The Bitter Orange & Cardamom Tart
Equipment
- 1 9" Tart pan With removable bottom
- 1 Fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
For the Tart Dough
- 1 ½ cups All-purpose flour
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Freshly ground cardamom freshness is vital here
- ½ cup Butter 1 stick Cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large Egg yolk
For the Curd
- ¾ cup Bitter orange juice Seville oranges are best; if unavailable, use a 2:1 mix of regular Navel orange and Lime juice
- 1 tbsp Bitter orange zest if unavailable 50/50 mix of lime and orange zest
- ¾ cup Granulated sugar
- 3 large Eggs
- 3 large Egg yolks
- ½ tsp Ground cardamom Freshness is vital here
- 1 cup Butter 2 sticks Unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
Instructions
Tart Shell
- Pulse: In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and cardamom. Add cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Bind: Add the egg yolk and pulse until the dough just begins to clump.
- Chill: Turn out onto plastic wrap, form into a disc, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- The Bake: Roll out to 1/8-inch thickness and fit into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze for 15 minutes. Line with parchment, fill with pie weights, and bake at 175°C (350°F) for 15 minutes. Remove weights and bake for another 10–12 minutes until golden and "set."
Curd
- Temper: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk juice, zest, sugar, eggs, yolks, and cardamom.
- Thicken: Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 82°C or 180°F). Do not let it boil, or the "architecture" of the eggs will collapse into a scramble.
- Emulsify: Remove from heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Let it cool slightly, then whisk in the butter one cube at a time until the curd is glossy and velvet-smooth.
If bitter orange or Seville oranges are not available, use the following: Combine regular Navel orange and fresh lime juice. Use a precise 2:1 ratio for the best results.
Assembly
- Pour: Fill the cooled tart shell with the warm curd. Smooth the top with an offset spatula.
- Set: Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until firm.
Serving
- Avoid centering your garnish. Instead, place a few shards of candied orange peel and a dusting of crushed green cardamom pods in a tight, intentional cluster on the far "northwest" edge of the tart, leaving the rest as a vast, smooth plane of orange.
Nutrition
Serving: 123gCalories: 467kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 6.5gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1.7gMonounsaturated Fat: 9.3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 223mgSodium: 322mgPotassium: 110mgFiber: 0.9gSugar: 18.4gVitamin A: 1084IUVitamin C: 0.8mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 1.9mg
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