Sicilian Orange Tart ~ celebrate citrus season with a rustic Italian tart that is stunningly gorgeous.
Even the crust of this stunning tart is loaded with orange zest ~ the citrus scent emanating from my oven was almost too much to bear.
This is a simple rustic recipe in true Mediterranean style. The filling is simply a mixture of eggs, sugar, and orange juice. I admit I was a bit skeptical as I poured the thin liquid into the crust, but about 20 minutes into the baking the scent started filling the kitchen and I could see the tart puffing up through the oven window…I had a feeling I was in for a treat.
This recipe has a beguiling simplicity to it, and the presentation is stunning. If you can’t find blood oranges, any orange will do.
*Recipe from โEvery Night Italianโ by Giuliano Hazan via Journey of an Italian Cook
Sicilian Orange Tart
Sicilian Orange Tart ~ celebrate citrus season with a rustic Italian tart that is stunningly gorgeous.
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
crust
- Grated zest of 2 oranges
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ยฝ cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into a dozen pieces
- 3 extra large egg yolks
- Pinch of salt
- 1-3 tablespoons ice water
filling
- 2 extra large eggs
- ยฝ cup granulated sugar
- ยพ cup orange juice
garnish
- very thin slices of blood orange
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Make the crust. Place the flour, sugar, butter, yolks salt and zest in a food processor. Pulse until well mixed. Add water until dough just forms.
- Place the dough on top of the removable bottom of an 11-inch tart pan. Roll out to ยผโ thickness. The edges of the dough should extend beyond the edge of the panโs bottom. Place the dough and bottom into the tart pan frame. Press the dough up the sides and trim.
- Bake the crust. Cover dough with aluminum foil and pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake 10 minutes uncovered.
- Make the filling. Mix the eggs and sugar in a mixer until pale yellow ribbons form (2-3 minutes). This took me several more minutes.
- When the crust is baked, reduce the mixer speed and add the orange juice. Add the filling to the crust.
- Bake the tart. Bake about 40 minutes. The filling should be golden and should remain firm when the pan is shaken. Cool completely. Mine cooked in about 35 minutes, and still jiggled a bit even when done.
- Garnish with the orange slices.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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notes:
- The flavor of this tart is very subtle and understated, so it’s not for you if you’re looking for the zing of a lemon curd type of thing. Next time I would put some zest in the filling as well, and maybe add a teaspoon of orange extract to bring out the flavor a little more. It certainly is a looker, though!
Hi Sue, I’m relatively new to baking and haven’t eaten many tarts (and made none), I’m wondering if this could be served cold? I’d like to make a magic shell topping of sorts and the only way to get the fats to harden is to put it on a chilled surface.
I don’t see why not, Xavier. I love the combo and chocolate and orange, so let us know if you try it.
Help! The surface of my filling keeps browning which doesn’t make for a very pretty presentation. The taste is fabulous, but the browning of the filling is so unattractive. Any ideas why this is happening/how to resolve?
Also, how do you get your slices of blood orange so uniform in thickness/perfectly sliced for the top of the tart?
Is it possible your oven is running hot? You can try lowering the temperature, or covering the top of the tart loosely with foil. I sliced my oranges with a sharp knife, but a mandolin slicer will get them perfectly thin and even.
Problem solved! They turned out beautifully. Thank you.
Yay!
Your tart is so beautiful! I’m wondering if a shallow pre-made pie crust would be an acceptable substitute for the homemade crust if pressed for time? And possibly pressing some zest into the pre-made pie crust before baking to add flavor back to the crust?
I’m sure a pre-made pie crust would be fine Shana ~ just one that’s not too deep. I would say the flexible kind that comes rolled would be better than frozen, because you can mold it to a tart pan. I like the idea of pressing the zest into it!
It’s now one of our favourites. I wish I could bake it more often. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
This is an old post, Alisa, it’s so nice to get feedback on it, thank you!