Winter Citrus Tart

The prettiest, delicious Winter Citrus Tart with shortcrust for your winter Monday baking needs! This is not like any other tart you’ve had before, trust me. It’s like all the wintery citrus dreams have come together to create this instant classic of bright flavors. It has flaky pâte sucrée crust (which is just a super simple shortcrust!) surrounding the creamy, silky, bright, and citrusy custard filling. It’s flaky on the outside, but oh so creamy, rich, and delicious on the inside. The best part? This cute tart is actually very simple to make and is so much fun to decorate! Top with candied citrus, fresh citrus of your choosing (with the rind cut off!), chopped pistachios, whipped mascarpone cream, or glazed fruit. Whatever you choose, this tart will always be gorgeous and delicious!

→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

About The Recipe

I think it’s pretty safe to say that mom and I have really been loving the winter baking (and no-baking!) so far this year. Something about the little bit colder months just makes us want to head out to the farmers market and find local produce to bake up all things sweet. I guess that and having the oven on keeps the house warm…

Either way, our excitement for winter sweets is at an all time high, but here’s what I’m starting to realize. We tend to do a lot of chocolate in the winter. Not that is a bad thing per-say, but this time of year is definitely when we need to be looking around locally to see what’s in season…and what’s more in season right now than a whole lot of citrus?

We actually received a huge gift box full of fruit and, you guessed it, citrus during Christmas. Now, while most of the fruit is gone, a lot of the citrus remains.

That’s where this tart comes in.

The truth is, we aren’t the biggest fans of citrus. Well, me and my mom aren’t. My brother, Ian, on the other hand…he would eat all things orange and lemon until it ran out his ears. Honestly, he has had the time of his life with that gift box, but there is really only so much plain citrus one person can eat. So, my mom and I put our heads together and tried to think of the best and most creative way to use up what we had left.

It really wasn’t long before we decided on a tart.

A tart is something challenging, something we’ve never done on the blog before, and really haven’t made in a couple of years. So, it was almost an immediate yes!

But…which citruses should we use? Well, we had grapefruits and oranges left. So, grapefruit and orange tart it shall be.

• 

• 

But, this recipe was definitely not that easy. Well, not at first. It took two or three times before we finally got it perfect.

The first time the citrus was a bit too much, the second time the custard was a tad under cooked…but the third time really does seem to be the charm! We were a bit skeptical, but we let my brother try a bite and he couldn’t stop raving about it.

From that moment, we knew we had a winner that needed to be shared with all of you!

Oh, and the absolute best part? While citrus may be in season in the winter, this tart can be made all year long!

Equipment Needed

• Mixing Bowls
• Pastry Blender
• 9 Inch Tart Pan with Removable Bottom
• 2 Quart Pot
• Glass Baking Dish
• Plastic Wrap
• Piping Bag
• Offset Spatula

Ingredients

For The Crust:

• All-Purpose Flour
• Powdered Sugar
• Baking Powder
• Salted Butter
• Eggs
• Almond Meal

For The Filling:

• Egg Yolks
• Corn Starch
• Milk
• Heavy Cream
• Sugar
• Vanilla Bean
• Salted Butter
• Orange Zest
• Grapefruit Zest

Instructions

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, powdered sugar, and baking soda together.

• 

• 

Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or a fork. The mixture should resemble sand or corn meal when finished.

• 

• 

Mix in the egg and egg yolk until the mixture forms a dough.

• 

• 

Knead in the almond flour until the dough is smooth.

• 

• 

Transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick.

• 

• 

Flour the dough very lightly, along with your rolling pin. Loosely roll the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer over the tart pan. Gently press down to ensure the dough is filling the whole pan.

• 

• 

• 

Cut away the excess and fill any holes or tears. Prick bottom of the dough with a fork. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

• 

• 

• 

After the 30 minutes are up, remove the dough from the fridge. Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, or until the crust is just starting to brown. Set aside and let cool completely.

While the crust is cooling, combine the cornstarch, 6 tablespoons sugar, and egg yolks in a small bowl.

• 

• 

In a medium sized sauce pan, combine the rest of the sugar, heavy cream, milk, and vanilla bean. Bring the mixture to a boil.

• 

• 

Slowly pour about 1/3 of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, stirring constantly.

• 

• 

Return the mixture to the pot and add the grapefruit and orange zest. Place over medium-low heat and stir constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. Let cook another two minutes. The mixture should be pulling away from the pan as you constantly stir. Turn off the heat and add the butter. Mix until the butter is completely incorporated. The mixture should be thick.

• 

• 

Transfer to a glass baking dish and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is completely touching the custard. Refrigerate immediately for at least 30 minutes, or until cool.

• 

• 

• 

Transfer the pastry cream into a large piping bag. Pipe into crust and use an offset spatula to smoothen it out. Decorate as desired and enjoy!

• 

• 

• 

Decorating Ideas

There are so many possibilities with a tart! For photography purposes, I chose fresh citrus and pistachios. Eating-wise, I don’t recommend the fresh sliced citrus because the zest is not edible. But, here are a few things we highly recommend that you can eat!

• Candied Citrus Slices
• Chopped Pistachios
• Fresh Citrus with rind cut off
• Glazed Fruit

What Kinds of Citrus To Use

For this recipe, we used orange zest and grapefruit zest. We highly recommend these two, but you can really use any combination of or just a single fruit!

What To Serve With This Citrus Tart

Looking for something to make this tart even more special? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. Here’s a few of our favorite things to serve with this delicious winter citrus tart…

• Whipped Mascarpone Cream
• Chantilly Cream
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Blood Orange Margarita
• Strawberry Moscato Slush

How To Store

If you aren’t going to eat this tart the day it’s made, here’s a little tip to make it store better! Melt some white chocolate and brush the baked crust very lightly with it. This will make sure the custard doesn’t soak through.

But, to store this tart, keep in a covered container and in the fridge for 1-2 days. Tarts aren’t really meant to last so, remember this before making!

• 

• 

Expert Tips

• The real secret to this tart and making sure everything is at the right temperature. Nothing more. Nothing less. It sounds so simple, but it truly makes all the difference in a recipe like this! We highly recommend checking to make sure your oven temperature is accurate and having a thermometer.
• When the custard starts to thicken, don’t panic! Let it keep cooking for 2 minutes afterwards. It should be very thick before stirring in the butter.
• Make sure you get all the butter incorporated!
• The crust doesn’t need to be overly browned. Just lightly browned. Keep an eye on it!
• Rolling the dough out is the best and easiest way to get an even crust.
• Any citrus can be used for this recipe.
• Make sure your tart pan has a removable bottom!

When you make this Winter Citrus Tart, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.