Chocolate Orange Custard Tart
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
Chocolate Pastry:
- 160g plain flour
- 115g unsalted butter
- 70g icing sugar
- 20g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg yolk
Orange Custard:
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 100g caster sugar
- zest of 1 orange
- 75ml orange juice
- 75ml double cream
- pinch of salt
Chocolate Ganache:
- 125g dark chocolate
- 125ml double cream
To Decorate:
- dried oranges
- pecans
- rosemary sprigs
Method:
Chocolate Pastry:
- In a food processor, blitz the butter, flour, icing sugar, cocoa and vanilla extract until it looks like breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolk and continue to blitz until it just comes together and forms a dough. Keep an eye on it and don't blitz any further than this or you will overwork the pastry!
- Squeeze the dough together and form into a ball, then wrap in cling film and and leave to rest in the fridge for half an hour.
- Once chilled, transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll the pastry to around 3mm thick. Line a greased 7 or 8 inch tart tin, and use your fingers to work it to the edge of the tin. Trim off the edges.
- Prick the bottom of the pastry tin with a fork and leave them in the fridge to rest for another 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 180 C (fan).
- Once the pastry has chilled, line with baking paper and fill with baking beans.
- Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes, then remove the baking beans and bake for a further 5 minutes. As this pastry is chocolate it an be hard to check the colour change during the bake, so make sure you keep an eye on it!
- Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Orange Custard:
- In a bowl over a pan of simmering water, mix together the eggs and sugar, then add in the zest and juice.
- Add the cream and salt, and heat gently for about 5 minutes, stiring regularly.
- Strain the custard to remove the zest, and then pour into the cooled tart tin.
- Bake at 130 C (fan) for 25-30 minutes, until the custard has set, but with a slight wobble.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Chocolate Ganache:
- Heat the cream either in a saucepan or in the microwave, until it's simmering, and add the chocolate, stirring until it is fully smooth.
- Make sure it's not too, hot, but while it is still very pourable, spread it over the top of the custard, and use a palette knife or the back of a spoon to spread it evenly to the edge of the tart.
- Leave to cool and set so there is no movement in the ganache.
To Decorate:
- Add the toppings, or alternatiely, sprinkle with cocoa powder, or more chocolate.
- Serve at room temperature, and enjoy!
