Orange French Silk Tart

Orange French Silk Tart

This Orange French Silk tart was made for the Series 6 Episode 9 signature challenge of Great British Bake Off- a signature chocolate tart. You may remember that I made this tart for my Pi Day party, but didn't remember the recipe I created for it. Vincent's coworker's boyfriend liked the tart so much that I decided to make the next rendition of the tart for just the two of them. Vincent's coworker, who is a self-proclaimed pie hater, texted me later to say it is the best thing she thinks I've made.

The classic French Silk tart is made with a sweet shortcrust pastry crust, a silky smooth creamy chocolate filling, and a whipped cream topping. It is rich without being overpowering, it is creamy smooth, it is refreshing on a nice hot day.

I altered the basic French silk pie only slightly, adding orange to the flavor profile. Orange and chocolate is a common flavor combination in England (such as in Jaffa cakes), and works much better than I would have expected before trying it. The acidity of the orange helps cut the sweetness of just pure chocolate flavor- however good just pure chocolate flavor may be.

The sweet shortcrust pastry is fairly basic. The dry ingredients are mixed together, and then the butter is cut in until the mixture resembles fine crumbles. The vodka or rum and the water are added, a tablespoon at a time, until the  dough just barely comes together. The dough should be refrigerated for at least an hour before it is rolled out. Once rolled out, the dough is put into a tart dish and blind baked with baking beans.

After the crust is baked, and is set to cool, the filling should be made. The filling does utilize raw eggs, so see my note on how to alter the method if you are unable to use pasteurized eggs or are squeamish about using raw eggs.* The filling is made by melting the chocolate, and mixing it and all remaining ingredients except the eggs together. The eggs should be added one at a time, beating at medium speed for five minutes between the addition of each egg. The point of this lengthy beating is to give the mixture more airiness and volume. Once all eggs are fully incorporated, the filling should be poured into the cooled tart crust, evened out, and refrigerated briefly.

The last step is to decorate the tart. Whipped cream should be made and piped over the top of the tart. The tart should then be garnished with chocolate shavings and orange zest. The tart should be refrigerated until serving.

This Orange French Silk tart came out spectacularly. It is definitely something I would make again, and it is actually quite easy to make.

Next week, I shall share my not-so-great first attempt at the picnic basket pie signature challenge from the Series 4 finale of GBBO.

Recipe

Ingredients

For the crust:

1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed, cold

1 1/4 C all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp vodka or rum

1-2 tbsp cold water, as necessary

For the filling:

2/3 C unsalted butter, softened

1 C confectioner's sugar

5 oz semisweet or dark chocolate

juice of one large orange

1 oz coffee

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange extract

zest of 3 oranges, divided

2 extra large eggs

For the topping:

1 1/2 C heavy whipping cream

3 tbsp confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla

juice of 1/2 large orange or 1 tsp orange extract

zest of 1 large orange

grated chocolate

Instructions

1. To make the crust, mix dry ingredients together. Using fingers, a knife, or a food processor, cut butter into the mixture until crumbles form. Add vodka or rum, and water as necessary until the dough barely stays together.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 15-20 minutes. Remove from fridge and roll out in a circle, about 1/4" or 3 mm thick. Drape over a 9" tart pan, and using a small piece of excess dough, press the dough into the creases and sides of the tart. Let about 1/2" (1 cm) excess dough remain over the edges of the tart tin.
3. Fill the dough with baking beads and bake for 20 minutes. Remove tart tin from oven and remove baking beads. At this point, trim off the excess crust overhanging the edges of the tart tin. Return the crust to the oven and bake 30 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
4. While the tart crust cools, prepare the filling. Set aside 1 tbsp butter. Beat together remaining butter and confectioner's sugar until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, carefully melt chocolate and remaining tbsp butter either in the microwave or in a double boiler. Mix orange zest, orange juice, vanilla extract, orange extract, and coffee into the chocolate and incorporate fully. Mix chocolate mixture into the butter/sugar mixture and continue to beat until incorporated.
5. Add one egg into the mixture. Beat at medium speed about 5 minutes. Add the second egg, and beat at medium speed a further 5 minutes. Pour the resulting mixture into the tart crust and refrigerate to set.*
6. Make the whipped cream. At high speed, beat the heavy whipping cream until light and fluffy, gradually adding the confectioner's sugar. Once the whipped cream is mostly formed, add the vanilla extract and orange juice/extract. Continue whipping until incorporated.
7. To decorate the tart, pipe the whipped cream onto the cooled tart. Garnish with remaining orange zest and grated chocolate. Refrigerate until serving.

* In the United States, commercially-sold eggs are pasteurized and have very low risk of food-borne illness. If you are either unsure about consuming products with raw egg or live in a place where pasteurized eggs are not commercially available, I recommend bringing the final filling mixture to a simmer in a pot, cooling it, and then beating it for a further two minutes before filling the tart crust.