Conversation aux oranges épicées

( Almond and spiced orange tart )

One of my first jobs as an apprentice chef was to make the conversation, not as a tart as it’s typically seen, but as a slice. I remember being amazed at the mirror-like finish of the baked royal icing and the contrast between the light puff pastry, the fluffy almond cream and crumbly shell. The traditional recipe for tarte conversation is actually a little too heavy and sweet for my liking, so I have added spiced orange marmalade to offset some of the sweetness, and orange blossom water to add some floral notes. If you don’t want to make the marmalade, use a good-quality ready-made marmalade or raspberry jam.

Serves 8–10

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) Puff Pastry, 5 single turns

2–3 teaspoons orange blossom water, or to taste

250 g (9 oz) Almond Cream

Marmalade

300 g (10½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

2 tablespoons Chinese five spice

3 teaspoons fine salt

2 oranges, washed

Royal icing

1 egg white

140 g (5 oz) pure icing (confectioners’) sugar

few drops of lemon juice

L To make the marmalade, put 1 litre (35 fl oz) water, 200 g (7 oz) of the sugar, five spice and salt in a heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the whole oranges, then cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 35 minutes, or until the oranges crack open. Drain the oranges and discard the cooking syrup. When cool, cut open the oranges and remove the seeds. Place the unpeeled oranges in a food processor with the remaining sugar and process until a rough purée forms. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until cold.

L You will need a 25 cm (10 in) tart ring or tart tin with a removable base. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface until 3 mm (¹/₈ in) thick. Line the base and side of the tin with the pastry. Reserve and refrigerate the offcuts to decorate the tart.

L Stir the orange blossom water into the almond cream until well combined, then half-fill the tart shell with the almond cream. The volume of almond cream will vary depending on how much it was beaten, so you might have some leftover. Cover the almond cream with a layer of the cooled orange marmalade and refrigerate while you make the royal icing.

L To make the royal icing, use an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to beat the egg white on low speed for 30 seconds, then slowly add the icing sugar, waiting for it to dissolve fully before adding more. When the mixture firms up, add a few drops of lemon juice to soften it to a spreadable consistency.

L Cover the marmalade with a thin layer of royal icing, about 2 mm (¹/₁₆ in) thick. To decorate the tart with a lattice design, cut the reserved pastry offcuts into 1 cm (½ in) wide strips. While you can get quite technical about the actual lattice work, you can simply lay parallel strips of pastry across the tart, spacing them about 3 cm (1¼ in) apart, then rotate the tart 45 degrees and repeat the process. Refrigerate the decorated tart for 30 minutes.

L Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 40 minutes, or until golden. If the top is browning too quickly, cover loosely with a piece of foil. Cool a little before removing from the tin. Serve at room temperature with crème fraîche.

tip

Serving a cake or tart either warm or hot will exacerbate the ‘feeling’ of sweetness. As a rule, when you bake a cake with a high sugar content, it is better to serve it cold, preferably with an unsweetened yoghurt, crème fraîche or sour cream. The fattiness and sourness of the yoghurt or sour cream will further reduce the perceived sweetness.