If you've not made chocolate pastry before, then this Chocolate Orange Custard Tart is a great place to start! The filling is a rich baked chocolate custard, it's flavoured with orange extract which is the best way to get a good orange flavour without comprimising the texture of the custard. Orange extract is pretty easy to get hold of, I get it in my local supermarket. I've decorated the Chocolate Orange Custard Tart with whipped cream, and Terry's Chocolate Orange slices, because they're awesome! This would be perfect anytime of year, but chocolate orange is very Christmassy, so I think this Chocolate Orange Custard Tart would be a great Christmas dessert for either the day itself, or any parties you're hosting!

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For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make a Chocolate Orange Custard Tart

To make the pastry, rub butter into a mixture of plain flour, cocoa powder and caster sugar. Add milk and form a dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then roll the pastry out and line the tin, gently pricked the bottom of the pastry with a fork.

Blind bake the pastry case for 15 minutes, then remove the baking beans and bake it for another 10 minutes.

To make the filling, heat double cream, then add dark chocolate and stir till it melts. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and orange extract. Combine the two mixtures to create the custard filling.

Put the pastry case in the oven and pour the custard into it. This ensures it doesn't spill.

Once baked, the custard will puff up, but it will sink down again as it cools. Once it is fully cool, decorate the Chocolate Orange Custard Tart with some whipped cream and slices of Terry's Chocolate Orange.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Can you use shop bought pastry instead?

Yes! I've never seen a ready made chocolate shortcrust pastry, so you can use regular shortcrust pastry instead if you want to use a ready made version.

Can you use orange juice instead of orange extract for the custard?

No. Orange extract is a concentrated flavour, so it's much stronger than orange juice. This means you can get a good amount of orange flavour without having to add too much additional liquid to your custard. Adding too much liquid will affect the custard so I don't recommend using orange juice. You could add orange zest to the custard instead, but the custard won't be as smooth as there will be bits of zest throughout it.

More tips for making the Chocolate Orange Custard Tart:

When rolling out the pastry, use a light dusting of plain flour to ensure it doesn't stick to the work surface or to the rolling pin. A silicone mat with pie tin measurements on it is also helpful as a guide so you know how big to roll it out to.
To avoid nail marks in the pastry when you are lining the tin, use a little ball of leftover pastry to push the pastry into the edges of the tin.
If you don't have baking beans to blind bake the pastry case, you can use dried rice or dried beans. Just don't forget to line the pastry with baking paper before pouring them in!
Place the baked pastry case on the oven shelf and pour the filling in using a jug, then slowly and gently slide the oven shelf in. This means you can fill the pastry case with as much filling as possible, and avoid any spills carrying it over to the oven.

Troubleshooting

My number one tip for getting the best results is to read through this whole page of tips and recommendations before starting, and follow the recipe exactly. If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

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