Blood Orange and Ricotta Tart

Blood Orange and Ricotta Tart-7

It is a good day to be in Denver!! We had an awesome weekend with our football team, the Denver Broncos, heading to the Super Bowl! I am sure everyone around the world knows about the Super Bowl now. They may not be familiar with the teams, but this year, our team made it!

Blood Orange and Ricotta Tart-4

My husband and I have been Broncos fans for a long time now and to see our team make it this year to the big game is extra sweet for us. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. We had a lovely dinner party we attended on Saturday night where we enjoyed wonderful Algerian food and fabulous company, slept in on a lazy Sunday and then settled in to enjoy a great game with a winning result for us. Denver is on a high and our legalised marijuana has nothing to do with it!

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I had originally scheduled this post for later on this month, but since Denver is seeing orange, it just seemed appropriate (Broncos colours are orange and blue) The whole city is pretty much orange, so I thought what better way to pay tribute than to post this Blood Orange and Ricotta Tart ๐Ÿ™‚

Blood Orange and Ricotta Tart-3

I took this tart to our dinner party on Saturday night and I guess everyone liked it; there was only a little bit left. I tried a smidgen, mainly just the filling and it was quite delicious. The oranges were the best part, of course. Blood oranges are just gorgeous; their colour is quite magical. Their taste can be hit or miss, you can get a really sweet one and you can get some tart ones. I had a mix, so hopefully the tart had an even mixture of both. Just so no one would bite into a very tart blood orange, I did drizzle a small amount of orange blossom syrup over the top but that is completely optional and you can judge from your oranges if you wish to do so.

blood oranges

The tart was beautiful and all the beauty came from the fresh oranges; it’s amazing how much colour and beauty there is in nature without the need for artificial food colouring.

This would be a great dessert for any winter gathering and maybe even for a fancy Super Bowl party, where the colours and supporters will be in orange!

Peeled blood orange

We are not Super Bowl party people. Everyone assumes that since I entertain a lot, that a Super Bowl party is always the biggest excuse for me to go game day, party food crazy. Nope, not for me. I had a couple in the early years and I learnt the lesson fast. I was stuck in the kitchen, didn’t watch the game and then when I could, a few who came along just for the food with no interest in the game, decided that I couldn’t possibly be interested in the game and kept me distracted the entire time. Never again. Trace and I enjoy game day by ourselves, in peace, though I can get pretty loud.

Blood Orange and Ricotta Tart-6

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Blood Orange and Ricotta Tart

Serves: 11

Serving size: 8

Calories: 522

Fat: 30g

Delicious cookie crust tart filled with orange blossom water scented ricotta cheese cream and topped with vibrant blood oranges.
Ingredients
Filling
  • 1 cup/225g ricotta cheese
  • 3 eggs, organic large
  • ยฝ cup/118ml heavy cream
  • ยฝ cup/50g cane sugar, granulated
  • 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
  • 5-6 Blood oranges, peeled and sliced
  • 2-3 Navel oranges, peeled and sliced
  • orange blossom water syrup or honey, optional
Cookie Crust
  • 1ยพ cups/260g all purpose/plain flour
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, in cubes
  • ยผ cup/50g sugar
  • ยผ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 5 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Cookie Crust
  1. You will need an 11"/28cm removable bottom tart pan.
  2. Using a food processor pulse the sugar, salt and flour together.
  3. Add the butter pieces and pulse until they are broken into the flour and resemble big bread crumbs (or rub in with your fingers)
  4. Mix the egg yolk and 3 tablespoons cream together and add to the butter/ flour mixture. Pulse till it comes together but still crumbly or use your fingers.
  5. If it seems dry, add the rest of the cream.
  6. Tip it out onto a clean counter and work the mixture gently into a cohesive ball.
  7. Flatten into a disc and chill for up to 30 minutes.
  8. If you chill longer than 30 minutes then you will have to wait almost 40 minutes before it is pliable enough to roll out.
  9. I was able to roll it out without difficulty after about 15 minutes of chill time.
  10. Roll out to 14"/35cm circle.
  11. Lay the pastry circle into the pan and press in gently and cut off excess.
  12. Chill the lined pan in the freezer for about an hour or two.
  13. If you freeze the crust then you can blind bake it without beans.
  14. When you are ready to bake the tart, preheat the oven to 400โ„‰/200โ„ƒ.
  15. Place the frozen tart shell in then oven and bake for 10 minutes.
  16. If the pastry puffs, prick it slightly with a fork, careful not to tear.
  17. After 10 minutes and when the pastry shell looks set, remove and allow to cool for a few minutes.
  18. Meanwhile make the filling.
  19. Lower the oven temperature to 350โ„‰/180โ„ƒ
Filling
  1. Mix the ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, heavy cream, orange blossom water together to form a smooth batter.
  2. Pour the batter into the cooling pastry shell and bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is puffy and set.
  3. Don't over bake.
  4. Check on the tart at 25 minutes and if it looks set, remove it and let it cool.
  5. Chill the tart overnight since it will be easier to slice, like a cheesecake.
  6. Before serving, arrange the sliced oranges decoratively on top of the tart.
  7. If your oranges are tart, drizzle some orange blossom water syrup or honey over the top.
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Will you be watching the big game? And do you go to or have Super Bowl parties? I know American football is starting to take off in other countries; do you watch the Super Bowl at all? If you will be watching the game this year, I hope you will be wearing orange ๐Ÿ™‚ย 

