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Citrus Tart

This tart blends textures and flavors: crunchy pastry crust, a cool creamy center, and bright citrus on top. Plus, the grapefruits and oranges are in season right now.
Martha Stewart Living, January 2012
  • Prep Time 35 minutes
  • Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
  • Yield Makes one 9-inch tart
    Serves 10 to 12
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Ingredients

  • For the Pate Sucree

    • 1 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted, plus more for surface
    • Salt
    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
    • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • For the Pastry Cream

    • 1 cup whole milk
    • 1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
    • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
    • 2 large egg yolks
    • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
    • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • For the Assembly

    • 7 to 8 assorted citrus fruits (grapefruits, blood oranges, navel oranges), separated into segments (4 to 5 cups)
    • 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

  1. Make the pate sucree: Sift flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl, and set aside.

  2. Beat butter and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale, 2 to 3 minutes. With machine running, add egg, and beat until fully incorporated. Add orange zest, and beat for 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low, and add flour-salt mixture, beating until just combined. Wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour.

  3. Make the pastry cream: Combine milk, vanilla bean pod and seeds, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

  4. Whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a separate bowl. Slowly add 1/3 cup milk mixture to the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Add egg-milk mixture back to the pot, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and beat in butter with paddle attachment until combined and cream has cooled, about 5 minutes. Strain into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

  5. Make the tart: Generously butter a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan. Set aside. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10-inch round with 1/4-inch thickness. Fit dough into tart pan, pressing gently along the sides and bottom of pan. Trim excess. Refrigerate or freeze for 30 minutes.

  6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until crust is firm and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

  7. Prepare citrus fruit: Place citrus segments into a colander to drain. Cover, and refrigerate.

  8. Beat chilled pastry cream with paddle attachment until smooth, about 30 seconds. Set aside. Whip heavy cream using the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold whipped cream into pastry cream.

  9. Spread cream into cooled tart shell using a small offset spatula. Arrange citrus segments in a circular pattern around the tart, starting with the darkest color on the edge of the tart. Serve cold.

Recipe Reviews

  • bholmberg
    3 Feb, 2012

    I meant reduce the cornstarch by half. I doubled the recipe too.

  • bholmberg
    3 Feb, 2012

    The first comment is correct. The pastry cream can
    be reduced by half, and i would try a different crust entirely! However this tart is beautiful with blood oranges.

  • lolalbee
    29 Jan, 2012

    I went through all the trouble of creating an account just to warn others away from this one. I don't think anyone ever actually kitchen tested it. I thought maybe the pastry cream (the 2tbsp of cornstarch & 2 egg yolks to a mere 1 cup of milk "thickens" to something that closely resembles a yellow roux or thick gravy) would be the worst part of it, but upon an actual taste, the pate sucree was even worse. I followed the recipe exactly, even down to the 1/4 vanilla bean & cake flour. Waste!

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