Tangy Orange Tart

I think this is the first orange tart I've ever made. I bought some oranges and lemons that were on offer in a local market, and decided to make a tart rather than a cake. It's easy to make, but a bit different.
I recently watched Mary Berry making some candied peel with orange zest, so decided to have a go at making some to decorate the top of the tart.
The pastry is a sweet shortcrust, and I used icing sugar instead of caster sugar as the sweetener.

preheat oven 200c/gas6  You need a 23cm fluted tart tin

You can make the pastry in a processor or by hand, but I was lazy and used the processor.

Put 225g plain flour, pinch salt, 125g butter and 2 tbspn icing sugar in a processor and blitz till crumbs. Beat 1 egg yolk with 2 tbspn cold water and add to the mixture and pulse till you nearly get a dough. Knead together then wrap in cling film and chill.

For the filling - put the juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange, with the zest of 2 oranges, 75g butter, 225g granulated sugar and 3 beaten eggs into a pan and heat gently, stirring all the time till thickened.
Stir in 75g ground almonds and 2 tbspn of orange liqueur [optional]. Leave to cool.

Roll the pastry out and line the tart tin. prick the base all over with a fork and put back in the fridge for 10 mins. Cover base with baking paper and baking beans and bake blind for 20 mins, remove paper and bake for another 5 mins. Take pastry case out of the oven, reduce the temperature to 180C/gas4 and pour the orange filling into the case. Bake for 20 mins or till firm.

To make the candied peel -  Put 50g of caster sugar in a pan with 300ml water. Add the zest of 1 orange cut into thin strips and simmer for 15 mins till zest is soft. Drain and roll in caster sugar till coated. Use to decorate the top of the tart, and sift some icing sugar over.


I really like the tangy citrus flavour of the filling, which went well with the sweet pastry. The filling has a soft texture, but holds itself firm. The candied zest was easy to do, and so much tastier than the stuff you buy in the plastic tubs. I must remember to keep the zest when I'm eating an orange. I'm sure you can freeze it to use when you're ready.

Comments

Suelle said…
That's an unusual filling - similar to a curd, I guess but with the almonds added for texture.

I've made Mary Berry's candied peel for cake decoration; it doesn't have the texture of properly candied peel but it's very good for cakes as it's crisp rather than chewy.
I'm not sure that I've ever made an orange tart but I don't know why not. This sounds like a lovely filling. I have made candied zest, though, and I think it's a very pleasing and useful addition to cakes and tarts and different to anything in the shops. (I always forget to make any when I have orange or lemon zest to spare).
Snowy said…
I noticed Mary Berry making a lemon peel on tv yesterday, and she put it in the oven this time to dry out.

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