Have a great week!

  2. If there are no oranges available, what are other toppings that I could put on top of the filling?

  3. Pingback: Caramelized Onion & Herbed Ricotta Tart w/ Rice Crust | Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

  5. What an incredibly beautiful tart Nazneen. The bright orange slices, that smooth, silky ricotta filling… absolute dessert bliss. I love blood oranges. I find it hard to track them down where I live so I can’t help but stock up whenever I see them! Yum. x
    laurasmess recently posted..The Moroccan TableMy Profile

  6. This looks fantastic Nazneen (well, your amazing creations always look exactly that – amazing). I think I might have had a ricotta and orange tart many, many years ago – like literally about 18 years ago or so – I’m trying to think back. It was really good, but just with regular oranges.

    Totally agree with what you say about fantastic colours in the world without the need for artificial junk!
    Charles recently posted..Typically Swedish: Kokkaffe (Boiled Coffee) and a giveawayMy Profile

    • Awww, thanks Charles! Ricotta or actually any creamy filling goes really well with citrus. My original idea was a pastry cream but I needed a dessert where the filling wasn’t going to ooze out, so I went with my trusty ricotta filling.

    • Thank you! They are gorgeous aren’t they? I too love waiting to see what colour will be inside!

  10. My boys (husband and little fella) are rooting for the Broncos, just so you know. ; ) And can I tell you – just looking at this tart makes me smile. It is freezing this winter and we’ve got nothing but snow and frost outside so this splash of color is just what I need. Thank you! : )
    Monica recently posted..Chocolate chip donuts (Dรฉjร  vu)My Profile

    • Yay! More orange supporters ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks so much Monica! This is a very colourful tart, and that was my intention ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. Such a beautiful dessert…love the flavors and the colors are just amazing…like the orange blossom in the cheese layer…
    Thanks for sharing this recipe with us Nazneen and hope you are having a wonderful week ๐Ÿ˜€
    Juliana recently posted..Poached Fish with Wheat BerryMy Profile

    • Thank you Mary Frances! I wanted to use three, but couldn’t find the Cara Cara that day ๐Ÿ™‚

  13. Congrats on the Broncos win, I heard they played good. After 49ers lost, my little one is rooting for Broncos.
    This tart looks amazing, the ricotta sure would have tasted insanely good with the oranges.
    Gotto go get me some blood orange, it’s been a while since I’ve had em’.
    Ash-foodfashionparty recently posted..SAVORY WHOLE GRAIN WAFFLESMy Profile

    • Thanks Asha! Yes, the creamy filling goes really well with the sweet tart oranges! Sorry about the 49ers, a lot of my family was rooting for them. But this way, they all support Denver now!

    • Thank you so much Bam! Blood oranges can be temperamental like that, but as long as you have a mix, that’s good.

    • Thanks Ansh! I wanted colour this bleak winter (though we’ve had some nice sunny days haven’t we?) Blood oranges are just so happy.

    • Thank you so much Mireya! I really appreciate your kind words. I love using fruit and then keeping it simple. The colours and flavours are free from nature ๐Ÿ™‚

  19. Congrats on the Broncos! You’ll certainly enjoy the game — it should be a good one. Love this tart! The color is terrific. The color is the best thing about blood oranges — like you, I find their flavor often isn’t that good (and really isn’t all that different from regular oranges). But their color make them worth using!
    John@Kitchen Riffs recently posted..Quinoa and Sweet Potato ChiliMy Profile

    • Thank you John! I really hope it’s a good game with a desired result ๐Ÿ™‚ I do love blood oranges, but really just for their colour.

    • Thanks Amira. It’s not an easy game to understand if you’re not familiar with it! My husband played football in HS until he tore his knee, so I have to watch! I played a lot of sports in my time too so I do actually like watching it! But more than anything, it’s just nice to be part of Denver and their excitement. I was here back in the 90’s when they won with Elway and it was crazy!

