Name: Mandarin Curd Tart
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 cup (125g) plain or all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour blend*); 1/4 cup (65mL) light-tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed; 1/4 cup (60mL) water; 1/2 cup (50g) blanched almond meal; 3 tbsp (40g) cane sugar (or coconut sugar); 2 tbsp (24g) ground chia or flax seeds; 1 cup (240mL) mandarin juice and zest of those mandarins ((about 4 small mandarins)); 1/2 cup (120mL) canned coconut cream**; 1/2 cup (100g) cane sugar; 2 tbsp (14g) corn flour or corn starch; 2 tsp (6g) agar agar powder; 1 (125g) medium-size mandarin (peeled and segments sliced in half lengthways)

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This vegan mandarin curd tart is like your classic lemon curd tart with a twist of sweet mandarins! It has a classic shortcrust pastry and is filled with a sweet and tangy mandarin curd which is bursting with flavour. I included a gluten-free option as well!

I originally made this vegan mandarin curd tart recipe in 2018. Since then, I've written a cookbook and developed a lot as a chef so it only made sense for me to update this recipe!

Let's chat about all the different components.

Vegan shortcrust pastry with a gluten-free option

I've never been a huge fan of vegan butter so created a pastry using a light-tasting liquid oil. I prefer using sunflower oil or refined coconut as they are affordable and don't have a strong taste. However, you can use regular coconut oil or olive oil if you prefer!

It's definitely easier to make the pastry with plain or all-purpose flour. It has gluten which allows the ingredients to 'bind' more easily. However, I know lots of my readers opt for gluten-free treats so I included a delicious option for you. If you've ever made gluten-free pastry, it often tastes horrible and like cardboard. To overcome this, I substituted a lot of the gluten-free flour with delicious almond meal. Ground almonds are high in fat so creates a beautiful crumb when used in pastry!

How do you make vegan mandarin curd?

This mandarin curd has no eggs and butter but is STILL creamy, delicious and melts in your mouth! But how?

Coconut cream is high in fat and has a lovely mouthfeel. This mimics the creaminess traditionally provided by the fat in eggs and butter.
Corn starch helps thicken liquids and provides a similar texture to custard made with eggs.
Agar agar powder to help set the filling, which substitutes eggs which help set curds.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

This post and recipe was originally published in 2018 on Rainbow Nourishments but was updated in 2019.

If you try this recipe, I would love to hear about it! Please leave a comment below and rate it. This will help me, other readers and allow this blog to be seen by more people! If you post it on social media, please tag @rainbownourishments and #rainbownourishments.

If you have questions about this recipe or blog post, please leave a comment below and I will respond as soon as possible. Rainbow Nourishments receives a high number of questions through social media and email and is unable to respond to each individual query. Comments on this post are more likely to receive a response!

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4.8 from 5 votes

Mandarin Curd Tart

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time40 mins

Servings:

Ingredients

Crust

1 cup (125g) plain or all-purpose flour, or gluten-free flour blend*
¼ cup (65mL) light-tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed
¼ cup (60mL) water
½ cup (50g) blanched almond meal
3 tbsp (40g) cane sugar, or coconut sugar
2 tbsp (24g) ground chia or flax seeds

Mandarin curd

1 cup (240mL) mandarin juice and zest of those mandarins, (about 4 small mandarins)
½ cup (120mL) canned coconut cream**
½ cup (100g) cane sugar
2 tbsp (14g) corn flour or corn starch
2 tsp (6g) agar agar powder

To decorate

1 (125g) medium-size mandarin, peeled and segments sliced in half lengthways

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line the base of a 25cm (10-inch) tart pan and brush the sides with oil.
To make the crust: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix until evenly combined. The dough should be soft but pliable and can be pinched between two fingers without breaking. If it is too wet, add more flour and mix until it's pliable. If it is too dry, add more water and mix until it's pliable.
For the crust with gluten: Dust a clean surface with flour. Use a rolling pin to flatten the pastry to about 3 mm (⅛ inch) thick and a circle slightly bigger than your tart pan. Wrap the pastry around the rolling pin and carefully unwrap the pastry over the tart pan. Press the pastry against the pan to form a crust and cut off any excess.
For the gluten-free crust: Add the crust ingredients directly into the tart pan. Press the pastry against the pan to form a crust and cut off any excess.
For both crusts: Bake the crust in the oven for 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Set aside and cool.
To make the mandarin curd: Add all ingredients to a medium-size saucepan. Use a stick blender to blend the ingredients until they are smooth. Heat and stir the mixture over medium heat until it has thickened.
When the filling has slightly cooled down, pour the mixture into the pie tin. Set it aside in the fridge to set for about 2 hours.
To serve: decorate the tart with mandarin segments and enjoy!

Notes

* This recipe has been tested with plain flour and a gluten-free blend.

** I used the thick part of coconut cream from a can.

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