One of the great joys of April is the first pickings of rhubarb. There is something really satisfying about walking through the rhubarb patch harvesting the long vibrant stems. Plus its always such a treat to look forward to the first fruit of the year (in fact its a vegetable but you can’t serve most vegetables with custard!!).
This recipe is a bit more involved but well worth the extra effort. We pair the rhubarb with caramelised white chocolate to create a flavour filled little tartlet… perfect for eating in the garden on a nice sunny day!
You could skip the step where we caramelise the chocolate but we think its makes all the difference. It introduces a deep caramel flavour to the sweetness of the white chocolate and we think its a game changer!
As always, if you do give it a go, let us know how you get on - we’d love to see your results!
Caramelised white chocolate crème pâtissière
200g white chocolate - chopped into small pieces
600ml milk
6 egg yolks
20g cornflour
20g plain flour
20g sugar
First make the caramelised white chocolate - to do this, spread the white chocolate evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in an oven on its lowest setting and cook for 40 -60 minutes, stirring the chocolate every 10 minutes. The chocolate may turn lumpy or chalky but this is normal. Cook the chocolate until it is a golden brown colour - similar to peanut butter.
Remove the chocolate from the oven and allow to cool
Place the milk and white chocolate in a saucepan and bring to a very low simmer over a low heat
Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, flour and cornflour
When the milk is just starting to steam pour half of the hot milk onto the egg mix and mix well, return to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and comes to a boil.
Immediately remove the mix from the heat and decant onto a cold baking tray, cover with cling film, making sure to press the cling film onto the surface of the custard and allow to cool.
Sweet pastry
125g butter (softened)
50g caster sugar
1 egg
200g plain flour
Pinch of salt
Zest of half a lemon
Add sugar to softened butter and cream together using a whisk
Add the lemon zest and slowly add the egg, whisking to incorporate
Add the flour and salt and bring together to form a dough being careful not to overwork it
Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for half an hour
Once chilled, roll the dough to a thickness of about 3mm. Line your tart case or rings (we use 4x greased 10cm stainless steel chefs rings). Fill tart cases with baking beads and blind bake for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 180C. Remove the baking beads and cook for another 8-10 minutes until the pastry is a nice golden brown.
Rhubarb Compote
200g fresh rhubarb
40g caster sugar
20ml water
Chop the rhubarb into 2cm pieces
Place the rhubarb in a saucepan along with the sugar and water, cover and cook over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the rhubarb has completely broken down, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Roasted Rhubarb
200g rhubarb
20g sugar
Prepare the rhubarb by cutting into batons about 10cm long.
Toss the rhubarb batons in a baking tray with the sugar. Leave for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for 15–20 minutes. The rhubarb should hold its shape and not be too soft or mushy. Allow to cool and then slice as thinly as possible.
Assembly
Place the set creme pâtissière in a bowl and using a whisk, knock it back until smooth.
In the bottom of the cooked tart case, place a spoonful of rhubarb compote. Top this with the white chocolate creme pâtissière and finish with an arrangement of your sliced roasted rhubarb.
Chill for an hour and enjoy!