serves
6
prep
30 minutes
cook
50 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
6
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
50
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
They’re not as bitey as a lemon tart, though I find blood oranges offer a more complex citrus flavour.
Ingredients
Pastry
- 300 g (2 cups) plain flour, sifted
- 150 g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 cm cubes.
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 120 g icing sugar, sifted
- 3 large (jumbo) egg yolks
Filling
- 250 ml (1 cup) thickened cream
- 100 g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 blood oranges
Resting time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooling time: 1 hour
Instructions
For the pastry, place the flour, butter and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and combine the flour, butter and salt until the texture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can massage the butter and flour together using your fingertips until a breadcrumb texture is achieved.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the icing sugar and egg yolks, then add to the flour mixture. Beat together until a moist dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench and pat it into a rectangular shape. Rest the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 190˚C. Lightly grease a 11 cm x 34 cm loose-bottomed rectangular tart tin.
Remove the pastry from the fridge, lightly dust a bench with flour, then roll the dough to a rectangular shape larger than the tin and about 3 mm thick. Gently roll the pastry around the rolling pin, then unroll the pastry over the tin, being sure to leave plenty of pastry hanging over the sides. Using the tips of your fingers, gently press in around all the corners. Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Once the pastry has rested, remove from the fridge and line the base with baking paper. Weigh the paper down with uncooked rice or beans or baking weights and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and bake the pastry for another 5 minutes. The pastry should be dry to the touch and slightly golden in colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Reduce the oven to 120˚C.
For the filling, place the cream, sugar, eggs and egg yolks in a large heatproof bowl.
Finely grate the zests of the oranges into the bowl. Juice the oranges to yield 250 ml (1 cup) and add to the bowl. Whisk together the ingredients and place the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Gently stir the mixture until it reaches 60˚C - it should just be starting to steam. Immediately remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve into a large jug.
If you can, slide out an oven shelf and place the tart shell on it. Pour the blood orange mixture into the shell, filling it all the way to the rim, then gently slide the oven shelf back in. If you can’t slide out an oven shelf, fill the tart as close to the oven as possible as it takes a steady hand to get an unbaked filled tart safely into the oven.
Bake for 25 minutes or until set. Allow to cool completely in the fridge. Trim off overhanging pastry right before serving.
Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Tiffany Page. Creative concept by Belinda So.
Paul West is the host of , 6pm weeknights on SBS and on . For more recipes from Paul, click .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
They’re not as bitey as a lemon tart, though I find blood oranges offer a more complex citrus flavour.
