IngredientsThe citrus tang of orange goes so well with chocolate, be it milk, dark or white. It’s a taste memory that is firmly lodged in my head from childhood – always a chocolate orange at Christmas! The cream and blood orange marmalade excites this tart perfectly.
Serves 6–8
200g dark chocolate (at least 66% cocoa solids
150g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 organic eggs
3 organic egg yolks
40g golden caster sugar
225g golden caster sugar
60ml blood orange juice (use ordinary oranges if blood oranges are not available)
185ml water
30g grated blood orange zest (just grate on a grater or take off strips with a peeler, avoiding too much pith)
Method- First make the pastry. Place the butter, eggs yolks and icing sugar in a food processor and mix until combined. Add the flour and mix again until it forms a ball. Wrap in baking parchment or cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Grate the pastry directly into a 22–23cm tart tin, using the coarse side of the grater. Push the gratings around and into place along the bottom and up the sides of the tin, closing all the gaps. A laborious process but the resulting pastry is meltingly crumbly. Line with a piece of baking parchment, fill with baking beans or rice and bake blind on 180 for about 15 minutes, until light blond. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
- To make the filling, break the chocolate into pieces and place in a bowl with cubed butter. Place in at 50°C for 15 minutes or until melted.
- Meanwhile, beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the warm chocolate and butter mixture and mix until just combined. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and bake at 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for 10 minutes maximum, until the surface of the tart has turned matt and lost its gloss.
- For the marmalade put all the ingredients in a small pan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer over a low to medium heat for about 20 minutes, until reduced to a syrup; don’t let it get too sticky, as it will thicken on cooling. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Serve each slice of chocolate tart with a spoon of lightly whipped cream next to it. Drizzle the marmalade over the cream and the tart, linking the two.
© Melt 2013
