Blood Orange Tarts with Custard (Printable version)

Elegant French tarts with vanilla custard and vibrant blood orange segments. Make-ahead perfection.

# What you need:

→ Tart Shells

01 - 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/4 cup powdered sugar
03 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
04 - 1 large egg yolk
05 - 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water
06 - Pinch of salt

→ Vanilla Custard

07 - 1 1/4 cups whole milk
08 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar
09 - 3 large egg yolks
10 - 2 tablespoons cornstarch
11 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

→ Blood Orange Topping

13 - 3 to 4 blood oranges, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
14 - 1 tablespoon honey, optional for glazing
15 - 1 teaspoon water, optional for glazing

# Steps to follow:

01 - In a food processor, pulse together flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Add cold butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolk and pulse, adding ice water one tablespoon at a time until dough just comes together.
02 - Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
03 - Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut to fit six 4-inch tart pans. Press dough into pans and trim excess. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
04 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line tart shells with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes, remove weights and parchment, then bake 5 minutes more until golden. Cool completely.
05 - In a medium saucepan, heat milk until steaming. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale. Gradually whisk in hot milk. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and butter.
06 - Transfer custard to a bowl, cover surface with plastic wrap, and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
07 - Spoon chilled custard into cooled tart shells. Top with overlapping slices of blood orange.
08 - Warm honey and water in a small pan and brush over oranges for a glossy finish.
09 - Refrigerate tarts until ready to serve.

# Expert tips:

01 -
  • You can make everything ahead except the final assembly, which means zero stress when guests arrive.
  • The contrast between crispy pastry, silky custard, and bright citrus tastes like you spent hours perfecting it when really you were just strategic about timing.
  • Blood oranges are the show-stopper here, but the vanilla custard is what keeps people coming back for the recipe.
02 -
  • The custard must bubble and cook for the full 2-3 minutes, not just until it thickens slightly, or cornstarch granules will remain and create a grainy texture.
  • Assembling these tarts right before serving is the difference between crisp shells and soggy ones, so while everything else can be made ahead, resist the urge to fully assemble more than an hour before eating.
03 -
  • Keep your butter and water genuinely cold throughout the dough-making process; warm ingredients are the enemy of flaky pastry.
  • If your custard ever looks grainy or broken, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and it'll recover, looking silky again.
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