Blood orange tart makes the most of winter citrus with blood orange curd filling gently baked into a buttery almond flour tart crust. Optionally gluten-free.
Thanks to Vermont Creamery for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.
If you've been here for a while, you likely already know my love of gluten-free tarts here on TBG (and in my book Alternative Baker). Back in 2011, I shared a blood orange tart recipe that became a reader favorite. I've taken some fresh photos in my gluten-free tart crust and tweaked the recipe a bit to make it less sweet.
Tangy blood orange curd gets richness from butter, just the right sweetness from sugar, and is set with eggs and egg yolks. When baked into a tender almond flour tart crust, it becomes an elegant dessert that will impress your friends, but is deceptively foolproof to make, from crust to curd.
Ingredients and Substitution Suggestions
- This recipe starts with my favorite gluten-free tart crust, replete with nutty almond flour, lots of butter, and a hit of vanilla and salt for loads of flavor. It tastes like a GF sugar cookie.
- Blood oranges make a rosy-hued blood orange curd. If you don't have access to blood oranges, you can use regular orange juice, tangerine juice, or grapefruit juice instead.
- Lemon juice adds extra tanginess.
- Eggs and egg yolks help the curd thicken and set.
- Sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness.
- Butter adds richness to the curd and helps it set to a sliceable consistency when chilled.I used cultured butter from Vermont Creamery, which starts with fresh cream from Vermont family farms. It’s cultured for 20 hours, then churned to 82% butterfat for a luxurious, silky texture. Butter also moistens the crust giving it a delicate shortbread consistency.
- A touch of salt sharpens the flavors.
- You can optionally top this blood orange tart with Vermont Creamery crème fraîche whipped with heavy cream until firm, and then piped over the tart. Thinly sliced blood orange wedges, bee pollen, and dried calendula flours (or some blood orange zest) make an extra pretty topping.
How to Make Blood Orange Curd Tart
This recipe makes one 9-inch tart, serving 10. It takes just 20 minutes of active prep time, plus some baking and chilling time.
Variations
Blood Orange Curd
Skip the crust and make blood orange curd to spread on scones, toast, or crackers. Or swirl into yogurt or spread it between layers of gluten-free sponge cake.
Make the curd as directed, pour it into jars, and refrigerate until firm. The spreadable blood orange curd will keep, refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.
Blood Orange Tartlets
If you prefer, you can make smaller blood orange tartlets instead of 1 large tart.
Shape the crust into 8 (3.5-inch) tartlet shells and divide the curd among the parbaked tartlet shells. Bake the filled tartlets for 10-15 minutes or as needed.
Blood Orange Bars
Prepare the recipe in an 8x8-inch square pan for blood orange bars. Follow the instructions and timing from my gluten-free lemon bars recipe for the method.
Blood Orange Tart for Everyone
Here, blood orange curd filling captures the intriguing flavors of winter citrus in a creamy tart contained within a crisp, buttery crust. I dislike citrus tarts that are overly sweet or eggy, but this formula uses just enough egg to set the curd, just enough sugar to tame the tart citrus, and enough butter to give the curd creamy body that holds its shape when cut.
If you lack a tart pan with removable bottom, you can bake this in an 8" square pan lined with a sling of parchment paper for blood orange bars. Gussy these up with a dusting of powdered sugar and cut into squares to serve.
And if serving this to squeamish guests, take a tip from some clever citrus growers and tell them it's a 'sangria orange' tart. ;)
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this blood orange tart recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Blood Orange Tart
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 prebaked 9-inch almond flour tart crust
- 10 tablespoons Vermont Creamery unsalted cultured butter, diced
- 1 tablespoon finely-grated blood orange zest
- 1 cup strained blood orange juice
- ¼ cup strained lemon juice
- 1 cup organic granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
Optional for topping the tart:
- ½ cup Vermont Creamery crème fraîche
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- blood orange wedges, bee pollen, and/or dried calendula, for decorating
Instructions
Make the crust:
- Prepare, parbake, and press the tart crust as directed. Lower the oven temperature to 325ºF.
