Sangria Tartlets

The Origin of Sangria

Sangria dates back to the BC era where a Roman invaded Spain began planting grapevines to make wine and trade with the Romans. Since water at the time contained a lot of bacteria and considered unsafe, the Romans and Greeks added a slash of wine to kill the bacteria and sugar and spices to make it palatable. This early form of sangria was called Hippocras.

Households living around the area with the grapevines in Spain started adding fruit to the mix and made it a real popular drink. The term Sangria comes from the Spanish word Sangre which means blood from the color of the beverage. This now very popular beverage did not make it to the US until the New York World Fair in 1964 when a Spanish kiosk served Sangria. Learn more about the fascinating history of Sangria here!

How to Make Sangria Tartlets:

Make the orange tart dough

If you are using store bought pie dough then you can skip this section! However, if you’re home making, the tart dough is a basic pate sucree dough which is a sweetened dough. Between the three major doughs (brisee, sucree, and sablee) the sweetness level is in the middle. It is essential to not overwork the dough (particularly the gluten) too much during making or rolling or else it will shrink when baking.

When making the dough, ensure that a dough does not form before you add the eggs. Once you add the eggs, mix just enough for the dough to form then give it a 30 minute rest before rolling it out. You can make the dough a week in advanced if storing in the fridge, and I will usually make a double or triple batch of the recipe to freeze in separate portions for months. However, make sure to defrost the dough and that it’s of a temperature between room and fridge temp.

Reduce the red wine

Reducing is a way to remove water content from a liquid. Its purpose is to intensify the flavor of that liquid and sometimes to thicken it. Because red wine is not super impactful on its own (keeping in mind the berries and whipped cream will dilute the flavor), we need to reduce it to give it a bigger punch. I add the sugar here, so the liquid will also thicken to a syrup making it easier to make the mousse with.

You only need to reduce by half. If you over reduce, you can add a splash more of unreduced red wine or use more berry puree to make up the difference. I usually err on the side of caution and under reduce so I can continue to reduce if necessary.

Make the orange curd

For this curd, we are using the double boiler method that uses eggs to thicken instead of cornstarch, and it is super easy. Simply, whisk together all the ingredients, except for the butter, and place over a double boiler. With double boilers, you never want the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Whisk occasionally until it has thickened then whisk in the butter. Using this method allows for the curd to be thick and droopy, but not stiff. The double boiler allows the steam to heat the bottom of the bowl. This allows the curd to cook evenly at lower, indirect temperature which allows the egg yolks to coagulate slowly releasing better flavors.

Shape and Bake the Tart Dough

If you’ve never rolled out dough before it can be tricky the first time to get a feel for it. Start with a floured surface. With a rolling pin or similar object, roll by pushing out on all sides to form a rough circle, and frequently move or turn the dough to prevent sticking. If it does start to stick, sprinkle a little more flour. Roll to a quarter inch thick (store bought included!) and even. Run your hand over the dough and try to feel if any sections are thicker or thinner than ideal. Again, we don’t want to overwork the dough; you can only roll it out twice before needing to toss it.

We’re going to use a mini muffin tin, but upside down! Once the dough is rolled out, punch the dough with a ring cutter or similar object (larger than your tart tins), and form on the back of the tin, rustic style. Poke small holes in the bottom (also known as docking) with a fork to help prevent any bubbles forming, and place in the freezer for at least two hours but preferably at least 6.

Freezing is essential because when you go to bake it, the flour in the tart dough will start to bake and solidify before the butter has time to melt preventing your sides from falling down. Fully bake the tart shells, rotating half way through to ensure even baking. They should turn a light golden brown.

Make the red wine and berry mousse

For the mousse, you want to start with blooming your powdered gelatin. It is a 1 part gelatin to 5 parts liquid which you don’t need to worry about since I have it mathed out for you already! Sprinkle the powdered sugar on top of the cold puree, whisk, and let sit for about 5 minutes to harden. Before you go to melt it, you want everything else ready. Bring the red wine reduction and rest of the puree to room temperature either naturally or by small blasts in the microwave, and whip the cream to soft peaks.

Ready? Okay now you have to move quick! If you don’t move quick, the gelatin will set on you before you’ve finished and you’ll have bits on gelatin in your mousse. Start by melting the bloomed gelatin in the microwave until it’s fully melted. Slowly pour it into the berry puree/red wine mixture while continuously whisking. Now for the hard part: folding in the whipped cream.

Now gelatin solidifies at a low temperature which is problematic when adding in cold whipped cream. If you work too slow, the gelatin will seize and you have chunks of gelatin in your mousse. So, add a spatula full of whipped cream and right away whisk it 2/3rds together. Add another spatula full and whisk it 2/3rds together again. At this point you’re safe from immediate gelatinization and can calm down. Add in the remaining whipped cream and fold in fully using a spatula. Allow to stabilize in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Finish the sangria tartlets

Alright you made it! Time to finish these beautiful sangria tartlets. Turn the shells right side up and fill evenly with the orange curd. Top with a scoop of the mousse. You can pipe nicely if you want, but I liked the look of a cookie scoops worth. Decorate with berries and/or orange slices and inhale.