Chocolate orange tart
They say the stomach is the way to someone’s heart, and if this is true (and it most certainly is for me) then it’s probably for the best that I ate virtually all of this chocolate orange tart on my own - it simply wouldn’t be fair to go around stealing hearts like this.
It’s got a chocolate top that cracks into beautiful shards when sliced; a filling that is rich, somewhat decadent and utterly moreish; and, of course, that crumbly base that simply melts on your tongue. It’s just not fair to impose on people like that. Or at least that’s my excuse for my utterly glutenous Sunday evening…
I make no secret of the fact that I love a chocolate dessert - it ranks up there with cheese, coffee and gin in the ‘things Craig is bribable with’ (OK, briefcases full of cash may work as well…). But this wasn’t just about me indulging myself, it was about making a dessert that we can all get on board with.
This is the sort of dessert that’s perfect regardless of whether you are making it at home to serve up or need a dessert to take to a friend’s place for a meal. Regardless of where you are eating it, people are going to be impressed that you’re been tempering chocolate and the lengths you’ve gone to (and if they’re not, you may need to assess who your friends are…). But in reality it’s actually quite easy, it just takes a little patience.
This chocolate orange tart is also quite forgiving if you need to travel with it - sitting in a tin, it can quite easily survive the trip across town on a bus without you stressing about whether it’s going to fall apart.
Chocolate orange tart
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
Description
This recipe is partially made up, partially from the wonderful Kitchen by Nigella Lawson, and partially my recent attempts tempering chocolate. I used a layer of tempered chocolate for the topping, however, a simpler version (the lazy day version) would simply put an extra 30-40ml of cream into the main filling, and a little blob of butter (maybe a teaspoonful, or slightly less) to ensure it is über shiny. Use a 20cm fluted, loose-bottomed dish.
Ingredients
for the base:
- 200g digestive biscuits
- 50g butter
- 1.5 tbsp cocoa powder
for the filling:
- 200g dark chocolate (ideally around the 80% mark)
- 130ml double cream
- zest of 2 oranges
- 1 tsp butter (if not having a chocolate top)
- 100g tempered dark chocolate (if using the tempered top)
Instructions
Start by making the base of your torte. This is incredibly simple: put all the ingredients into a food processor and turn it on. This will break down the biscuits, mix the cocoa powder through and then the butter will start to hold all the crumbs together. You realistically need it to be the texture of damp sand.
Pour out into the fluted tin and use your fingers to press the base mixture into the sides and base of the tin (making sure it is evenly spread and not more than about 5mm thick. Set aside in the fridge to cool.
The filling is immensely simple as well – it is all essentially melted together. Get a sturdy knife and chop the chocolate into thin pieces (this is optional – it just speeds up the melting process) and then put it into a bain-marie (bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the water). As the chocolate is starting to melt, zest your oranges into the melting chocolate.
Let the chocolate fully melt, stirring every so often to ensure the orange is distributed. If you are using the quick method (i.e. no tempered chocolate) put the butter in at this point and let it melt in as you stir.
Once the chocolate has fully melted take the bowl off the pan and pour a quarter or so of the cream in. Mix this through gently, then gradually add the remaining cream whilst mixing. (Doing it this way reduces the temperature of the chocolate more slowly, lessening the likelihood of discolouration or anything going wrong; with the butter in the mix it should end up silky smooth and very shiny.)
Take the base out of the fridge and pour the mixture into your torte case, tilting it this way and that to get an even distribution of the filling. At this point, if you are not adding tempered chocolate, leave it to one side to cool (or in a different, cooler room if you are about to cook or bake anything else).
If you are adding tempered chocolate, let the filling set for 10-15 minutes and then temper your chocolate and add it on top.
Notes
The best instructions I’ve found for tempering are on the BBC Good Food website.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Tart
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: chocolate orange tart
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Sounds amazing. I do not blame you for the gluttony.
Why thank you! I don’t think anyone should be blamed for gluttony with dessert.
Would it be ok to skip the torte bit and just make the filling and eat it from the bowl? I’m pretty sure it would… right?
I mean, isn’t that always just an option? Of course I’ve never done it (OK, maybe once…) but it certainly works!
Hey, should the chocolate really thicken (like a lot) when you add the orange zest? The first time i did it I thought the chocolate had burnt but it went the exact same the second time even though I was so careful (and haven’t had problems melting chocolate before!) After I added the cream and went to put it in the base, the instructions say tilt it this way and that… My mix was more like spreading cement… I had to use a hot spoon to get it to flatten out :/ I used a mix of tesco, tesco finest and dr oetker chocolate but it was all suitable for melting and I’ve mixed and melted chocolate before with no problem. Any ideas what went wrong?? It still tastes alright mind 🙂
Hmm, how strange! Adding the zest shouldn’t do anything to your chocolate but flavour it, but it sounds like it has reacted in some odd way. Was it all chocolate or was some kind of composite? If the later it might be something in that. I guess the other possibility (it’s obvious so it’s probably crossed your mind) is that there isn’t enough cream in the mix, so it’s not thinning out enough. 150ml was enough for mine, but perhaps not for you - if you do make it again I’d add more cream and maybe just use one kind of chocolate. Sorry it hasn’t worked for you! If you do have any more issues take a photo of it and email it to me ([email protected]), I’ll see if that clarifies it.
Oh amazing!! … Take it a level up and use ginger biscuits in the base!! Totally the best!!
★★★★★