Three-Cheese Tart With Chocolate & Orange (Crostata di Tre Formaggi con Cioccolato e Arancia)

By ltrodrigu

In her book “Dolce Italiano,” Ms. DePalma describes this tart as “the dessert equivalent of your favorite little black dress. You can pull it out for any occasion—at any time of year—and its easy, elegant sophistication will impress.” If you’re not up to the task of producing a complete tart, use the dough to make cookies.

Ingredients

• For the Chocolate & Nut Tart Crust:
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted and finely ground
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• For the Tart:
• 3 ounces cream cheese (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup mascarpone
• 1 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• For the Orange Marmalade Glaze:
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Details

Adapted from wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make Crust:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, almonds, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Use an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment to cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add dry ingredients, then beat on low speed until mostly incorporated. Increase speed to medium, beating just until a soft dough forms.

Scrape dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Shape dough into a disk and tightly wrap it. Chill dough until firm enough to roll out, about 2 hours or overnight.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface. Dust paper with flour. Remove chilled dough from plastic and place on floured paper. Take a second piece of floured parchment paper and place it on top of dough. Wait a few minutes for dough to soften just enough to be rolled out.

Once dough has softened, roll it out between paper, working quickly, to form an 11-inch circle, ⅛-inch thick. (Flip dough a few times as you go and lift and replace sheets of parchment to prevent sticking.) Chill paper-covered dough circle in refrigerator until firm, up to an hour.

Remove dough from refrigerator and discard parchment. Lay dough on top of a 10-inch tart pan with fluted sides and a removable bottom. As dough softens, press it into bottom and sides of pan. Trim any excess dough so it is flush with the top of the pan. Chill tart shell in the refrigerator while making filling.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and position a rack in center of oven.

Make Filling:
Use an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment to beat together cream cheese, mascarpone, ricotta and sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg, vanilla and heavy cream, scraping down sides of bowl after each addition.

Assemble Tart:
Remove prepared shell from refrigerator and pour filling into it, smoothing top of filling with a spatula. Bake tart until filling has set, about 30 minutes. Center should be firm, but when pan is gently shaken, jiggle slightly. Allow tart to cool completely on a rack before carefully removing sides of tart pan.

Meanwhile, Prepare Glaze:
Bring marmalade, orange juice, lemon juice and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat and allow glaze to cool to room temperature.

Brush top and sides of tart generously with cooled glaze. Chill tart for 2 hours before serving. It may be served cold or brought to room temperature before serving. (Leftovers, wrapped in plastic, will keep for a few days.)