Chocolate orange tart with blood orange marmalade, custard and chocolate ganache is a dessert to die for. It’s rich, sharp and crazy delicious. All the flavours work perfectly together – sharp orange with sweet chocolate is simply a match made in heaven.
You might get bored seeing another recipe with oranges, but I just can’t help it! When these fruits are in season, I use them again and again in my bakes. They look amazing, taste delicious and give incredible colour to any cake. How can you not love them?
It’s been almost a month since my last chocolate bake, so my Fussy Eater has started asking (on repeat!) ‘when’s the next chocolate cake?’. I couldn’t postpone it any longer… it just wouldn’t be kind!
So, on Saturday evening at 9pm I started baking the most delicious chocolate tart with a vibrant and zingy orange curd. (By the way, let me take a minute to appreciate the baking dedication of starting a cake at this time of day.)
Now, I’m not going to lie, all the cooling time really stretches the baking time, so I’d recommend preparing your tart case the night before and finishing everything else the following day. Otherwise, it might take an entire half-day to make it.
Tips for the Best Chocolate Orange Tart
To achieve the best results baking this cake, follow these tips:
- Tart case – chill your dough after making it. I can’t express how important this step is. If you have time, I recommend chilling the dough after adding placing it in the tart tin as well.
- Blind bake – make sure your case is blind baked. This will help you have a perfect tart case and doesn’t allow your pastry to puff.
- Orange blood marmalade – I used homemade orange marmalade (you can find a recipe here), but you can also use any type of shop-bought jam.
- Orange layer – strain the curd to avoid any lumps (it’s quite normal to have some cooked eggy bits, so straining through a sieve helps remove them).
- Flour for the cream – you can swap flour for corn starch or cornflour to get the same result.
- Cool down the chocolate ganache at room temperature. If you put it in the fridge, it might lose its beautiful glossy look.
Chocolate Orange Tart Recipe
Ingredients
Tart Case:
130g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
75g cold butter
30g caster sugar
1 egg + 1 egg to brush the pastry
Pinch of salt
Orange Layer:
3 tablespoons blood orange marmalade (recipe)
2 oranges
1 lemon
100g sugar
2 eggs
30g flour
100ml double cream
Chocolate Ganache:
150g milk chocolate
100ml double cream
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
Prepare the tart case:
2. Rub the flour, cocoa powder and butter between your fingertips until the mixture gains a breadcrumb consistency.
3. Add the caster sugar, egg and a pinch of salt. Mix everything together until the ingredients come together (don’t overmix it).
4. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool.
Bake the tart case:
5. Lightly dust your work surface with some plain flour.
6. Roll out the pastry to a circle of 5mm thickness. Put the rolled-out pastry into a tart case. Using your fingers, gently press the dough into the corners of the case. Prick the base of the tart with a fork.
7. Cut a large piece of baking parchment and scrunch it up. Open it out again, and place the parchment on top of the pastry. Fill the tart with baking beans.
8. Bake the tart for 15 minutes. After that, remove the beans with the baking sheet, brush the case with beaten egg and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
9. After the case is baked, let it cool a little.
10. Using a sharp knife, neatly trim the edges of your tart (follow the tart tin structure and slide your knife along it to give a sharp, neat pastry finish).
Prepare the orange layer:
11. Squeeze the juice from the fruits and zest one orange.
12. Add the juice, zest and sugar to a saucepan and heat until simmering.
13. Beat the eggs in a separate jug.
14. Take the juice mixture off the heat and very slowly, always whisking, pour this mixture into the eggs (this way you’ll avoid scrambled eggs).
15. Pour the mix back into the saucepan, add the flour and double cream.
16. Heat the curd for a couple of minutes (always mixing) until it starts firming.
17. Pour it through a sieve to avoid any lumps.
Assemble the cake:
18. Lower the oven temperature to 140 degrees.
19. Add the blood orange marmalade into the tart case and spread evenly.
20. Pour the orange cream into your cooled tart case with the marmalade layer.
21. Bake the tart for 25 minutes.
22. Let it cool completely.
Make the ganache:
23. Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
24. Put the chocolate in a large mixing bowl.
25. Pour the double cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth and glossy.
26. Let the ganache cool down for 10-15 minutes.
Finish the tart:
27. Pour the ganache onto the baked tart and spread evenly.
28. Decorate the tart with mint leaves and slices of oranges or mandarins.
