Orange Doodle Tart

January 21, 2013

Today’s recipe is an awesome…awesome blend of beautiful flavors. It is one of those recipes that make you look like a star at dinner parties but doesn’t demand too much work. Its a combination of flavors from snicker doodle & orange custard balanced with dark chocolate ganache. When you make a tart of any kind, usually the crust takes most of the time – you prepare the dough, you roll it out, you bake it for a good amount of time etc. In this tart recipe the crust is made of snicker doodle cookies which can be store bought – like mine.

There is only one place near Pondy where they sell snicker doodles and they make it GOOD! Its the regular sugar cookie coated in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar but it also has orange zest inside the cookie with was actually the inspiration behind this recipe. If your snicker doodles don’t have orange zest in it – just grate some in and you’ll be fine!

The market is flooded with oranges these days, they are so beautiful and fragrant – the moment you start zesting them your senses are filled with happiness 🙂 When you make the custard you cook it on a double boiler while slowly whisking it continuously.When you start cooking the custard its going to look a little watery and you might feel you are doing something wrong. But don’t worry – it will come together as you keep on cooking it. Other than that its a pretty easy dessert that takes very less time. So enjoy it with your family and friends.

Serving 8 slices

Cooking time 1 hour plus 5 hours for refrigerating

Thing you will need:

For the tart crust

10 snicker doodle cookies

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tsp orange zest (if there is none in the cookies)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Grease an 8 inch tart pan. Keep aside
2. Pulse the cookies in a blender till it starts resembling bread crumbs.
3. In a large bowl add cookie crumbs, cinnamon and orange zest.
4. Add butter and using a spatula mix with the cookies till it starts looking like wet sand.
5. Transfer into the greased tart pan and press using your fingertips to evenly spread the mixture in the pan.  You can use a small bowl, a ramekin or the back of a glass to help press the mixture properly.
6. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven at 350F.
8. Bake the tart crust for 12 minutes. Take out from the oven and cool completely.
9. Add a layer of dark chocolate ganache in the cooled tart shell.  See here for ganache recipe.

For the filling

Juice of 2 large oranges

Zest of one orange

Juice of half a small lemon

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp honey

3 eggs

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1. In a large bowl add butter and sugar.  Cream till it turns pale. You want to pick a bowl that’s heat proof because you will cook the filling mixture on a double boiler in this same bowl.
2. Add eggs one at a time and continue to whisk.
3. Add honey, orange juice & zest and lemon juice. Continue to mix for a few minutes.
4. Transfer to a double boiler and keep whisking slowly till the mixture turns thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. About 5 to 8 minutes.
5.  Remove from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes before pouring it into the cooled tart shell.
6. Refrigerate the tart for 4 to 5 hours or till its chilled and the custard is set. Arrange fresh orange slices around the edge of the tart in a circular pattern. Serve cold!

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