BAKED Sunday Morning: Orange Creamsicle Tart

As much as I am a chocolate lover, one cold treat I loved as a kid was Orange Creamsicles. The orange and cream mixture is a taste that I well remember and seemed to always cool me off on a hot summer day.

So, to say that I was excited to make this Sunday's Orange Creamsicle Tart is an understatement. I was intrigued that BAKED had recreated one of my favorite childhood treats in a tart. After buying and taste testing several different kinds of orange cream sodas, I decided to use Harvey Weinhard's orange cream soda because it was exactly the flavor I remember.

The tart dough also had some orange zest in it which I infused the sugar with, rubbing the zest in with my fingers. The recipe said that the dough was sticky, but mine wasn't sticky at all - it was soft and smooth, so I think infusing the sugar with the zest might have kept the dough from getting sticky. I loved the smell of the orange in the tart dough! Even though I carefully followed instructions for baking the tart shell I did have some shrinkage. I had enough dough left over from making the 9-inch tart shell that I made a rustic mini-tart with a 4-1/2 inch springform pan.

The filling took awhile to make, but it is important to follow the directions carefully. I did deviate a bit again by infusing the sugar in the filling with the orange and lemon zest before adding it to the saucepan. It takes a bit of patience to carefully sprinkle the gelatin over the lemon juice. I was so afraid that it would clump, but luckily it didn't. When I poured the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve unto the butter and then whisked I noticed that my filling was really thin and even though I whisked furiously as the directions indicated, I didn't notice the volume of the filling increasing. I covered the filling with plastic and put it in the refrigerator for 4 hours, but was really skeptical that it would thicken because I felt that most of the gelatin was left with the pulp in the sieve. As you can see from the pictures, however, I needn't have worried.

Since the tart dough and the filling had so much orange, I decided to make the Simple Whipped Cream that was suggested rather than the Orange Whipped Cream that came with the recipe. I really wanted the tart to recreate the taste of the creamsicle and I didn't remember the cream part of the popsicle having an orange flavor.

If you love orange creamsicles, you will love this tart! It was such a big hit with my family. I just loved this and couldn't stop eating the leftover orange filling. I really don't know how Matt and Renato did it and can only imagine how many times the recipe must have been tested and retested to get it just right. This is a perfect summer dessert. 

Visit BAKED Sunday Mornings to see other BAKED members' orange creamsicle tart creations. You can also find the recipe there.

Next BAKED Sunday Morning: Rosemary Apricot Squares - June 19