Blood Orange-Chocolate Tartlets with Sweet Meringue
It’s that time of the season when I have blood oranges on my mind – like nonstop! Unfortunately, it’s been rather crazy lately with birthdays, a trip to vegas (for a birthday), trying to get ready for that amazing trip, spending as much time with two of our friends before they leave us for Georgia (my hearts is breaking), fighting off the flu between Adam and I, and of course work. Whew!
I haven’t been able to find the time to get into the kitchen to play with this yummy little citrus. I have like a bazillion recipes, pinned to my Pinterest board, that are just taunting me to try out. With such a short growing season, I may have to wait for next season to dive in and really get these guys knocked out.
Luckily, despite the chaos, I did managed to squeeze in a few moments to test out this uber-delicious, blood orange-chocolate tart with sweet meringue on top. Oh… it’s real good!!!
The first attempt wasn’t as successful as I wanted, which led me racing to get more ingredients, and trying out a different tart dough and filling. So aggravating, right? Luckily, the second attempt was a whole lot better! It pays to never give up!
I don’t know what it is about blood oranges that makes my heart sing at such a bold, broadway-like tune. Maybe it’s the fact that they are not readily available or the vibrant, red color. What ever it is, they have me captivated and I’m on a mission to find one of these trees for my own deck. Thanks to my friends at Cetrella Restaurant in Los Altos, who pointed me in the direction of Four Winds Growers, I may have found my new little beauty! I need a few weeks to recover from our Vegas trip before I purchase one, but I’m already rearranging my deck for my future addition!
Now that I’ve talked your ear off about my blood orange obsession, let’s dive into this recipe. I had a lot of fun photographing this dessert, so I apologize for the multitude of photos. I find it so hard narrowing down my favorites!
And the moment you’ve all been waiting for…. the actual recipe! I told you I had an scary amount of photos!!!
- 8 blood oranges, zested and juiced
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 10 egg yolks
- 1 cup butter, cut into pieces
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 1/2 ounces powdered sugar
- 1 whole egg
- Pinch of salt
- 1 ounce unsweetended cocoa powder
- 8 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
- 1/8 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 bag of dried beans or pie weights
- Aluminum foil
- 3 egg whites (with absolutely no bits of yolks!)
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 blood oranges, cut into segments (outer walls removed) for garnish
- 1. In a medium bowl, combine blood orange zest and sugar.
- 2. Put the sugar mixture, lemon juice, egg yolks, and butter in a medium sauce pan and stir until combined.
- 3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter melts and the mixture begins to thicken. Cook until mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Mixture will bubble, so stir constantly to avoid burning. Mixture should be thick, but slightly runny. If it's like jam, it will be too thick when it cools.
- 4. Remove pan from heat and pour orange curd into a glass bowl.
- 5. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the curd and cool to room temperature.
- 6. Place in the fridge and allow to cool completely.
- Curd can be made up to 1 week in advance.
- 1. Sift together salt, cocoa powder and flour. Set aside.
- 2. Cream butter until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar until thoroughly mixed.
- 3. Add in egg and mix until just combined.
- 4. Slowly mix in flour mixture until just combined.
- 5. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Using your hands, form dough into a disk.
- 6. Wrap with plastic wrap, then chill in fridge for 2 hours.
- 7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the dough from the fridge and allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes. Lightly grease 6 small tart pans
- 8. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4" thickness. Using a tart pan as your stencil, trace a 1/2" larger circle around the pan. Dust extra flour from dough then gently press into tart pan, using fingers to press into the edges and up the side of the pan. If any crack occurs, press together with fingers.
- 9. Line the tart dough with aluminum foil, allowing to extend past the edges. Fill with dried bean or pie weights.
- 10. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 15 minutes.
- 11. Bake dough in oven for 15 minutes.
- 12. Remove aluminum foil and baking beans, then bake for another 5 minutes, or until tart dough is cooked through.
- 13. Toss 5-6 chocolate chips into each tart shell and allow to melt. Using a pastry brush, coat entire inside of the tart shell with a thin layer of melted chocolate. When the chocolate hardens, it forms a seal to keep the tart shell from getting soggy.
- 14. Allow tart shells to cool.
- 1. Place egg whites and cream of tarter in a mixing bowl. Using your mixer, with a whisk attachment, beat the egg mixture on medium until the egg whites are still frothy, but starting to holding their shape.
- 2. Slowly add the sugar in small portions. As the meringue becomes glossy, turn the mixer to high.
- 3. Continue to beat on high until all of the grains of sugar are dissolved and the meringue is thick and holding its form.
- 4. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag and set aside for tart assembly. If you don't have a piping bag, you can substitute a large ziplock bag, with the tip cut.
- 1. Spoon the blood orange curd between all six tarts, being careful not to over fill.
- 2. Pipe the sweet meringue onto the curd as desired. Using a kitchen torch, burn the edges of the meringue.
- 3. Decorate the tart with the blood orange segments. Serve immediately or let the curd and meringue set in the fridge for up to 4 hours.
- Check out this great tutorial by The Kitchn
