This citrus tart is a layered celebration of texture and flavour – starting with a classic shortcrust infused with blood orange zest. Inside, you’ll find a tender white chocolate sponge, pink orange crèmeux, and a silky lemon cream cheese mousse, all balanced by the brightness of Honey Murcott mandarin jelly. Finished with a piped mousse of pink orange and white chocolate, and garnished with candied orange and lemon peel, it’s a vibrant, aromatic build that captures citrus in every dimension.
Fragrant Shortcrust Pastry with Blood Orange Zest
For this tart, the base starts with my shortcrust pastry recipe — crisp, buttery, and reliable for clean edges and a tender bite. To complement the citrus layers above, I work blood orange zest directly into the dough. Its natural floral flavour lifts the pastry, making the baked shell fragrant without overpowering. Use a fine zester to peel only the top, aromatic layer from one orange, avoiding the bitter pith, so the zest integrates evenly and releases its oils throughout the bake.
Citrus Tart Video Recipe
Follow along with our step-by-step citrus tart recipe video recipe to master this elegant dessert. The tutorial below shows exactly how to prepare each component – from the citrus-infused sponge to the crèmeux, mousse, jelly, and final decoration – before assembling them into a polished tart. You’ll see how to achieve clean layers, stable mousses, and professional presentation, so your tart looks as stunning as it tastes.
Citrus Tart
Ingredients
White Chocolate Sponge ( yields: 2 × 16 cm moulds)
- 120 g white chocolate
- 60 g salted butter
- 110 g sugar
- 120 g eggs
- 120 g almond flour
- 2 g pink orange zest
Honey Murcott Mandarin Jelly (yields: ~380 g)
- 270 g mandarin purée
- 40 g sugar for mixing with starch
- 30 g honey
- 16 g cornstarch
- 8 g powdered gelatine
- 20 g cold water for blooming
- 20 g mandarin juice for blooming
Pink Orange Crèmeux (yields: 2 × 16 cm moulds)
- 160 g orange purée
- 90 g egg yolks approx. 5 yolks
- 60 g sugar
- 3 g powdered gelatine
- 15 g cold water
- 75 g butter
- Zest of 1 orange
Pink Orange White Chocolate Mousse (yields: ~430 g)
- 2 g powdered gelatine
- 10 g cold water for blooming
- 80 g pink orange purée 40 g segments + 40 g juice
- 150 g white chocolate
- 155 g cold cream 35%
Cream Cheese Mousse (yields: 2 tarts)
- 225 g cream cheese
- 65 g sugar
- 5 g powdered gelatine
- 25 g cold water for blooming
- 50 g lemon juice
- 200 g cold whipping cream 35%
- 10 g vanilla bean paste
- Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
White Chocolate Sponge
- Melt butter in saucepan, add white chocolate, keep lukewarm—just enough to melt.
- Mix sugar, zest, and eggs.
- Incorporate chocolate mixture.
- Add almond flour. Mix until combined.
- Pour into silicone moulds or cake rings.
- Bake at 170 °C for 30–35 min until golden brown.
- Cool completely, then freeze for easier assembly.
Honey Murcott Mandarin Jelly
- Bloom gelatine in cold water and mandarin juice.
- Mix sugar and cornstarch, add to cold purée, then add honey. Bring to boil, cook 1 min.
- Add gelatine mass, mix until fully dissolved.
- Pour into silicone mould, freeze solid.
Pink Orange Crèmeux
- Warm purée in saucepan.
- Whisk zest, sugar and yolks together.
- Temper yolk mix into warm purée.
- Cook to 82 °C, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat, add bloomed gelatine.
- Add cold butter. Emulsify with stick blender.
- Pour on top of white chocolate sponge and freeze.
Pink Orange Mousse
- Bloom gelatine in cold water.
- Heat orange segments and juice to simmer.
- Half-melt chocolate in microwave (30–60 sec).
- Pour hot orange mix over chocolate, emulsify.
- Add cold cream, continue blitzing.
- Cover with cling film (touching surface), refrigerate 6–8 hrs.
- Fully whip before piping.
Cream Cheese Mousse
- Bloom gelatine in cold water.
- Semi-whip cream to soft peaks, refrigerate.
- Heat lemon juice, sugar, and zest to simmer.
- Remove from heat, stir in bloomed gelatine.
- Pour over cream cheese, blend until smooth.
- Fold in whipped cream in two additions.
- Use immediately to fill tart.
Video
The Citrus Selection
The citrus tart celebrates a trio of distinctive fruits, each adding its own depth of flavour. Pink orange delivers a gentle sweetness with a delicate blush of berry-like notes, creating a smooth, rounded citrus tone. Honey Murcott mandarin contributes a fragrant juiciness, with natural honeyed richness that balances acidity with warmth. Blood orange zest sharpens the profile, bringing vibrant oils and a slightly tart, floral edge that cuts through the creamier layers. Together, these citrus elements create a vibrant balance of sweet, tangy, and aromatic notes, giving the tart its bright and memorable character.
modern citrus tart recipe: Variations You Can Try
You can create your own version of this citrus tart by experimenting with different varieties of oranges and mandarins to suit your taste. The choice of mousse can also change the overall character of the tart — using only the pink orange white chocolate mousse will give you a sweeter, creamier result, while choosing just the lemon cream cheese mousse will create a sharper, tangier flavour profile.
The jelly layer is another element where you can play with flavours. While I use honey Murcott mandarin jelly for its fragrant, honeyed freshness, you can easily swap it for orange jelly. I’ve used this approach in my blood orange tart recipe, where orange jelly provides a bright and translucent finish. Each option highlights citrus in a different way, allowing you to adapt the tart to the fruits that are in season or to your personal preference. These small adjustments make the recipe flexible, while still preserving the balance of citrus and cream that defines this tart.
Sponge for Citrus Tart
For this citrus tart, I’ve chosen a white chocolate sponge, which offers a refined, creamy sweetness that complements the bright, zesty flavours of the citrus. Its light and airy texture provides a delicate foundation, allowing the vibrant citrus components to truly shine.
If you prefer a dessert with a deeper, more indulgent profile, you can easily create a dark chocolate version by following the steps in my flourless dark chocolate sponge recipe. The dark chocolate sponge introduces a rich, intense cocoa flavour that creates a striking contrast with the tartness of the citrus, giving the dessert a more dramatic, layered taste experience.
To further elevate the tart, consider using a chocolate shortcrust pastry as the base. Its buttery, cocoa-infused richness balances the sweetness of the sponge and the acidity of the citrus, resulting in a sophisticated interplay of textures and flavours. This combination of sponge and pastry allows for a versatile tart that can be adapted to your taste—whether light and delicate or bold and decadent.
Craving more behind-the-scenes moments, step-by-step videos, and sneak peeks of upcoming recipes? Join me on Instagram @andbonbons for a closer look at the process, pastry tips, and plenty of chocolate inspiration.
