A lovely combination of sweet and sour

 

Rhubarb is a very special plant, it's one of the first vegetables harvested, usually in mid-to late spring. For me this tart tastes like spring,

Rectangular tin used, 10 x 32cm  (4 x 12,5inch)
Serves 6-8
 

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Method

  1. Start with making a crème pâtissière. Whisk the sugar, egg yolks and cornflour together in a bowl of a standing mixer, let it  mix for about 1 min, then set aside. 

  2. Pour the milk in a pan. Split the vanilla pod open, scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife and add these to the milk together with the vanilla pod. Gently bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.

  3. Pour about a quarter of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking all the time, then slowly add the rest of the milk.
    Put your pan back on a medium heat and cook while stirring continuously till the crème becomes thick. Add the butter and stir it well to it blend it in. Remember to remove the vanilla pod.

  4. Remove the pan from the heat and pour it into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap/film and press gently on to the surface, to avoid skin forming. Let it cool and then chill before using.

  5. For preparing the sweet pastry it is important to use cold ingredients and to make sure not to overwork the pastry.
    I make mine in a mixer but u can use a food processor or bring the pastry together with your hands. In the bowl of standing mixer using the flat beater attachment mix up all the ingredients untill the pastry just starts to clump together.     Wrap the pastry in the plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight, or at least for a few hours. 

  6. Once chilled, sprinkle a little bit of flour on a clean work surface and roll out the pastry into a rectangle, bigger then your tin (leave about 3cm extra on all sides. Wrap it loosely around a rolling pin and unroll it into the tart tin, starting from one side, leaving any excess pastry hanging over the edge. Cover the pastry with plastic wrap and chill for 30 min. 

  7. Now you can start preparing the rhubarb, put the water and the sugar in a medium sizes pan. Split the vanilla pod open, scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife and add to the water. Let it simmer for 5 min, then add the rhubarb and let it cook for around 2 minutes or untill soft, remove and let it cool on a plate, leave the sirup for later.

  8. Heat the oven to 180ºC.                                 Prick the pastry with a fork and bake it for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Let it cool off, spread the crème pâtissière on top of it and arrange the rhubarb. Brush on top with some of the rhubarb sirop. 
     

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 160g plain flour
  • 30g almond flour
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 120g chilled unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 egg

Crème pâtissière

  • 40g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs yolks
  • 20g cornflour
  • 250ml full-fat milk
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 20g unsalted butter

Rhubarb

  • ½ cup of caster sugar
  • 1 cup of water
  • 5-6 stalks of rhubarb, cut to the right size of the tin, you can also peel (potato peeler) the skin a bit to remove some of the strings
  • half of a vanilla pod