Maltese Blood Orange Tart
The culinary bible Larousse Gastronomique cites ‘sauce Maltaise’ as a savoury preparation of hollandaise flavoured with blood orange. For a while, blood oranges were known as ‘Maltese oranges’ – so prized they were sent annually to Marie Antoinette in Versailles. This recipe captures the deliciousness of blood orange in a velvety curd, delivered in a delicate crust.
Ingredients 10
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
150 g plain flour (all-purpose flour), plus extra for dusting
50 g icing sugar, confectioners’
75 g butter, chilled, diced
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp iced water
Blood Orange Curd
3 eggs, large
150 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
1 blood orange, finely grated zest
100 ml blood orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
110 g butter, softened, diced
1 blood orange, sliced into thin discs, for garnish
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Method 8
Combine the , and in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs or rough sand. Add the and to form a dough. Shape into a ball, then flatten into a disc. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
To Make The Curd
While the pastry is chilling, make the curd. Combine the , , and bold orange juice and in a medium heatproof bowl and whisk together. Set the bowl above a saucepan of simmering water set over a low–medium heat.
Cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for 15–20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to a curd. It is ready when you are able to draw a line through the curd on the back of the spoon and it doesn’t run.
Stir in the until well blended and remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) and butter a 24 cm (9½ in) loose-based flan (tart) tin. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface until large enough to cover the tin. Line the tin with the pastry, pressing it into the sides. Trim the excess by rolling the pin across the top of the tin.
Line with baking paper and fill with dried beans or rice (or weights) for blind baking. Bake for 15 minutes, then lift out the paper and contents and bake for 5 minutes more.
Allow the pastry shell to cool for at least 5 minutes, then fill with the curd. Bake for another 10 minutes. Leave the tart to cool, then chill in the refrigerator and serve cold.
For the blood orange garnish, slice the into thin discs. Place them on a wire rack and cook them in the oven for the last 5 minutes of the tart cooking. Leave them in the oven when you turn it off, with the door slightly ajar. Use the slices to garnish the tart before serving.
