Blood orange and chocolate tart

Name: Blood orange and chocolate tart
Total time: 4 h 45 min
Ingredients: 65g of icing sugar; 15g of ground almonds; 100g of unsalted butter, diced and chilled; 165g of flour; 1 pinch of salt; 40g of eggs; 1 small egg; 320g of dark chocolate, broken into pieces; 2 eggs; 230g of double cream; 130g of milk; 50g of blood orange juice; 25g of caster sugar; 25g of glucose; 200g of water; 4 gelatine leaves, bloomed in cold water; 6 blood oranges

by Lani Greenhalgh

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Dessert
medium
8
4 hours 45 minutes

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As well as being one of the most visually stunning desserts around, Lani Greenhalgh's chocolate and blood orange tart recipe is a masterclass in balancing flavours and textures. Her chocolate tart filling is wonderfully light while still packing a decadent richness, and the fresh, juicy blood orange segments meld with the chocolate to create a rather unforgettable combination. You can check out more of Lani's stunning tart recipes here.

First published in 2019

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You'll want to brush up on your segmenting skills before attempting this dessert – watch our video for top tips.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Pastry

65g of icing sugar
15g of ground almonds
100g of unsalted butter, diced and chilled
165g of flour
1 pinch of salt
40g of eggs

To glaze the pastry

1 small egg

Chocolate filling

320g of dark chocolate, broken into pieces
2 eggs
230g of double cream
130g of milk

Blood orange jelly

50g of blood orange juice
25g of caster sugar
25g of glucose
200g of water
4 gelatine leaves, bloomed in cold water

To assemble

6 blood oranges

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Equipment

25cm loose bottom tart tin
Food processor
Food mixer with paddle attachment
Microplane
Stick blender
Pastry brush

Method

Begin by making the pastry. Blitz the almonds and icing sugar in a food processor then sieve the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer with the rest of the dry ingredients

Using the paddle attachment, combine on low speed with the cold butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then add to the flour and butter mixture. Work for about 30 seconds until just combined. Avoid over-working the dough

Push the dough together to form a rough disc shape. Wrap in cling film and chill for a minimum of 1 hour, until it is firm and well rested

Lightly sprinkle a work surface with flour and roll the pastry out to an even circle, about the thickness of a pound coin. There will be some excess dough which can be trimmed after cooling. Roll the pastry back onto the rolling pin and onto the tart tin. Coerce the pastry into the tin, pressing it gently into the edges. Leave the pastry overhang as it is. Chill for another hour

Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2 (no fan)

Trim the excess pastry to leave about 1cm hanging over the edge, reserving the excess pastry for later. Use aluminium foil to line the tart case for blind-baking. Lani uses caster sugar as a weight for blind-baking, then reuses the lightly toasted sugar in the tart filling, but you can use baking beans or whatever you prefer. Bake the tart shell for 1 hour

Remove the pastry case from the oven and remove the foil and sugar (or baking beans). Use a microplane to shave the edges of the tart shell until it is flush with the tart ring and even all around

Using a stick blender, blend enough of the reserved raw pastry trimmings (about 35–40g) with the egg to form a liquid pastry. Brush it all over the tart case, filling any cracks and smoothing out the edges. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

To prepare the chocolate filling, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. Meanwhile, heat the cream and milk almost to the boil in a saucepan. Pour it over the eggs, whisking continuously

Once the egg and cream mixture is incorporated, stir it into the melted chocolate until combined and smooth using a spatula

Place the prepared tart shell on the middle shelf of the oven and pour in the chocolate mixture. Turn off the oven and leave it to cook in the oven’s residual heat for 20–25 minutes, or until it is just set with a slight wobble in the centre

Allow the tart to cool completely before decorating

Peel the blood oranges and segment them, working over a bowl to collect any juice. Set the segments to one side and measure out 50ml of blood orange juice to make the jelly

To make the blood orange jelly (this will be used to glaze the finished tart), bring the water, glucose and sugar to the boil in a saucepan. Add the bloomed gelatine, return to the boil for a second then remove from the heat. Stir in the 50ml reserved blood orange juice, pass through a sieve and allow to cool

To serve, arrange the blood orange segments over the chocolate tart in circles, or in any pattern you like. Brush with the bloody orange jelly and allow to set before slicing