Classic French Orange Tart

My favorite city in the world is Paris and my favorite pastry is a Tarte à l'Orange at Gérard Mulot patisserie in Saint Germain des Prés. It's my first stop when I arrive in the city of lights and last stop before I fly home! In between there are many stops to find the perfect baguette but that's another story! The quest in this recipe was how to get rich flavor without butter and eggs. Good replacements are coconut milk and coconut oil. For serving, it’s optional to caramelize, or brûlée the top with sugar and a chefs torch. A 10.5" fluted quiche dish from Crate and Barrel is perfect for this recipe. My favorite rolling pins for perfect pie crusts are from J. K. Adams and are available on their website at www.jkadams.com

Classic French Orange Tart

Preheat the oven to 375˚

For the Paté Brisée – Place the flour, almond flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Cut the chilled refined coconut oil into pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse until combined. Add 4 tbsp of ice water and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Pinch a bit of dough between your fingers and if it comes together it is ready to shape into a ball. If not, add 1 tbsp of ice water at a time and pulse for a few seconds. Be careful to not overwork the dough. Pour onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a flat ball. Wrap in the plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Cover your kitchen counter with a couple of sheets of plastic wrap, about 24″ wide. This makes for easy cleanup of your kitchen counter! Sprinkle with flour. Roll out the dough ¹⁄₈” thick in a large circle, a few inches larger than your fluted tart pan. Fold in half and place in the tart pan. Press on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim the dough by rolling the pin over the top of the tart pan to cut the excess crust. 

Blind bake the crust – Pick the bottom of the crust with a fork and line with foil. Weight with dried beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, rotate the crust in the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

For the filling – In a medium saucepan over low heat, add the sugar lemon juice. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the coconut oil. Turn off heat and let rest until the oil has melted. 

Place the orange juice, coconut milk, orange zest, lemon zest, cornstarch, agar powder and salt in a high speed blender. Carefully add the sugar oil mixture. Blend until smooth. Pour into a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking continuously. Cook until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat. Let cool for 15 minutes. Pour into the baked tart crust and let rest at room temperature until the filling is set, about 2 hours.

For the brûlée – Evenly spread the sugar over the orange tart. Light your chef’s torch and start caramelizing one area until it’s lightly browned. Rotate the tart until all of the top is caramelized and the sugar has formed a hard shell.

Serve with a dollop of whipped coconut cream.

makes one 10.5" tart

PATE BRISEE

  • 1¾ cups all purpose flour
  • ½ almond flour
  • 1 tbsp organic cane sugar
  • ½ tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
  • ½ cup refined coconut oil, chilled
  • 4-6 tbsp ice water, more as needed

ORANGE FILLING 

  • ¾ cup organic cane sugar
  • ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ cup refined coconut oil
  • 2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
  • ½ cup full fat coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp orange zest
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp agar powder
  • 1 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt

FOR SERVING 

  • 1 cup whipped coconut cream