I was a bit apprehensive as the date for this challenge approached. I have never made a tian before, or, have I? As I understand it, a tian is a type of layered tart or pie. I have made plenty of layered tarts and once I defined the word tian in my brain, the idea of making this dessert became less overwhelming. This orange tian was hints of cocoa in the whipped cream while both the caramel and the oranges have been macerated in cardamom, cinnamon and start anise in order to give this dessert a bit of kick. I didn't want to overly tweak it as it is very good in its basic form. I also made it into one large tian rather than into individual ones. I have (now) a large family who is happy to test everything I make. If you make this tian over a course of a couple of days or more you will find it quite an easy one to make. Thank you Jennifer for organising this month's challenge.

Orange Tian (recipe is for individual tians)
 
Preparation time: 

- Pate Sablée: 20 minutes to make, 30 minutes to rest, 15 minutes to roll out, 20 minutes to bake 
- Marmalade: 20 minutes to make, 30 minutes to blanch 
- Orange segments: 20 minutes, overnight to sit 
- Caramel: 15 minutes, overnight to sit 
- Whipped Cream: 15 minutes 
- Assembling: 20 minutes 
- Freezer to Set: 10 minutes 
 
 
For the Pâte Sablée: 
 
Ingredients

• Egg yolks: 2 medium-sized, at room temperature  
• Granulated sugar: 80 grams 
  
• Vanilla extract: ½ teaspoon 
  
• Unsalted butter: 100 grams, ice cold, cubed 
  
• Salt: 1/3 teaspoon  
  
• All-purpose flour: 200 grams 
  
• Baking powder: 1 teaspoon  
  

Procedure

Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. 
 
In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor. 
 
Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogenous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. 
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Celsius. 
 
Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a ¼ inch thick circle. 
 
Using your cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and place on a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the circles of dough are just golden. 

 
For the Marmalade: 
 
Ingredients

• Freshly pressed orange juice: 100 grams 
  
• 1 large orange: used to make orange slices 
  
• Cold water: to cook the orange slices 
  
• Pectin: 5 grams (I used pectin sugar instead of the pectin plus the granulated sugar) 
  
• Granulated sugar: use the same weight as the weight of orange slices once they are cooked

Procedure 
 
Finely slice the orange. Place the orange slices in a medium-sized pot filled with cold water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, discard the water, re-fill with cold water and blanch the oranges for another 10 minutes. 
 
Blanch the orange slices 3 times. This process removes the bitterness from the orange peel, so it is essential to use a new batch of cold water every time when you blanch the slices. 
 
Once blanched 3 times, drain the slices and let them cool. 
 
Once they are cool enough to handle, finely mince them (using a knife or a food processor). 
 
Weigh the slices and use the same amount of granulated sugar . If you don’t have a scale, you can place the slices in a cup measurer and use the same amount of sugar. 
 
In a pot over medium heat, add the minced orange slices, the sugar you just weighed, the orange juice and the pectin. Cook until the mixture reaches a jam consistency (10-15 minutes). 
 
Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge. 

 
For the Orange Segments: 

Ingredients

•  8 oranges

Procedure 
 
Cut the oranges into segments over a shallow bowl and make sure to keep the juice. Add the segments to the bowl with the juice. 

 
For the Caramel: 
 
Ingredients

• Granulated sugar: 200 grams 
• Orange juice: 400 grams 
  
• Cardamom pods: 8
  
• Cinnamon stick: 1
  
• Star anise: 2
  

Procedure

 
Place the sugar in a pan on medium heat and begin heating it. 
 
Once the sugar starts to bubble and foam, slowly add the orange juice and the spices. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, remove from the heat and pour half of the mixture over the orange segments. 
 
Reserve the other half of the caramel mixture in a small bowl — you will use this later to spoon over the finished dessert, just remove the spices beforehand. When the dessert is assembled and setting in the freezer, heat the kept caramel sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until it thickens and just coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes). You can then spoon it over the orange tians. 
 
[Tip: Be very careful when making the caramel — if you have never made caramel before, I would suggest making this step while you don’t have to worry about anything else. Bubbling sugar is extremely, extremely hot, so make sure you have a bowl of ice cold water in the kitchen in case anyone gets burnt!] 

 
For the Whipped Cream: 
 
Ingredients

• Heavy whipping cream: 200 grams 
• Hot water: 3 tablespoons  
  
• Gelatine: 1 teaspoon
  
• Icing or confectioner’s sugar: 1 tablespoon
  
• Cocoa powder: 2 tablespoons
  
• Orange marmalade (see recipe above): 1 tablespoon 
  

Procedure

 
In a small bowl, add the gelatine and hot water, stirring well until the gelatine dissolves. Let the gelatine cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream.

Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute.

Add the confectioner sugar and the cocoa powder. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatine slowly while beating continuously.

Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade. 

[Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.] 

 
Assembling the Dessert: 
 
Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer. 
 
Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out 6 cookie cutters onto the parchment paper/silicone. 
 
Drain the orange segments on a kitchen towel. 
 
Have the marmalade, whipped cream and baked circles of dough ready to use. 
 
Arrange the orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter. Make sure the segments all touch either and that there are no gaps. Make sure they fit snugly and look pretty as they will end up being the top of the dessert. Arrange them as you would sliced apples when making an apple tart. 
 
Once you have neatly arranged one layer of orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter, add a couple spoonfuls of whipped cream and gently spread it so that it fills the cookie cutter in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle. 
 
Using a butter knife or small spoon, spread a small even layer of orange marmalade on each circle of dough. 
 
Carefully place a circle of dough over each ring (the side of dough covered in marmalade should be the side touching the whipping cream). Gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact. 
 
Place the desserts to set in the freezer to set for 10 minutes. 
 
Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the cookie cutter to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmould. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the cookie cutter, add a spoonful of caramel sauce and serve immediately.