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This delicious Orange and Chocolate Almond Tart is a simple chocolate cookie crust filled with almond cream and then topped with fresh juicy Cara Cara and Navel oranges. The tart oranges are perfect with the sweet filling and crust and the combination of flavors is amazing. Learn how to make this delicious tart.
I love baking and sharing my recipes with you. One of things I'm committed to is baking with quality ingredients to ensure my bakes turn out right and delicious for myself and for you. It's one of the reasons I love baking with Bob's Red Mill. For any recipe that calls for almond flour I will always use Bob's Super-Fine Almond Flour. The texture and taste are perfect for all my baking.
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Why This Recipe Works
This tart tastes so good because almond and orange is a classic combination that never gets old and chocolate goes with both of these. As you bite into it this tart tastes great from the first taste of the sweet juicy oranges through sweet almond cream down to the to the chocolate cookie crust.
Orange and Chocolate Almond Tart Ingredients
This recipe consists of two sub-recipes - one for the chocolate tart crust and one for the almond cream. The great thing about this recipe is that once you master these two recipes you can use them for other desserts.
Ingredients for the Chocolate Tart Crust
There are four ingredients for the chocolate tart crust:
- Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Flour. Holds the crust together. All-purpose flour has the right amount of gluten to ensure the crust will be tender without falling apart.
- Natural Cocoa. The small amount of cocoa provides a great chocolate taste. Use natural cocoa instead of Dutch-processed cocoa.
- Unsalted Butter. The melted butter is added to the dry ingredients and creates a nice pliable texture.
- Granulated Sugar. This amount of sugar adds flavor and promotes browning.
- Kosher Salt. Without salt, the crust would taste flat. In addition, the salt in the crust is a nice flavor contrast with the sweetness of the almond cream
Ingredients for the Almond Cream
The almond cream is made with just 6 ingredients:
- Bob's Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour. Almond flour is the main ingredient and provides the flavor and fat for this ingredient.
- Confectioners Sugar (aka Powdered Sugar). Provides sweetness, but it also dissolves more easily than granulated sugar and ensures a smooth texture.
- All-Purpose Flour. This little bit of flour provides the right amount of gluten and structure for the filling.
- Whole Eggs. The egg is added to help the almond cream rise when it is in the oven.
- Orange Zest. Adds a nice flavor boost and contrast to the sweetness of the filling.
- Dark Rum (Optional). Rum is a nice flavor complement to the almonds and chocolate, but completely optional.
The main almond cream ingredients are listed by weight because the classic recipe has equal amounts of almond flour, confectioners sugar and butter by weight.
How to Supreme the Oranges
Prepare the oranges first so they have time to dry out. The goal is to remove some of the moisture so the tart doesn't become soggy while baking in the oven. For this recipe we used a combination of Cara Cara an Navel Oranges.
The oranges are supremed which means we are removing the membrane between each orange section. The texture is thin and papery and relatively easy to remove. Once you've done it a few times you'll see how easy it is to do.
Cut off both ends of the orange.
Stand the orange upright and with your knife and cut downward to remove the peel and pith.
Follow the natural curve of the orange from top to bottom. Continue around the orange until all peel and pith are removed.
Once you have removed the peel you can easily see the membranes between each segment. Slice on each side of the membrane to remove the segment.
Continue until each segment is removed. You'll need 4-5 oranges depending on the size of the oranges. I used medium oranges and needed 5 of them.
Squeeze the juice from the orange left on the peel and the membrane. This juice will be used to make the glaze.
How to Make The Chocolate Tart Crust
This is the easiest tart crust that you will ever make. While it is baked ahead of adding the filling, blind baking is not required. This crust stays in place when it's baked and does not slide down the sides of the pan.
This recipe is my go-to recipe for tart crusts. I first used it when I made this French Apple Tart and I couldn't believe how easy it was. My other favorite tart that uses this crust my Raspberry Curd Fruit Tart
Blind baking is when you line the dough with parchment paper or foil, fill it with pie weights or dried beans and partially bake or thoroughly bake the crust.
To make the crust melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Melting the butter over medium heat instead of high heat will prevent it from splattering and popping.
Place the flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the melted butter while it is still hot and use a spatula to mix the butter into the dry ingredients until no specks of flour-cocoa mixture are visible.
Press the warm dough in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Prick the bottom the dough with a fork (this will prevent the tart bottom from rising). Bake the tart for 25 minutes and remove it from the oven
The tart can be made up to one day in advance. If making it in advance, let it cool and cover it with plastic wrap.
How to Make the Almond Cream
The almond cream is a basic almond filling. It's just as simple to make as the tart crust. Almond cream and almond frangipane are used interchangeable, but they are two different recipes. Almond frangipane is a combination of almond cream and pastry cream.
I like using Bob's Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour, because it's ground to a really fine texture that makes it easy to incorporate with other ingredients.
To make almond cream, sift the confectioners sugar and almond flour together to remove lumps from both of them. Add the all-purpose flour and whisk to combine.
In a large bowl cream the butter, orange zest and kosher salt until the butter has a creamy texture, about 1 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until the mixture is creamy. The texture will change from crumbly to creamy in about two minutes.
Add the egg and mix just until the egg is incorporated. Add the rum and mix until just incorporated. The almond cream is now ready to use.
