Blood Orange Curd Tartlets

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12 individual tartlet pans (3-4 inch diameter) or a 12-cup muffin tin
• •Pie weights or dried beans
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Microplane zester
• •Wooden spoon or silicone spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the tart dough

   Whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and work them into the flour using your fingertips or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse sand with some pea-sized pieces remaining. These butter pieces will create the tender, flaky texture you want. Add the egg yolks and mix with a fork until the dough just begins to clump together. If it seems dry, add cold water by the half teaspoon. The dough should hold together when you press it but should not feel sticky or wet.

   Cold butter is essential. If your kitchen is warm, freeze the cubes for ten minutes before starting.
2. 2

   Shape and chill

   Gather the dough into a flat disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight. Cold dough is forgiving dough. It rolls without sticking and bakes without shrinking. Do not skip this rest.

3. 3

   Line the tart pans

   On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut circles slightly larger than your tartlet pans and press gently into each mold, pushing the dough into the corners without stretching it. Trim the edges flush with the rim. Prick the bottoms with a fork and freeze the lined pans for twenty minutes. This step relaxes the gluten and prevents shrinking during baking.

   Reroll scraps gently and chill again before cutting more circles. Overworked dough becomes tough.
4. 4

   Blind bake the shells

   Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line each frozen shell with a small piece of parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for fifteen minutes, then carefully remove the weights and parchment. Continue baking until the shells are golden and dry to the touch, another eight to twelve minutes. The color should remind you of shortbread, pale gold with slightly darker edges. Let cool completely in the pans.

5. 5

   Juice and zest the oranges

   While the shells cool, prepare your blood oranges. Roll them firmly against the counter to loosen the juice. Zest two of them before cutting, using a microplane to capture only the colored outer layer, never the bitter white pith. Juice all four oranges and strain to remove seeds and pulp. You need about three-quarters cup of that ruby juice. The color should be remarkable, somewhere between garnet and sunset.

   The deepest colored blood oranges, the Moro variety, make the most striking curd. Tarocco oranges are sweeter but paler.
6. 6

   Cook the curd gently

   Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a medium saucepan until smooth. Add the blood orange juice, zest, and pinch of salt. Set the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of your spoon. This takes eight to twelve minutes. Do not rush. Do not walk away. The curd should be thick enough that when you draw your finger across the coated spoon, the line holds.

7. 7

   Finish with butter

   Remove the pan from heat. Add the butter pieces a few at a time, stirring until each addition melts before adding more. The butter gives the curd its silky richness and glossy sheen. Strain the curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any bits of cooked egg and the zest. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until fully set, at least two hours.

8. 8

   Fill and serve

   Spoon or pipe the chilled curd into the cooled tart shells, filling them generously. The surface should be smooth and slightly domed. These are ready to serve now, or they will keep, covered, in the refrigerator overnight. Let them sit at room temperature for ten minutes before serving to let the butter in both the curd and the shell soften slightly. The curd should be bright and tangy, the shell tender and rich. Let things taste of what they are.

Chef Tips

• •Blood oranges have a short season, typically January through March. Buy them from farmers who grow citrus, and use them quickly. Their color and flavor fade with time.
• •The best butter you can find means butter with high fat content and real flavor. European-style cultured butter makes shells that taste like something you would find in a French bakery.
• •If blood oranges are not in season, wait. Cara cara oranges or Meyer lemons make beautiful curds, but they are different desserts entirely. Honor the season.
• •The curd will thicken more as it cools. If it seems thin in the pan, trust the process. Refrigeration transforms it.
• •These tartlets make ideal dinner party desserts because all the work happens ahead. The morning of, you simply fill and serve.

Advance Preparation

• •Tart dough can be made and refrigerated up to three days ahead, or frozen for one month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.
• •Blind-baked shells keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two days, or frozen for two weeks.
• •Blood orange curd can be made four days ahead and stored refrigerated with plastic wrap pressed on the surface.
• •Filled tartlets are best within eight hours but will hold overnight refrigerated. The shells soften slightly but remain delicious.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 75g)