- Place the butter and blood orange zest in a heatproof bowl. Place a mesh strainer over the bowl and set aside.
- In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the sugar, salt, eggs, and egg yolks to combine. Gradually whisk in the blood orange juice and lemon juice until combined.
- Place the pot over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof silicone spatula, until the mixture thickens slightly and reaches 160-165ºF on an instant-read thermometer, 5–10 minutes. As you stir, be sure to scrape the entire bottom and corners of the pan, so that the mixture heats as evenly as possible. It will start out thick and cloudy from the undissolved sugar, then will turn thin and translucent, and finally begin to thicken and turn cloudy again as the eggs cook. Lower the heat to very low as it gets closer to being done. If the mixture starts to curdle or bubble, immediately remove it from the heat and proceed to the next step.
- Immediately pour the curd through the strainer and into the bowl of butter to stop the cooking. Whisk to incorporate the butter and orange zest, making sure there are no clumps of orange zest.
- Pour the cooked curd over the baked and pressed down crust. If you have extra curd, you can save it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It's delicious swirled into yogurt or slathered on toast or biscuits.
- Bake the tart at 325ºF (don’t forget to lower the oven temp!) until the sides are barely puffed and the center wobbles like firm Jell-O when you give it a gentle shake, 15–25 minutes. (Some readers have reported that the curd took longer than this to bake, so go by the way it looks and not the time!) It should not be wet or watery looking (underbaked), nor should it be puffed in the center or cracking (overbaked). Remove the tart from the oven and let cool to room temperature for about an hour, then chill until firm, 3-4 hours or overnight.
- Whip together the crème fraiche and heavy cream until the mixture holds firm peaks. Pipe over the crust if you like, or serve it to the side of the tart.
- When the tart is cold, loosen and remove the sides of the tart crust and slide it onto a cutting board. Decorate the tart with blood orange wedges, bee pollen, and/or dried edible flower petals if you like.
- Cut into wedges with a large, sharp chef's knife. For the cleanest cuts, dip the knife in very hot water and wipe the blade clean between cuts.
- The tart keeps well, refrigerated, for up to 3 days, though the crust is the crispest within the first 1–2 days.
Alanna says
350, same as the crust. Sorry for the confusion - I've updated the recipe to clarify.
Genevieve Rohan says
Really loved this recipe! I made it using a pan without a removable bottom (as a traditional tart pan has) and it was a bit hardener removing the pieces intact. The flavor and texture of this tart was wonderful. I had no problem with the filling as I waited until the 170 degree was reached even tho I don't see the liquid get too much thicker. I think the butter and resting time of the filling is key. Lovely recipe! Thank you.
Alanna says
I'm so glad it was a success!
Alex says
Just made this anf while I haven’t yet cut into it I was a bit disappointed with the surface finish. My tart filling at 350° was boiling leaving behind a mottled and rough surface not the smooth one in your picture. it never did puff up as described. I’m sure it will taste good but not sure what happened there.
Alanna says
Hi Alex, I'm sorry you had trouble with the baking of this tart! It sounds like it was overbaked if the filling was bubbling and mottled. I'll update the recipe to give a range of baking time. I'm not sure why it wouldn't have puffed up first though - that's a bit of a mystery to me. If you make it again, I would suggest lowering your oven temperature to 325º and keeping a close eye on it for the visual cues (wobbly curd when you give it a shake). If you don't have one already, I'd also recommend getting an oven thermometer to find out if your oven runs hot. Thanks a bunch for the note!
Sarah says
Could I use plant butter for the filling? I'm making this for a friend who is dairy free.
Alanna says
Yes, that should work! If you can find an unsalted plant butter, that would be ideal. I like Miyoko's cultured butter the best. Please let me know how it turns out!
Victoria says
The ingredient list doesn't say salt, but the instructions say to add the sugar, salt, and lemon juice together. Is this a typo? How much salt am I supposed to add and what kind?
