This recipe is also from Christophe Felder’s book, Patisserie. I thoroughly recommend this book, so I am posting a link here.
This recipe uses a Pâte Sablée pastry, which is sweet and crumbly. It is another of those that is, for me, a little difficult, as it is so easy to overwork. But I managed to get a reasonable approximation to what it should be like. The whole thing turned out rather well, even if I did have to mess about to get a bit of colour on top of the flan. I don’t have a blow-torch, so tried to melt a little sugar under the grill, but was worried it would go too far, so didn’t do it for long at all. Maybe I need to invest in a blow-torch. It seems that I have to buy a new piece of equipment almost every week at the moment.
So, onto the recipe, starting with photos of my efforts.
Tarte A L’Orange
Tarte A L’Orange with slice missing
Ingredients
For the Crumbly Sweet Pastry
2 cups(9 oz, 250 grams) of all purpose flour
1 stick + 1 tbsp (5 oz, 140 grams) of butter, diced
½ cup (3 ½ oz, 100 grams) sugar
1 egg yolk
For the Orange Cream
1 cup (230 ml) orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
½ cup(2 ½ oz, 75 grams) sugar
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 ½ tbsp. (1 oz, 25g) cornstarch
1 ½ sticks (6oz, 185 grams) butter, diced
For the Finish
¼ cup (2 oz, 50grams) light brown sugar
Method
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the butter and sugar.
- Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Continue rubbing until the mixture forms fine yellow crumbs
- Add the egg yolk and knead until the dough is smooth and forms a ball
- Flatten the dough into a disk and cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Bring the orange juice and zest to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat
- Beat the sugar with the whole eggs, egg yolks and cornstarch in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves
- Remove the pan from the heat and gradually whisk in the egg mixture
- Return the pan to the heat and cook the orange cream whisking constantly, until it thickens.
- Let it boil for 10 seconds
- Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the buttr
- Whisk until the orange cream is smooth and shiny
- Scrape the cream into a shallow bowl, press a piece of clingfilm directly onto the surface and chill completely
- Preheat the over to 350F(180 C)
- Butter the tart pan
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough about 1/8 inch (3mm) thick
- Drape the dough over the rolling pin and transfer to the tart pan
- Trim the overhang so it is flush with the rim of the pan
- Prick the base of the tart shell with a fork
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until golden.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool. Then remove the tart shell from the pan.
- Lightly whisk the chilled orange cream
- Spread it in the tart shell and smooth it with a spatula
- Place in the freezer for 5 minutes
- Sprinkle the top evenly, with light brown sugar
- Using a caramelising iron( or a blow torch) lightly brown the surface of the tart.
- You can do this under the grill too, if necessary.