Winter Citrus Tart

This Winter Citrus Tart encompasses the flavors of winter with grapefruit and blood oranges! 

Happy Monday!! I hope you all had a great weekend. It’s a three day weekend for some of us and I intend to enjoy this extra day to it’s fullest. Looking at my work calendar, I realized this is the last holiday until Memorial Day in May which is sooooo far away!! I’m definitely going to freeze and hopefully thaw by then.

Winters in Upstate NY are no fun. I don’t care how jolly you are about snow or it’s pureness, I dare you to live in Upstate NY for just one winter and then tell me about this jolly snow you speak of. And when I mean live, I mean actually leave the house daily. It’s beyond miserable but that’s why I focus on the good. The fresh juicy winter fruits, the cute boots, the abundance of comfort foods and the nightly fires. A girl gotta survive right?

I found myself with a little too many grapefruits and blood oranges the other day and decided to use up the freshly squeezed juices to make this winter citrus tart that is reminiscent of  spring and all the sunshine it brings. I am so glad I did because it did brighten up our days for a little while.

Starting with a brown butter shortbread crust, this winter citrus tart is bursting with sweet blood orange and tart grapefruit juices. Oh so creamy and citrus-y. It is very similar to lemon bars but with a sweet undertone from the blood oranges. I really think you will enjoy this tart as you bundle up in your sweaters and cozy blankets.

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Yield: 1 rectangular tart

Winter Citrus Tart

This Winter Citrus Tart encompasses the flavors of winter with grapefruit and blood oranges!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Chill Time 4 hours

Total Time 5 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• zest of half a blood orange

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 6 large whole eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1¼ cup citrus juice (~2 blood oranges, 2 grapefruits, 1 lemon)
• zest of 2 blood oranges
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• Fresh grapefruits and blood oranges.

Instructions

For Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook butter, whisking constantly, until it begins to change color to “amber’ and smells “nutty”. Remove butter from heat and pour into a medium bowl.
3. Stir in sugar, flour, salt and zest. Mix until completely incorporated.
4. Press crumbly mixture into a long rectangular tart pan. (this makes enough for a 4” x 13” pan). Make sure the mixture is pressed up the sides and evenly across the bottom.
5. Bake the crust for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

For Filling:

1. Make the filling while the crust bakes.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add in the eggs, yolk, zest and juices and whisk together.
3. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk frequently until the curd thickens.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until completely melted. Pass the curd through a fine mesh strainer.
5. Pour the curd into the crust immediately after you take it out of the oven. Return the tart to the oven for 15 minutes or until the filling has thickened. Let cool slightly on a cooling rack and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to chill.
6. Serve chilled.

Notes

1. You can bake this tart in a 9-inch round tart pan.

More Winter Citrus Recipes from Across the Web:

Blood Orange Macarons – The Viet Vegan

Persimmon Salad with Blood Orange Dressing – Love and Olive Oil

Blood Orange and Rosemary Cake – What Katie Ate

Glazed Tangerine Cake – It Bakes Me Happy