Project Description

Coffee Vincotto Chocolate Tart with Bitter Oranges

Maggie Beer is a cook, food author, TV personality, restaurateur, businesswoman, food manufacturer and dear friend. When I was visiting during filming of my Taste of Australia TV series, I asked her to share a dessert recipe with me. She recommends serving her Coffee Vincotto Chocolate Tart with Bitter Oranges or candied cumquats which she produces. I have developed my own spiced orange recipe here.

Serves 6–8
Preparation time: 45 minutes plus 30 minutes to rest pastry and 2 hours for cooling
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

80 g (2 ¾ oz) bitter oranges in spiced verjuice syrup or see below to make your own ice cream to serve, if desired

Sour Cream Pastry
125 g (4 ½ oz) unsalted butter
160 g (51/2 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
pinch of salt (optional)
¼ cup (60 g/2 oz) sour cream

Chocolate Filling
200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate 70% cocoa, chopped
100 ml (3 ½ fl oz) thickened (whipping) cream
15 ml (1/2 fl oz) strong coffee
15 ml (1/2 fl oz) vincotto

Spiced Oranges
½ cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) sugar
½ cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) verjuice
½ cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) water
1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice
2 small oranges, very thinly sliced in rounds
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf

Method:

  1. To make the pastry, dice the butter then pulse with the flour (I like to add a pinch of salt) in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and continue to pulse until the dough starts to incorporate into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20–30 minutes before using.
  2. Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F).
  3. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface or between two sheets of baking paper until thin and large enough to fit into a 36 cm x 13 cm x 2 cm (14 ½ in x 5 in x 3/4 in) greased tin.
  4. Place the pastry in the tin, top with baking paper and pastry weights and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and weights and return to the oven for 10 minutes. If the centre of the pastry is still pale and the edges are browning too much, protect the edges by wrapping a length of foil over them. Return to the oven for a further 2 minutes or until golden in the centre. Cool the tart before filling.
  5. For the chocolate filling, place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over simmering water, ensuring the water does not touch the base of the bowl or get into the chocolate. Stir gently until melted. Meanwhile, place the cream, coffee and vincotto in a microwave-safe pitcher and microwave gently for 50 seconds or until warm. Add the warm cream mixture to the melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Pour into the cooled tart and allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours.
  6. If you are making your own spiced oranges, combine the sugar, verjuice, water and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the oranges, cinnamon and bay leaf and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove and discard the cinnamon and bay leaf. Remove the oranges and set aside. Bring the syrup to a gentle boil for 5 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and is thick and glossy. Pour the syrup over the oranges and allow to cool until the tart is ready to serve.
  7. When set, arrange the drained spiced oranges on top of the tart. Cut into slices and serve with ice cream, if desired.

Lyndey’s Note: Blind baking prevents the pastry from shrinking and/or rising too much. Although you can buy fancy pastry weights, I just keep a container of rice or dried beans especially for this purpose, and also freeze my pastry in the tin first. Maggie used a 26 cm x 8 cm x 4 cm tin.

Wine: This is an intensely rich hit of chocolate, so a liqueured muscat or topaque works well but, as a Barossan dish, try a sparkling shiraz.

Recipe from Lyndey Milan’s Taste of Australia Cookbook
Photography by: Stuart Scott

Related Recipe: Chocolate Ganache Tart