Did you know citrus is in season in the winter? Make it the star of your holiday pies with these scrumptious tartlets! For tips and to bake-along live, just follow along with the video.
Prep/Cook: 45 minutes
Chill/Cool: 30 minutes
Assembly: 20 minutes
Orange Almond Tartlets Ingredients
(Yield: Eight 3.5in tarlets)
Sweet Tart Dough:
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup + 1 T almond flour/ground almonds
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
Orange Filling:
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 T orange zest
3 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 cup granulated sugar (divided)
2 T cornstarch
1/2 cup unsalted butter
Decorations:
Extra granulated sugar
Slivered Almonds
First make the dough. You can see my method in the video beginning at the 1:13 mark.
Stir together the softened butter, powdered sugar, and almond flour until it is creamy and light.
Add the all-purpose flour and stir. The mixture will become sandy -- that's okay! Dive in their with your hands and "count coins" with the dough to ensure it is properly incorporated.
Make a well in the center of your sandy dough. Beat the egg a little bit with a fork or your finger, and then add the egg to the well. Mix it together with a rubber spatula or with your hands.
Using the "frasage" method, pour your dough onto your surface. Bring the dough pile towards you and, using the heel of your hand, press your dough into the surface and scrap it away from you. This helps the dough come together. Do this 2-3 times with the entire pile until your dough comes together and you can form it into a disc.
Cover with plastic wrap and place the dough in the refrigerator to rest.
Next make the filling. You can see my process in the video beginning at the 5:31 mark.
Put your orange juice, zest, and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow the butter to melt.
Once the butter melts incorporate 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the cornstarch.
Beat together the egg yolks and eggs and whisk in the sugar and cornstarch. Beat until well combined, ensuring the sugar doesn't burn the eggs.
Once your juice mixture is just boiling, gradually add about 1/2 cup of the mixture to the eggs, whisking the entire time. You're looking to bring the eggs up to temperature so they don't scramble and cook once you put the mixture back into the sauce pan.
Pour everything back into the saucepan and whisk over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick. You can see my final product at the 9:00 mark.
Pour the filling into a shallow bowl, pressing plastic wrap directly to the top of the filling so a skin does not form. Put another sheet of plastic wrap on top of the entire bowl. Allow to cool down and then place in the fridge to chill completely.
Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.
Line a sheet pan with parchment and lay out your tart molds. I recommend you sprinkle a little bit of flour in the bottom of each mold.
Pull your dough out of refrigerator. Using a generous amount of flour, roll it out to 2-3 mm thick. Line each tart mold with dough. You can hear some tips at the 10:05 mark.
Using parchment or foil in each mold, weigh down the dough with pie weights, dried beans, rice, or whatever you have on hand, and bake the crusts for 8 minutes, just until the bottoms are not shiny.
Remove the parchment and weights and return the crusts to the oven to finish baking completely, 6-8 minutes more. The edges will take on a nice golden brown color and the bottoms will still be a little pale but set.
All the crusts to cool completely.
Gently remove the crusts from their molds. If you want to hear some tips, check out the 14:52 mark.
Next assemble: fill each crust with your chilled orange filling. Pour a generous amount of sugar on the top of each tartlet and brûlée using a blow torch*. Decorate with some slivered almonds or perhaps some candied orange peels. You can see my assembly process at the 15:47 mark.
Serve and enjoy every light bite!!
Notes:
*You can broil your tartlets for a few seconds instead of using a blow torch.
You can bake off the crusts and make the filling the day before and assemble the day of serving. You can also assemble a day in advance and refrigerate!
