This Seville orange tart is a twist on the classic French Tart au Citron. A hazelnut pastry is filled with a delicious tangy orange custard made from Seville oranges and decorated with slices of blood orange and chopped toasted hazelnuts.
A delicious baked citrus tart
I first made this tart which is similar to a French lemon tart, when I found myself with a few Seville oranges left over after making a batch of marmalade.
These bitter-tasting oranges give a slight tang to the creamy orange filling in the tart. Not as sharp as when made with lemons, but equally as delicious. So delicious in fact that now when Seville oranges are in season (end of Decmber through to mid February) I not only buy them to make marmalade, I also buy extra to make this tart again.
If you cant get hold of Seville oranges you can still make this orange tart with regular sweet oranges but I like to substitute 1 or two of the Seville oranges for lemons to give it a little more tang. I then tend to call it a St.Clementines tart after the well known nursery rhyme.
How to serve Seville orange tart
The tart looks pretty as it is, with its delicate orange colour flecked with orange zest. Alternatively, you could pimp it up a bit, as I did, by adding some slices of blood oranges that are in season at the same time.
You could also use regular oranges to decorate the tart, but don't be tempted to use more Seville oranges for the decoration as they will be too sour.
I've also ramped up the flavour of the pastry too by adding some finely ground hazelnuts and I like to sprinkle a few toasted chopped hazelnuts on top.
The orange tart is delicious served on its own but if you are feeling decadent you could serve with pouring cream or ice cream.
It's delicious accompanied with a sweet muscat dessert wine or even a little tipple of Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
Hints, tips and variations
- As ground hazelnuts are hard to buy, I have used my own food processor to ground whole ones and used them to make the pastry. You can also use regular shortcrust pastry if you do not have a food processor, or add ground almonds instead of hazelnuts.
- It is a rich pastry and can be a bit tricky to roll out, so you find the pastry difficult to roll out, try rolling between two sheets of parchment or cling film. You can then use this to help you like the pastry into the tart case.
- Use regular oranges or tangerines instead of the blood oranges to decorate or leave plain.
- If you can't find Seville oranges use a mixture of lemons and sweet oranges.
- Use a mircroplane grater if you have one as these are best for removing all the zest without including the bitter white pith.
How long will the tart keep?
Seville orange tart is best kept in the refrigerator but allow it to come to room temperature to serve. Consume within 3 to 4 days.
The tart is not suitable for freezing.
Seville orange tart step by step
Make pastry case
1 Make the pastry in a food processor.
2 Roll out and line the tart pan. Chill.
3 Bake the pastry case blind.
4 Once cooked, immediately brush with a little beaten egg white to seal any cracks.
Fill and bake
1 Meanwhile, finely grate the zest from the oranges.
2 Squeeze the juice.
3 Whisk the eggs and sugar together, then whisk in the juice and cream.
4 Strain the egg mixture.
5 Stir in the orange zest.
6 Pour into the cooked pastry case.
7 Cook until the filling is set and just beginning to colour. Allow to cool then chill until required. Serve plain or decorated with orange slices and chopped hazelnuts.
📖 Recipe
Seville orange tart
Equipment
- food processor
- Rolling Pin
- 23 cm (9in) tart tin
- baking beans
- baking parchment
Ingredients
for the pastry
- 50 g (2oz) blanched hazelnuts
- 175 g (6oz) plain flour (US = all purpose flour)
- 2 tablespoon golden caster sugar
- 100 g (3½oz) butter softened
- 1 egg separated
- 2 tablespoon water
for the filling
- 4-5 Seville oranges
- 5 large eggs
- 225 g (8oz) golden caster sugar
- 150 ml (¼pt) double cream heavy cream
to decorate, optional
- 2-3 blood oranges peeled and sliced
- few toasted chopped hazelnuts (US = heavy cream)
Instructions
To make the pastry
- Place 50g (2oz) hazelnuts in a food processor and blitz to finely chop. Add 175g (6oz) flour and blitz again until the nuts are finely ground. Add 2 tablespoons caster sugar.
- Cut 100g (3½oz) butter into cubes and add to the processor, blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add one egg yolk, and 2 tablespoon of water and blitz until the mixture comes together to form a dough , adding a little more water if required.
- Roll out the pastry and use to line a 23cm (9in) tart pan. Prick the base of the pastry case with a fork and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan)/400-f/gas mark 6. Line the pastry case with a sheet of baking parchment and fill with baking beans.
- Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment and beans and return to the oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile make the filling
- Finely grate the zest from 3 of the oranges. Squeeze the juice from all 5 oranges until you have 175ml (6floz).
- Beat 5 eggs and 225g (8oz) sugar together with a fork or balloon whisk until combined, then whisk in the orange juice, followed by 150ml (¼pt) cream. Strain the mixture through a sieve, then stir in the orange zest.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180℃ (160℃ fan)/350°F /gas mark 4. Remove the pastry case from the oven and brush with a thin layer of lightly beaten egg white. This will seal the case and prevent the mixture from leaking out.
- Carefully pour the orange mixture into the cooked pastry case and return to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is set and just beginning to colour slightly.
- Allow to cool and chill until required. Serve plain or if preferred decorate with orange slices and a sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts.
Video
Notes
- You can also use regular shortcrust pastry if you do not have a food processor, or add ground almonds instead of hazelnuts.
- It is a rich pastry and can be a bit tricky to roll out, so you find the pastry difficult to roll out, try rolling between two sheets of parchment or cling film.
- You can then use this to help you lift the pastry into the tart case.
- Use regular oranges or tangerines instead of the blood oranges to decorate or leave the tart plain.
- If you can't find Seville oranges use a mixture of lemons and sweet oranges.
- Store in the refrigerator or in an airtight tin in a cool place for up to 4 days.
- Not suitable for freezing.
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This recipe first appeared on my other recipe site Recipes Made Easy
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