This tart has crisp crust with a creamy filling topped off with a tangy pomegranate gelatin making it the PERFECT winter/holiday dessert. WARNING, WARNING, DANGER WILL ROBINSON! 😀 BE forewarned this is A LOT of time consuming work and wait time so be prepared to make it the day before.
POMEGRANATE CHESS TART
CRUST
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup fine yellow cornmeal
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 LARGE egg yolk
- Whisk together flour, cornmeal and salt.
- In a separate bowl beat butter and cream cheese until well blended and creamy.
- Add egg yolk, beating JUST until combined.
- Add flour mixture, beating on low until dough begins to form.
- Shape into a flat disk, wrap in saran and chill at LEAST 2 hours.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and let set at room temperature for 30 minutes or until soft to the touch.
- Unwrap and roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-13 inch circle.
- Fit dough into a 10 inch DEEP tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Press into pan and fold over edges.
- Prick bottom of dough with a fork.
- Chill 30 minutes until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Line dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights.
- Bake 15 minutes or until golden along the edges.
- Remove pie weights and parchment paper.
- Return to oven and bake 8-10 minutes more until bottom is set.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and cool COMPLETELY for 30 minutes.
FILLING
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon WONDRA flour
1 tablespoon fine yellow cornmeal
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup WHOLE buttermilk
1 tablespoon orange zest
3 tablespoons orange juice (1 orange)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (1 LARGE lemon)
3 LARGE eggs, beaten
- Reduce oven to 325°.
- Whisk together the sugar, cornmeal, flour, buttermilk, orange juice, lemon juice, orange zest and melted butter until well blended.
- Add eggs, whisking until smooth.
- Pour into prepared tart crust.
- Bake on lowest shelf 35-40 minutes golden AND set.
- Cool COMPLETELY for 2 hours.
- Chill until COLD, about 2 hours.
GELEE’
1 ¼ cup FRESH pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 ½ teaspoons (2-¼ ounce envelopes) KNOX unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier (orange liqueur)
²⁄³ cup pomegranate seeds, for garnish
- In a medium saucepan combine the pomegranate juice and sugar, whisking until sugar is dissolved.
- Whisk gelatin into the mixture quickly and let stand 5 minutes.
- Cook over medium heat, about 5 minutes, JUST until mixture is steaming and gelatin completely dissolves.
- Remove from heat and cool 20 minutes.
- Skim off any foam and whisk in liqueur.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve.
ASSEMBLY
- Remove tart from the refrigerator.
- Gently pour pomegranate gelatin over chilled tart to just under tart edge. DO NOT OVERFILL! Depending on the depth of your tart pan you will probably have a bit extra.
- Return to refrigerator and chill 1 more hour.
- Sprinkle with seeds just before serving.