Caramelised Rhubarb and Custard Tart

At this time of year, with it being in season, there is always rhubarb in my house. My mom uses it to make rhubarb and custard or rhubarb and ice cream. I decided to try something new and so found a recipe, again in the Avoca Café Cookbook, for Caramelised Rhubarb and Custard Tart. The custard used in the tart is a separate recipe in the book, and for the tart you must halve the quantity. The book itself says

'This is a variation of the classic French apple version, which Fleur says is better because the rhubarb is sharper and more consistent'

Unfortunately, my attempt at the shortcrust pastry for this recipe was a disaster, it would just not roll out the way I wanted. So I had to cheat and use a chilled shop-bought version of shortcrust pastry instead. Well they do say even the top chefs use it sometimes!

Recipe

For the Custard (halve the quantities in this recipe for the tart)

450mls full-cream milk
1 vanilla pod, split
110g/4oz caster sugar
5 egg yolks
2 level tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon soft butter

For the shortcrust pastry

225g/8 oz plain flour
150g/5oz butter, diced
25g/1 oz caster sugar
1-2 egg yolks

For the tart

700g/1.5lbs rhubarb
caster sugar

Method

We begin with the pastry.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar, then mix to a dough with the egg yolks and a little cold water if necessary. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile we prepare the rhubarb. Chop, wash and simmer the rhubarb in a covered saucepan over a moderate heat until tender. (This can be done the day before)

Next, the custard. Put the milk and split vanilla pod in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse.

 

 Whisk the caster sugar and egg yolks together until pale, then whisk in the plain flour.

Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and gradually whisk the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture. Pour it into a saucepan and cook, stirring, until it just comes to the boil, then simmer very gently for 2-3 minutes to cook out the floury taste. Whisk in the soft butter.

Obviously I had to have a taste of the custard on its own and it is DIVINE! I would highly recommend making this as an accompaniment to other desserts like apple pie.

After the pastry has been chilling for 20-30 minutes, remove from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface and use to like a 28cm/11 inch loose-bottomed flan tin (I got mine in Homestore and More)

To bake blind, cover the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans (either ceramic ones or raw dried beans). Bake in the oven at 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4 for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper, brush the pastry with lightly beaten egg white and return the pastry case to the oven for 5-10 minutes, until lightly coloured.

The egg helps to form a seal and keeps the pastry crisp when you add the filling.

Turn the oven off for a while so it can cool down and then heat to 150ºC/300ºF/gas mark 2. Combine the rhubarb and custard and pour into the cooked pastry case and bake. This temperature should just set the custard - if the oven is too hot the tart will end up like scrambled eggs. Cooking time is 45 minutes - 1 hour, until it no longer looks like liquid but wobbles when shaken.

Dust the top with caster sugar and caramelise either using a grill or a cook's blowtorch.

Serve with a nice dollop of cream or ice cream. Yum!