This Vegan Blood Orange Tart is a celebration of winter citrus. It's made with layers of blood orange jelly and dark chocolate ganache. Get the recipe below.
Winter citrus tart
Citrus fruits are in abundance in winter and their bright, zesty flavours bring a ray of sunshine to otherwise cold and dismal days.
Blood oranges are my favourite winter citrus fruit and they are the start of this Vegan Blood Orange Tart. It's made from blood orange infused pastry, a fragrant layer of blood orange jelly and then topped with a layer of vegan dark chocolate ganache.
To finish it off I use fresh blood orange, vegan mini meringue kisses but you can decorate it how you wish. The dark chocolate ganache is a blank canvas!
Vegan blood orange jelly
The best bit about this tart is the layer of blood orange jelly. It's sandwiched in the middle and so when you cut through the tart you get a pleasant surprise.
It's the right amount of sweet compared to the bitter ganache. And, it really adds a bright zesty flavour to the dessert.
To get the jelly to set without gelatine (which is made from animals) we have to use agar powder.
The agar powder gets dissolved in the juice, brought up to the boil then simmered. After a few minutes it will begin to thicken and that's when you know it is going to set perfectly.
Leave it to cool before pouring it over the pastry case and then place it into the fridge to set. Once it's set we can move on to the dark chocolate ganache layer.
This isn't a recipe you want to rush. It's important that the jelly layer is set before you pour over the ganache. So, don't try to make the ganache too soon!
Vegan dark chocolate ganache
Ganache is usually made from a mix of chocolate and cream. Depending on the ratio it can be runny, soft or firm. Because of these ingredients its not vegan and so we need to make not one but two substitutes for our ganache layer. I use vegan dark chocolate and coconut cream.
People often presume that dark chocolate is automatically vegan but do make sure you double check. They often include milk to make them creamy. Don't get caught out!
For the coconut cream you want the thick stuff, don't be tempted to use coconut milk as it will be far too runny and just won't set.
A ratio of 2:1 (more dark chocolate than coconut cream) is the perfect amount to have the ganache set without going hard. It is also the perfect amount so that the dark chocolate flavour dominates and you don't taste the coconut.
The recipe
Vegan Blood Orange Tart with Dark Chocolate Ganache
Equipment
- 1 7 inch tart tin
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 200 g plain flour
- 100 g vegan butter
- 4-6 tablespoon plant milk
For the blood orange jelly layer
- 500 ml blood orange juice roughly 8 blood oranges
- 3 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon agar powder
For the dark chocolate ganache layer
- 200 g vegan dark chocolate chopped
- 100 g coconut cream
For the decoration
- 1 blood orange optional
- 4 vegan meringue kisses optional
Instructions
To make the tart case
- Cut up the vegan butter into cubes and add to a mixing bowl along with the flour.
- Rub the vegan butter and flour between your fingertips until you have a mixture that resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the plant milk a few tablespoon at a time until the pastry comes together into a ball of dough.
- Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the pastry is resting, pre-heat your oven to 150C.
- Dust the work surface with flour, put the dough in the middle and sprinkle it with flour.
- Flour your rolling pin then roll out the pastry into a circle 5cm/2” larger than the quiche tin.
- Carefully lift it into the tin and push it into the corners and grooves.
- To cut off the excess pastry, roll the rolling pin over the top of the tin.
- Prick the bottom of the pasty with a fork.
- Scrunch up baking paper then place inside the pastry case. Top the baking paper with baking beans.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until beginning to go a pale golden colour.
- Remove the baking paper and baking beans and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- Allow to cool before moving on to the blood orange jelly layer.
To make the blood orange jelly layer
- Add 300 ml of blood orange juice to a saucepan along with the caster sugar, place on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- In the meantime, dissolve the agar powder in the remaining blood orange juice.
- Add the agar mixture to the rest of the blood orange juice and bring to a boil while stirring constantly.
- Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
- Set aside to cool slightly before pouring it into the baked tart case.
- Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the blood orange jelly layer has set.
For the dark chocolate ganache layer
- Melt the chopped vegan dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over boiling water.
- At the same time, warm the coconut cream.
- Add the warmed coconut cream to the melted dark chocolate and stir until smooth.
- Leave to cool slightly before pouring over the ganache over the blood orange jelly layer and placing in the fridge to set for 3 hours or until firm.
- Once set completely decorate and serve.
Nutrition
More blood orange recipes
Yep, they're all vegan!
More seasonal recipes
If you want more recipes using the best of seasonal produce, check out my winter recipe archive.
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