I spent half of this last long weekend coaching at a swim meet in a pool facility that is notorious for its horrible air quality. While you may be thinking, "Wow, that seems like a problem for athletes that cherish the chance to take a breath," you would be right. Right. But the crux of it all is that the poor air quality hits you hours after you have left the building, leaving you sneezy, stuffy, headachy, and downright no good for a day or two. Swimmers, coaches—this place doesn't discriminate. The after-effects hit me hard.
While curled up on the couch the next day, hoping my head would clear sooner than later, I day-dreamed about these blood orange mousse tarts. I had recently seen this recipe for a lemon curd mousse and couldn't wait to try it with another winter citrus fruit. Made initially as a blood orange curd (which is so good on its own), it is then mixed with coconut whipped cream to make for a dairy-free, dreamy, creamy mousse.
As a fan of chocolate and orange together, this blood orange mousse sits in an easy almond flour crust flavored with raw cacao powder. Top it with extra coconut whipped cream and a little blood orange zest, and voila! Dessert. Blood orange style.
📖 Recipe
Blood Orange Mousse Tarts (Gluten-Free + Dairy-free)
Ingredients
Blood Orange Mousse
- ½ cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice
- 2 teaspoons grated blood orange zest
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 can full fat coconut milk refrigerated overnight
Chocolate-Almond Crust
- 2 cups almond flour packed
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch or two of sea salt I prefer two!
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil melted
Instructions
- Start with the blood orange mousse, making first a blood orange curd, as this will need time to chill. In a medium saucepan, combine blood orange juice, blood orange zest, honey, egg yolks, and sea salt. Whisk to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly until mixture starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. With a fine sieve, strain blood orange mixture into a bowl. Whisk in coconut oil.
- Cover with plastic wrap, making sure wrap touches surface of blood orange mixture. This will ensure that a film doesn't form. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
- While the blood orange curd is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cacao powder. Add honey, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Blend with a fork until liquid is evenly distributed.
- Equally divide crust mixture between six 4-inch tart pans. If your tart pans are not non-stick use a bit of coconut oil to grease them. Press crust mixture into bottom and up sides of pans. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pans on a wire rack.
- Once the blood orange curd has chilled for at least an hour, scoop the white waxy solid from the top half of the chilled coconut milk can and place in a bowl. Stop scooping when you hit liquid below. Using an electric mixer, beat the coconut milk until soft peaks form.
- Whisk in half of the coconut whipped cream into the blood orange curd. Fold in the rest of coconut whipped cream. Leave a little coconut whipped cream leftover if you wish to top tarts with it.
- When chocolate-almond crusts are cool, remove from tart pans and fill each tart crust with blood orange mousse. Top with remaining coconut whipped cream if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Skipper
Just found this and obsessed. Ahhhmazing with the blood orange. I didn't have the right coconut milk so only added a few liquid tablespoons to whisk in the curd. Still stood strong. If you're thinking of putting it in the freezer - go for it! Chilled and delish after a day in the freezer. Thanks for the new go to healthy treat!
Tessa
Thanks, Skipper! I am so glad you like it! Great to know that the freezer trick works well.
Lesley Davies
Would coconut flour be a reasonable sub for
almonds in the crust? I need an nut free version
Thanks L
Tessa
Hi Lesley! I'm afraid subbing in coconut flour in this recipe wouldn't work well because it is a very absorbent flour. For a nut-free version, my guess would be that oat flour would work in the place of almond flour.
Christine // my natural kitchen
I love the idea of blood orange in curd, and your tarts look like such a beautiful treat. I really really cannot wait to try these, the combination of curd and whipped coconut cream sounds too delicious! Hope you are feeling better after the swim meet (and oh my - that's horrible that everyone feels so unwell after being there!) xo rest up!
Tessa
Thank you, Christine! Please do let me know if you try them - I'd love to know your thoughts! Feeling much better now, thanks! :) xo.
Sarah @ SnixyKitchen
Oh geez - I hope your lungs have recovered! These blood orange tarts look absolutely delicious and your photos here are beautiful. I'm a huge fan of chocolate and orange together too, so I'm certain I'll be making these soon!
Tessa
Thanks, Sarah! :) I hope you like them! Haha, yes, all better now! So strange, right?
Alanna
These are epic and stunning, and I can't believe they're dairy-free. Love love love the photos!
Tessa
Thank you, Alanna!! I'm always so excited when a gf recipe works well dairy-free too. Hope you're having a good week!
Christina @ Bake with Christina
Mmm those tarts look so amazing and flavorful! Blood orange is too underrated, haha! Pinned :)
Tessa
Thanks, Christina! Yes, I wish blood oranges were in season year round! :)
Agness
Omomomomom! It looks so yummy and delicious and above all HEALTHY! I'm a big fan of your recipe!
Tessa
Thank you so much, Agness!
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext
These tarts look delicious! Love the blood orange flavour - one of my favourite fruits this time of year!
Tessa
Mine too! Thank you, Jess!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
These blood orange mousse tarts just look so beautiful. I love how healthy they are too! Pinned!
Tessa
Thank you, Thalia!! Enjoy your weekend!
Kathryne
Hope you are all better now. I hate to think about you breathing in all that chlorine! Blood orange curd, coconut cream in a chocolate crust?! Sooo good.
Tessa
All better! I don't know what is worse, feeling like that or knowing that I will be feeling like that. Looking forward to sharing these with you this weekend!
Kathryn
These tarts are stunning! That orange mousse sounds delicious and I love the contrast between that and the perfect chocolate-y crust. Can't wait to make these asap!
Tessa
Thank you, Kathryn! My husband is not a fan of chocolate and fruit together, so I've had these all to myself this week and still can't get enough. Have a great weekend!!