Blood Orange Chocolate Tart

I think I’ve established that I go pretty hard with blood oranges once Winter hits, but one obvious ingredient I’ve never paired them with is chocolate. Think of all the legendary chocolate pairings: Terry’s Chocolate Oranges. Chocolate Orange Shortbread. Chocolate dipped clementines. You get the picture, so why not blood orange??

This tart is super straightforward and doesn’t even require you turning on your oven. It makes enough for a 8-9 inch tart as well as a smaller 3-4 inch tart for “quality control”. I use classic tart pans with a removable bottom, however you could likely also use a small springform pan.

In terms of flavour, I add some lemon juice to the blood orange cream to balance the sweetness, as well as a surprise layer of ganache coating the crust. This ensures the bottom of the crust stays crisp, but also adds a little extra chocolatey goodness (not to mention some goo).

Garnish as you like! I tried a little bit of everything, with orange slices, zest and orange blossoms that lurked in my cupboard unopened from Bordeaux (whoops). Raspberries would also pair nicely with the chocolate orange.

(Also on a quality control note – this recipe allows for an Oreo “sample”)

Crust Ingredients

1 package of Oreos (about 27 cookies)
Scant 1/2 cup salted butter, melted

Ganache Ingredients

1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate

Blood Orange Cream Ingredients

Zest of 2 blood oranges
6 tbsp blood orange juice
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup diced butter

Garnish: Blood orange zest, slices or orange blossoms

Steps

Grind the Oreos in a blender or food processor until they have the texture of fine crumbs. Stir crumbs together with melted butter until it has the texture of wet sand. Press into a 8-9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom (and another mini tart pan if using) and place in freezer for 10 minutes, until set.

Meanwhile, make chocolate ganache. In the microwave or on stovetop, bring cream to an almost boil and pour over chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let sit for 1 minute, then whisk together until smooth.

Spread a 1/4 cup of ganache onto the bottom of the large chilled tart shell and 1.5 tbsp into the small tart shell, allowing to chill in the fridge while you make the blood orange cream.

To make blood orange cream filling, peel zest of the two blood oranges into thick strips in a small saucepan.

Add blood orange juice, lemon juice, sugar and eggs and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until you reach a simmer. The curd is ready when it is thick and coats the back of a spoon (dip a the back of a spoon in the curd and run your finger through it. If the lines stay solid and the curd doesn’t run back into the path, it is ready).