Master Chef taught me many things and one of them was that desserts are not as difficult to make as they seem. I normally don’t bake as much however the new year resolution is to try to new baking recipes.
Today’s recipe started from my Farmer’s market visit. I went to the market after a long time and as usual got excited and picked up a whole bunch of things. Market is full of citrus and all cold weather vegetables like Kohlrabi, Cauliflower, Ash gourd and so much more. Amongst the citrus, there was blood orange, Meyer Lemon along with pomelo etc.
Blood orange is a very short season so I try to make as many things as I can while its available in the market. I also make Blood Orange Marmalade to enjoy later in the year. I have not posted a recipe for it , but I promise I will soon. Meyer lemon is another citrus which is so versatile and I love it.
I also found some fresh red chilies. I love cooking with these but most of all I always end up making Harissa when ever I get these in the market.
When I got home, I looked at my market loot and thought of making use of these citrus and chili to make something that helps me keep with my new year resolution of baking more, so here is what I made.
I love combining flavors and today I decided to play on the classic combination of Chili, Lime ( here lemon), Cumin and sugar. Some how I feel it just makes it perfectly balanced dessert. Blood Orange curd is inspired by ‘Bojon Gourmet’
Blood Orange- Meyer Lemon Tart with Chili Jam
Now you might ask, what is the difference in a Pie Crust and a Tart base. There are two main differences:
- How you make the dough-
- When you are making a pie-dough, you take the fat ( in most cases it is butter), and cut it into the flour to make a bread crumb like texture. You add ice cold water to bring the dough together.
- For the tart, you make a ‘Pâte Sucrée’, which is basically a sweet short crust. For this, you cream the butter and sugar and then add the flour.
- Egg or no egg
- For the Pie Dough, you use ice cold water to bind the dough
- Tart dough is an enriched dough with some egg yolks. This also makes the dough a lot more crumbly than the pie crust.
So here now you know the difference, lets make that crust.
Crust
Ingredients
- 250 g Flour
- 100 g Sugar
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 1 eggs
- 1/4 tsp coarse ground Cumin
- 1/8 tsp salt
Method
- Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer
- Add the egg and mix well
- Add the flour, Cumin, and salt mixture
- Bring it together with a wooden spoon. Don’t overmix
- Make two discs and wrap it in plastic
- Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours
- Take out the dough and roll it to fit a 9 inch Tart pan
- Bake it at 350 F for about 25 mins
Curd
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Zest of 1 blood orange
- 1/4 tsp chopped chilies ( seeds removed)
- 3/4 cup Blood Orange Juice
- 3 tbsp Meyer Lemon Juice
- 1 cup Sugar
- 3 eggs plus
- 1 egg yolk
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Method
- Make a Bain Marie or Double boiler. I use a 2 quart saucepan and fill it with 2 inches of water and bring it boil. I add all my ingredients in a steel bowl and cook it over the boiling water. I feel this helps the eggs from scrambling and you get a smooth curd.
- Mix both the juices, sugar, eggs, egg yolks and whisk well to combine
- Cook over a double boiler till the mixture thickens and reaches 160F.
- I have learnt that using a thermometer makes it easy to know when the eggs are cooked ( from food safety perspective)
- Now take the bowl off the heat and quickly whisk in the butter pieces
- Pour it into the cooled tart
- Bake for 20-25 mins in a 350 F oven
- Cool the tart in the fridge for at least 4-5 hours
Chili Jam
This recipe is super simple and I feel it adds the heat and salt needed to balance this desert.
Ingredients
- 3-4 chopped red chilies ( try and take out as many seeds as possibile
- 4 tbsp white vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- a pinch of salt
Method
- Mix everything and cook on a slow flame till the mixture thickens
To serve
Cut a piece of tart.Serve with whipped cream, blood orange supreme and some chili jam
English