Alanna says
Thank you for catching that typo! I've added it into the recipe - it's 1/8 teaspoon. Please let me know how you like it!
Johanna says
How much salt? Not listed in ingredients but mentioned within instructions.
Alanna says
Thank you for catching that typo! I've added it into the recipe - it's 1/8 teaspoon. Please let me know how you like it!
L says
It's not often a Facebook ad grabs me.
Yours did. I'm so glad I made this. Holy Hannah it was worth juicing all those oranges by hand.
Thanks for sharing.
Alanna says
I'm so glad you found your way here and that you loved this recipe!
Mandy VanHook says
After seeing this pop up on my fb feed a dozen times, I decided to make it. The color of mine ended up a dull and unappetizing clay color. Hubby loved the taste though so I'll call that a win. My blood oranges were very rich in color so I'm not sure what happened.
Alanna says
Hi Mandy! Thank you for trying my recipe and for the feedback. I'm glad the flavor was great, though I'm sorry to hear about the color! Were your blood oranges more purple than orange? I've found that I get a brighter color when they are more on the orange side for whatever reason. I believe it's the egg yolks that change the color. It does always look more muted once it's baked.
If you make it again, you could add some extra color in the form of a handful of crushed raspberries, or a bit of beet juice or beet powder, or some cranberry compote if you happened to have some on hand. They can go in with the curd and then get strained out at the end if applicable. None will effect the flavor much. Let me know if you experiment!
Sara says
Hi! Going to try this tart today! For the piped crème fraiche, how far ahead of time can you pipe it? I’m taking to a friend’s for dinner and would love to decorate before going over but want the decorations to look as good as possible. Thank you!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I think it should be fine to pipe ahead! The creme fraiche helps it hold its shape well. Just make sure you whip it to firm peaks. Let me know how it turns out!
Sara says
It turned out great! I overwhipped the cream a bit so it didn’t pipe as smooth as I would have liked but the piping kept its shape really well for hours. It was delicious and a huge hit!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so glad it was a hit and that the whipped creme fraiche kept its shape well! Here's a trick I learned in pastry school for overwhipped cream: add a few tablespoons more cold, unwhipped heavy cream and gently fold it in. This should smooth it back out; if not, add a little more. Works like a charm!
Martha says
I made this exactly as written except my curd took much longer to set in the oven (and my oven temp is accurate). With that being said, I watched it accordingly to the instructions and it came out perfectly. Don’t use your finger to touch the center for a test- you’ll leave a fingerprint!! It was absolutely gorgeous and super delicious.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw thank you for the note, Martha! That's good to know that the curd took longer to set in the oven! Do you know how long it took? I'll update the recipe with that info!
Destiny says
I don't know what I did wrong. My curd was still completely liquid after 12 minutes on medium low. I saw another comment that said they had the same thing happen but it still cooked fine, so I went with it. However, in the oven my tart developed a sort of film on top with lots of liquid as if the butter was seeping out. I don't know if it's salvageable at this point.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Shoot, I'm sorry that happened! It sounds like the curd just needed to cook a little longer. It never came to a simmer or anything, right? Did you follow the instructions to add the butter after cooking the curd?
Destiny says
I cooked it for 12 minutes and it seemed to coat the back of a spoon but even after adding it to the butter, it was still liquid. I was worried about overcooking it. I also used a different recipe for the crust, because I wanted a chocolate shell. It was parbaked, but I wonder if the butter from it played a part. I scraped off the top film and poured off the butter-like liquid and returned it to the oven. Under the weird top layer, it looks like it is doing what it's supposed to, but the tart seems greasy. I don't know if I should cook until it dries out some or just hope for the best with what I have.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Well it sounds like you did everything just right, so I'm a bit mystified! I would say that if the filling seems mostly set when you give the tart a shake, it's probably safe to pull it out of the oven and let it cool, then chill. I'll cross my fingers and toes!
A chocolate crust sounds so delicious here. Just FYI I have a chocolate version of my GF crust recipe in the recipe notes!