Blood Orange Tart With Cardamom Pastry Cream Food

BLOOD ORANGE TART

Steps:

• Lightly grease a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
• Combine flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add cold butter and pulse several more times until the mixture resembles coarse sand; mixture will be very crumbly. Pour mixture into the prepared tart pan. Use damp hands to press crumbs together evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan to form a crust. Use a fork to gently prick the bottom of the crust several times. Place crust in the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Remove crust from freezer and place it on a cookie sheet. Line the crust with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crust begins to turn golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove beans and aluminum foil. Return crust to the oven and bake until center of crust is set, 5 to 7 minutes more. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Meanwhile whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large heat-safe bowl. Mix in blood orange juice, eggs, egg yolk, and zest until smooth. Bring a pot of water to a low simmer. Place bowl with blood orange mixture over the pot of simmering water, making sure bowl does not touch water. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and stir in butter a piece at a time, ensuring each piece melts before adding the next. Pour custard mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the prepared crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven until custard is set, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow tart to cool to room temperature before removing from pan, about 30 minutes.
• Chill tart for about 3 hours. Top with blood orange slices before serving.

BLOOD ORANGE TART WITH CARDAMOM PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• For crust:
• Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 2 tablespoons ice water and yolk in small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and blend just until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13- to 14-inch round. Transfer dough to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press in overhang, forming double-thick sides. Pierce dough all over with fork. Freeze crust 30 minutes. Bake until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles or slips, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
• For pastry cream:
• Bring milk and cardamom to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Cover and let steep 15 minutes. Strain milk into bowl. Whisk yolks, sugar and flour in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in milk. Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat until pastry cream thickens and boils, whisking constantly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in butter, then vanilla. Transfer to bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface. Chill until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.
• For topping:
• Cut peel and white pith from oranges. Slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Drain rounds on paper towels. Whisk preserves and grenadine, if desired, in small bowl to blend. Spread pastry cream evenly in tart crust. Arrange oranges in overlapping concentric circles on pastry cream. Brush apricot glaze over oranges. Chill until set, about 15 minutes. (Can be made 6 hours ahead; keep refrigerated.)