Blood Orange Tartlet Recipe

Servings: 6
Prep time: 35 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the pâte sucrée:
4 ¼ ounces|120 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
2 grams kosher salt
3 ounces|90 grams icing sugar
½ ounce|15 grams almond flour
8 ½ ounces|240 grams all-purpose flour
1 large egg

For the orange cream:
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 oranges, zested and juiced (water the juice down until you have 1 ¼ cups|300 ml)
1 ½ ounces|45 grams cornstarch
2 large egg yolks
2 ⅔ ounces|75 grams caster sugar

For the Italian blood meringue:
¼ cup|60 ml water
7 ounces|200 grams granulated sugar
½ cup|130 ml (pig or duck) blood; (equivalent to 3 ½ ounces|100 grams of egg whites)

Directions

1. First, make the pâte sucrée: cream the butter with the salt. Add icing sugar and almond flour, then the egg. Whisk in flour until everything is incorporated. Don't whisk for too long, because you will over-process the gluten and the dough will become tough. Cool in fridge until the butter has firmed up.
2. Drop your dough on your floured counter and roll out. Cover your buttered 4-inch tartlet forms with dough and put in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes. Poke holes into the bottoms with a fork and fill the forms with baking beans to prevent the shells from rising. Bake at 320°F for 11 minutes. Take them out of the oven and give the tartlets a coat of egg wash. Bake for another minute and let cool.
3. Next, make the orange cream: whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until it has become lighter in color. Heat juice, water, and cornstarch over low heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat. When it has thickened, give it a good stir. Stir in the yolks when the mixture has cooled to 150°F and add the zest.
4. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked crusts and put them back into the oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 320°F.
5. Next, make the Italian blood meringue: bring a pan of water to a boil—you'll need this later for some bain-marie action.
6. Bring water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan until you have a syrup. Keep a close eye on it, using a candy thermometer. Meanwhile, beat the blood to soft peaks in a metal bowl, adding the sugar gradually. Keep in mind that it takes about four times as long to beat blood as it takes egg whites.
7. When the syrup reaches 248°F, place the bowl over the saucepan with boiling water, bain-marie style. Keep whisking while gradually adding the syrup to the blood in a thin stream. Whisk until the syrup is completely absorbed. The meringue should be thick and have glossy peaks.
8. Pipe the meringue onto the tartlets and serve while warm. Chef's tip: use the meringue on the day it was made.

From Eating Blood Shouldn't Curdle Yours

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