If making the almond cream in advance scrape it into a smaller bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Before baking it in the tart allow the almond crem to come to room temperature.
How to Assemble the Tart
Once all your ingredients are done assembling and baking the tart is even easier. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Pour the almond cream into the chocolate tart shell and smooth the surface with an offset spatula.
Now arrange the oranges in a spiral pattern or any pattern that you like. Eat the leftover oranges - they're really good.
Bake the tart for 60-75 minutes until the almond cream is firm to the touch on the outside edge and only slightly jiggly in the center.
Remove the tart from the oven. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then brush the orange slices with the orange-apricot glaze. Let the tart cool to room temperature. You can serve it at this point, but if you want firm slices refrigerate the tart overnight or for 3 hours if baking early in the day.
Pro Tips for Making This Tart
- Supreme the oranges first so there is plenty of time for them to dry out.
- For clean cuts refrigerate the tart after it has baked. Refrigeration will help the almond cream set up.
- To keep the bottom of the crust from rising up prick it with fork times before baking it.
- Baking the crust on a cooling rack ensures even heat and air circulation around the top and bottom of the crust.
- Use a sharp knife with a thin blade when supreming then orange. It will make it easier to remove the membrane without removing the orange. Go slow to make sure you are safe and don't accidentally cut all the way through the orange.
Recipe - Frequently Asked Questions
Almond frangipane is a combination of almond cream and pastry cream.
No you can use marzipan in place of almond cream. Marzipan is smooth, sweet and made to be molded into shapes. Almond cream is less sweet, coarser, spreadable and made to be baked as a filling?
No, you don't need to chill the crust before baking. That is one of things that I love about this tart crust recipe. It holds it shaped when baked and doesn't need to be blind baked.
Yes you can make this tart with a different flavor crust. Check out my recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts for a brown sugar version.
More Related Recipes
Are you looking for more dessert ideas? Of course you are. Then check these other blog favorites:
I hope you try this Orange and Chocolate Almond Tart. The taste is incredible and if you like oranges and almond you'll love this dessert. Please leave a comment below and if you make it let me know what you think. If you post to Instagram please tag me @bakesbybrownsugar and #bakesbybrownsugar.
Orange and Chocolate Almond Tart
Equipment
- 9-inch Tart Pan with Removable Bottom
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Orange Slices
- 4-5 medium Cara Cara Oranges
Tart Crust
- 1 1/3 cups (189 grams) Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons (63 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (14 grams) natural cocoa sifted to remove lumps
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 11 tablespoons (155 grams) unsalted butter melted
Almond Cream
- 100 grams Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour 1 cup
- 100 grams powdered sugar 1 cup + 3 tablespoons
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 100 grams unsalted butter 7 tablespoons
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 large egg 50 grams
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
Orange-Apricot Glaze
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons apricot jam
Instructions
For the Oranges
- Finely grate enough zest from the 1 orange to make 1 teaspoon and set it aside for the almond filling.
- Cut off the ends of the orange. Lay it on a flat surface so it doesn't tip over. Use a sharp paring knife to remove the skin and white pith completely from the oranges.
- Reserve these pieces and squeeze the juice out of these parts. This juice will be used later to glaze the tart.
- Make two slices into each section of the orange, excluding the segment dividers. Make sure your slices go inside each of the segments dividers so there won't be any remaining on your segments. Squeeze the juice out of this part and then discard.
- Place the orange segments on a paper towel lined board or baking sheet to partially dry out the oranges before adding them to the tart. You can do this step the day before and refrigerate the oranges overnight.
For the Crust
- Adjust 1 oven rack to the middle position in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt together in a bowl. Add the melted butter and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until a dough forms and no specks of flour remain. Using your hands, press two-thirds of dough into the tart pan with removable bottom. Press remaining dough into fluted sides of the pan. Press and smooth dough with your hands to even thickness. Dock the bottom of the tart dough with the times of the fork before baking.
- Place pan on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the middle rack, until the top edges of the crust turn golden brown and firm to touch, 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
For the Almond Cream
- Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together into a medium bowl. Add the all-purpuse flour and whisk together to thoroughly combine.
- Place the butter, orange zest and the salt in a large bowl and with a hand mixer beat the butter on medium speed until the butter is creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides. Add the almond-flour mixture and mix on medium speed for 90 seconds or until the mixture is no longer crumbly. Add the egg and mix on medium speed just until the egg is incorporated. Add the rum and mix until just incorporated.
- If you are making the almond cream ahead of time refrigerate it in an airtight container until ready to use.
Orange-Apricot Glaze
- When the tart has come out of the oven combine the orange juice and the sugar in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the apricot jam. When the tart has cooled to room temperature, brush the oranges with the glaze.
Assembling the Tart
- Pour the almond cream into the baked tart and smooth the surface with an offset spatula. Arrange the oranges in a spiral pattern starting at the outside edge and then working towards the center. Place the tart pan on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the tart at 350 degrees F for 1 hour 15 minutes until the almond cream lightly brown and the outer edges are firm to the touch. The center will be slightly jiggly.
- Remove the tart from the oven, cool to room temperature and brush the oranges with the glaze. The tart is ready to eat once it cools to room temperature, but the slices will look best if you refrigerate the tart overnight to allow the almond cream to completely set.
- Sprinkle the finished tart with toasted sliced almonds and enjoy.
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