shell and spread it evenly. Dust the top with a little extra nutmeg. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 35 minutes until the filling is set but still has a slight wobble in the center
- Cool the tart in the pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.
