Light Refreshing Citrus Tart

I love tarts. I love staring at colorful decorated tarts ... Beautifully displayed on the cooled shelves in bakeries. My eyes will be glued at the layers of fresh colorful fruits and I wish I could reach out to them and pop them right into my mouth. Yum!

As I was shopping at Burlington Mall, I walked into a kitchen store and saw a 9" fluted round tart pan printed with "MADE IN FRANCE". I liked it so much and I bought it together with another rectangular fluted tart pan. It is rather difficult to get large fluted pan with removable base in Singapore and Boston. Furthermore if you want a pan from France (Land of Pastry), rather impossible!   

This recipe reaps a nice 9" round tart pan and it tastes very refreshing and light. The choice of fruits is important as it makes up much of the taste. I love navel oranges. They are generally very sweet and juicy. Grapefruits have a bitter aftertaste but try to choose riper ones to have more sweetness to overcome the bitterness.


Recipe
Ingredients


Tart Shell

• 1 1/4 cup Cake Flour
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup and 1 tbsp Confectioners' sugar
• 1 Large egg
• 1 tsp Orange zest
• Pinch of Salt

Steps:

1. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer until it turns pale and creamy. 
2. Add in egg and beat until well incorporated. 
3. Add in orange zest. Mix well. 
4. Using low speed, add in flour and salt. 
5. Mix well. Remove dough from mixing bowl. 
6. Wrap dough in cling wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. 
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. 
8. Roll the dough on a floured surface to 3mm thick and lay it on the tart pan. 
9. Trim and remove excess dough. Use a fork to prick the dough to prevent dough from puffing during baking. 
10. Bake for about 30 minutes or golden brown. 

Custard

• 1 cup Whole milk
• 1 tsp Pure vanilla essence
• 1/4 cup Caster sugar 
• 2 Large yolks
• 2 tbsp Corn starch
• 1 tbsp Unsalted butter

Steps:

1. Mix milk, vanilla, 2 tbsp of sugar in a saucepan. 
2. Bring to simmer.
3. Whisk egg yolks, cornstarch and remaining sugar in a mixing bowl. 
4. Slowly add the milk mixture into egg. Do not add all at one time as eggs will curdle.
5. Add the mixture back to the saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat. 
6. Stir continuously until mixture thickens. 
7.  Transfer to a clean mixing bowl.
8. Stir in butter. 
9. Cover the custard with a cling wrap. Chill for 2 hours. 

Fruits Topping and Assembly

• 2 Large Navel Oranges
• 2 Large Grapefruits

Steps:

1. Using a fruit knife, cut the skin off the fruit. 
2. Cut the fruit into segments. Use the natural segments of fruits as a guide. 
3. Drain the fruit segments with a colander. 
4. Spread the custard on the tart shell. 
5. Arrange the fruit segments on the custard in a circular pattern. You may want to start with a darker color on the edge of the tart. 
6. Serve cold.