Tangerine, Ginger and Chocolate Tart

Tangerine, Ginger and Chocolate Tart
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1½ hours, plus chilling
Rating
4(187)
Comments
Read comments

This elegant tart has a tangy citrus curd nestled in a ginger shortbread crust coated with bittersweet chocolate. The chocolate not only adds flavor, it also helps the pastry stay crisp by creating a barrier between the liquid curd and the pre-baked crust. This tart is best served the day it’s made, but can be stored for 24 hours in the refrigerator; after that, it starts to wilt. If you want to turn the leftover dough scraps into buttery cookies, see the note.

Featured in: A Treat for Lemon Lovers and Beyond

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Tart Dough

    • cups plus 2 tablespoons/235 grams all-purpose flour
    • cup/40 grams confectioners’ sugar
    • 2tablespoons/30 grams chopped crystallized ginger
    • Pinch of kosher salt
    • ½cup/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), cold and cubed
    • 1large egg, lightly beaten

    For the Filling

    • 6large egg yolks
    • 3large eggs
    • ¾cup fresh tangerine juice (from 3 to 4 large tangerines)
    • ¼cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
    • 3tablespoons finely grated tangerine zest
    • teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
    • ½cup plus 2 tablespoons/125 grams granulated sugar
    • 1tablespoon grated fresh ginger
    • teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¾cup/170 grams unsalted butter (1½ sticks), cubed
    • ½teaspoon vanilla extract
    • cup/45 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or use chips or baking discs (1½ ounces)
    • ½cup crème fraîche or sour cream
    • 2tablespoons/30 grams chopped crystallized ginger
    • Chocolate curls, for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

766 calories; 40 grams fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 92 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 47 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 104 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the flour, sugar, crystallized ginger and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine.

  2. Step 2

    Add butter and pulse until a coarse meal forms. Add egg and pulse just until a crumbly dough comes together. Press dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight (or up to 5 days).

  3. Step 3

    Prepare the curd: In a large, heatproof bowl, whisk together yolks and whole eggs. In a medium pot over medium heat, combine tangerine juice, lemon juice, 1½ tablespoons tangerine zest, ¾ teaspoon lemon zest, sugar, ginger, salt and butter. Once mixture is simmering, slowly pour into eggs, whisking constantly, then return mixture to pot. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat, until curd thickens enough to coat a spoon, 4 to 7 minutes. Strain into a medium bowl and stir in remaining tangerine and lemon zest and vanilla. If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 5 days.

  4. Step 4

    Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to ⅜-inch thickness (about an 11-inch round). Place dough into a 9-inch tart pan, trimming the dough edges. Poke bottom of dough all over with a fork; chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

  5. Step 5

    Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the tart crust with foil and fill with baking weights. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights and continue to bake until shell is light golden, another 15 to 20 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Remove crust from oven and immediately sprinkle chopped chocolate evenly over the bottom. Let it sit for 1 minute to melt chocolate, then spread over the surface using an offset spatula. Let the chocolate cool for 5 minutes.

  7. Step 7

    Scrape curd into crust. Bake until the edges are set but the center is still slightly jiggly when shaken, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

  8. Step 8

    In a small bowl, whisk together crème fraîche and crystallized ginger. To serve, top the cooled tart with crème fraîche and shave chocolate curls all over the top if you like.

Tip
  • To turn leftover dough into cookies, roll scraps ¼-inch thick. Cut into shapes and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with demerara sugar or more chopped crystallized ginger, and bake with the tart crust after you remove the foil and pie weights (15 to 20 minutes at 325 degrees).

Ratings

4 out of 5
187 user ratings
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Comments

A really delicious tart-made exactly as written. Love the chocolate layer. Just be sure to keep it a thin layer-additional chocolate will make a hard layer over the crust and will overwhelm the curd flavor. We preferred it cold. That said, it is a production, best done in segments or with a couple of people. The curd is outstanding and the creme fraiche is absolutely needed. Thank you Melissa, and especially for the chocolate layer. It is new to us and elevates the tart to great heights

The chocolate layer ruins what is otherwise a very good tart. The crust is perfect, the tangerine and lemon curd is delicious, but combined with bittersweet chocolate, the end result is dreadful. Leave it out.

Just omit the chocolate and make the rest of the recipe as is. The recipe is inspired by Suzanne Goin's recipe. The story goes that Chef Goin on the suggestion of her sister added a layer of chocolate to a lemon tart she would make. Her sister loved chocolate and loved the lemon tart so she asked if chocolate could be added somehow. Chef Goin came up with the chocolate layer idea.

Subbing a cup of whipped heavy cream mixed with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt worked well for the topping. This definitely takes at least 2 hours of nonstop working as fast as possible, ideally longer to allow proper cooling and chilling (although working quickly and using the freezer rather than the fridge cuts down on some of that time).

Dough was so dry I couldn’t form it, so tossed it and used Mark Bittman’s Sweet Tart Dough instead, adding the chopped crystallized ginger. Made the filling with blood orange juice instead of tangerine and lemon, but otherwise followed the filling recipe exactly. Tart was heavenly. The chocolate layer really made it. Will definitely do again. It is a project for a special occasion, but my parents’ 52nd wedding anniversary was a worthy event!

made for ayachan to THANK for resume help it was yummity yum used 35g crystallized ginger in crust filling: half the sugar, add a smidge extra fresh ginger, used 85% choc baked for 35mins

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