Wednesday 16 May 2007

Bitter Chocolate and Orange Tart


I've made this tart using a lemon and lime combination. But chocolate and orange wins hands down. The key to getting the flavours right is to ensure you extract the oils from the skin of the fruit. So a gentle heat on the cream and milk with the grated zest of one orange and the rind of another will do just nicely. Just make sure you pull the rind out before baking otherwise it will make for an unpleasant surprise for somebody. I also put cocoa powder in the pastry to provide a double chocolate hit.

Bitter Chocolate and Orange Tart

For the pastry
150g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
75g butter
Pinch of salt
A little water

For the filling
300ml double cream
150ml milk
300g 70% chocolate
Zest of two oranges, one finely grated and the other cut into slivers
100g sugar
3 egg yolks

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 160C, GM3
2 - Make your pastry by combining the dry ingredients in a food processor or by hand. Drizzle in water and combine until it forms a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3 - Grease and line a tart tin with a removable base, I used a 12" tin. Roll out your pastry and line the tart tin leaving the edges overlapped. Line with baking paper and fill with baking beans, any old dried beans or peas will do. Blind bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool a little then trim the case with a sharp knife.
4 - In a deep pan, bring the cream, milk, zest and rind of the orange and the chocolate to boiling point then remove from the heat. Ensure the chocolate is melted and thoroughly combined. Remove the large slithers of zest.
5 - Beat the egg yolks and sugar together. Pour in the chocolate mixture beating all of the time. The pour into the pastry case and gently place onto the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the mixture is almost firm. Cool before serving.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh my oh my oh my.
I feel myself booking a train ticket with Freddie and travelling up north towards you in order to steal the tart and bring it home and eat.

Hannah said...

I want a large slice of this NOW David - bring some down to Bedfordshire IMMEDIATELY! It looks delicious

William Leigh said...

dave, post me a slice now. Special delivery, I want it by 9am tomorrow...

Anonymous said...

Sounds fab! I may be the only one, but chocolate and raspberry is my fave combo :)

Anonymous said...

I think you are committing an act of extreme cruelty posting such a creation without delivering it to us post haste.
Great Big Veg Challenge

Anonymous said...

Hi David,

Sounds delicious! I love dark chocolate and orange...
Thanx for the tip on non-stick pasta.

Margot

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