    • Thanks Uru! I was wondering how it was in Australia. I know it’s catching on in the UK and thought maybe Australia too.

  24. Daaaahling, I know absolutely nothing about sports, but I know plenty about eating, and this looks delicious. I adore ricotta, and the sharp blood oranges must make such a beautiful contrast against the creamy delicate cheese. You did such a beautiful job with this tart, stunning!
    *kisses* H
    Totally Heavenly recently posted..A Bittersweet Birthday CelebrationMy Profile

    • Thank you H. You don’t need to be an expert in sports, as long as you can eat, we’ll be fine ๐Ÿ™‚ xx

    • Hi Margherita! Thank you so much! Of course you can watch the Super Bowl, but if you’ve never watched it before you may not understand it!! It’ll look like a bunch of grown men man handling each other ๐Ÿ™‚ They will show it in Montreal, so watch it and root for Denver ๐Ÿ™‚ !!!!

    • Hi Abbe! One of the reasons I love this filling is because it is so light and not very sweet. The oranges add a nice bright taste. Ooooh, I’m all intrigued with your recipe now, can’t wait!!

    • Thank you GG! Yes! It certainly is very nice to have your own team in the big game. Now, if only England can perform this year in the World Cup, I’ll be very happy!!

  28. OH WOW – Nazneen this is GORGEOUS and sounds totally delectable! I am in awe that you churned this out and didn’t even taste test it! I think I am starting a business – “Shashi’s Tastings” so if you need a tastetester next time… ๐Ÿ˜‰
    You had me laughing at “Denver is on a high and our legalised marijuana has nothing to do with it!”! Hope your week is lovely!
    Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com recently posted..Almond Honey Pancakes!My Profile

    • Thanks Shashi! I’ve used this filling many times in other tarts so I knew exactly how it would taste and knew it would go well with the oranges, and it did. I don’t post without tasting anything!!

    • Thank you, Karen, and sorry about the Pats (ok, maybe not) ๐Ÿ™‚ I was surprised to see so many blood oranges at my store, usually we get a handful. But once I saw them. I grabbed a bunch!

  30. This tart looks truly amazing. I was just having a conversation with some friends back East about different ways one can use orange flower water – I am definitely sending this recipe on to them, as they were also talking about blood oranges, and why we only see them form California now, and not Sicily. Congrats on the Broncos getting in to the Superbowl! Seems there might be some unhappy Bostonians running around now… ๐Ÿ™‚
    David recently posted..The Cocktail HourMy Profile

    • I think there were some unhappy Bostonians but they bought some weed and are fine now ๐Ÿ™‚ Apparently, tickets were not sold to anyone in MA for the Championship game so we didn’t have too many come from out of town. It was quite orange here. David, I have a million orange water blossom recipes on my site! I love that stuff and since it’s used so much in ME desserts, I have quite a few posted.

    • It is so exciting! The whole city is excited and you can feel it. Denver is a very big sport city and during game times, the city comes to a halt. We have very loyal fans here, so it’s really nice to be here. Thanks Charlie, I loved the blood oranges.

  34. I’m going to be watching the Superbowl in Shanghai with my American friends – but the party starts at 7am in the morning here. They are 49-er’s (is that how you write it?) so we’ve been told we have to support Denver now. It’ll be my first Superbowl Game and we’re watching it in a big hotel – I’m sure the dessert we’re served up will not be a patch on this though.
    nancy@jamjnr recently posted..January Cookbook Guru: Falling CloudberriesMy Profile

    • Yay! A Bronco supporter! Yes, if your friends are 49er fans they prolly don’t like the Seahawks, mortal enemies. I hope you have a good time even though it’s very early for you! It’ll be evening for us. Thanks, Nancy!

  35. This morning my sis-in-law posted a pic of herself in her Broncos T-shirt on FB. We too have quite a few crazy footy fans in Oz. I am not too much into it though.
    The tart looks incredible. Those colours and flavours must have been a stand-out in the dinner party. I LOVE blood oranges. For that matter, any citrus fruit. So this tart is perfect for me. And your story about hosting sounds all too familiar to me:-)
    Sugar et al recently posted..Corn, Carrot and Pea Breakfast FrittersMy Profile

    • Thanks Sonali! I’m a big citrus nut too. The tart was good but my hostess that evening is incredible at making Algerian pastries, so she had so many different kinds that I sat and enjoyed all of her desserts.

    • Thank you, David! Ideally, I wanted to use mascarpone because I’m not a fan of the ricotta texture but I had leftover ricotta from calzones so in it went! Came out nice though a lighter version of a cheesecake.