Delicious UK - (04)April 2020

Rhubarbandcustard

tartwithvanilla and

staranise

SERVES10-12.HANDS-ONTIME 50 MIN,

SIMMERINGTIME10-15MIN,OVENTIME

1 HOUR 25-30 MIN, PLUS CHILLING

Tried,tested,timelessand

trickytotop!Rhubarband

custardisoneoflife’sgreat

marriagesanda combination

I comebacktoagainandagain.I

hopemyadditionofa littlestar

anisewon’truffletoomany

feathers– it’sa spicethatgoes

exceptionallywellwiththe other

ingredients in the tart.

MAKE

AHEAD

Thepastry,therhubarb

andthecustardfillingcan

allbemadeupto2 days

ahead.Coverseparatelyandkeep

in the fridge until needed.

FOOD

TEAM’S

TIPS

Thisrecipemakesmore

pastrythanyouneed.Wrap

andfreezeanyunused

pastryforuptoa month– it will

linea shallow20cmtarttin.

Lightlybeatthenfreezethe

unused egg whites to use later.

• 450grhubarb(about4 large
  stalks),cutinto4-5cmlengths


• 50gunrefinedcastersugar


• 1 staranise,crushed


• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways

FORTHEPASTRY

• 90gicingsugar


• 340gplainflour,plusextratodust


• 170gunsaltedbutter,cubedand
  chilled,plusextraforgreasing


• 1 mediumfree-rangeegg, beaten


• 2–3 tbsp icy cold water

FORTHECUSTARD

• 200mlwholemilk


• 300mldoublecream


• 2 mediumfree-rangeeggs, plus
  3 eggyolks(seetips)


• 100gunrefinedcaster sugar


• 2 tbsp cornflour

YOU’LLALSONEED...

• Deep,20cmloose-bottomedtart
  tin or pie dish, greased and floured

1 First,makethepastry.Mixtheicing

sugarandflourina mediumbowl.

Rubinthebutteruntilthemixture

resemblesfinebreadcrumbs(use

yourfingersora foodprocessor).

Addtheeggandicedwater,then

mixtocombine.Tipoutthedough

ontoyourworktopandbringit

togetherwithyourhands,kneading

lightlyuntilsmooth.Wrapthe

pastry,thenrestinthefridgefor 30

minutesormore(seeMakeAhead).

2 Puttherhubarbina mixingbowl

withthe50gsugar,crushedstar

aniseandscrapedseedsfromhalf

thevanillapod.Tumbletherhubarb

aroundthebowltocoat,thenleave

tomaceratewhileyoubakethe

pastrycase– mixnowandthen.

3 Heattheovento180°C/160°Cfan/

gas4.Ona lightlyflouredsurface,

rolloutthepastrytoa 3mm

thickness. Line the tart tin with the

pastry,pushingit intotheedges

andleavinganoverhang.Chill for

30 minutesinthefridge.

4 Linethepastrycasewithbaking

paperandceramicbakingbeansor

uncookedrice.Blindbakethetart

casefor 25 minutes,thenremove

thebakingbeans/rice,trimthe

overhangandreturnthetartcase

totheovenfor 10 minutesoruntil

thebaseisjuststartingtocolour.

Removeandsetaside,thenturnthe

ovendownto140°C/120°Cfan/gas1.

5 Spreadouttherhubarbona

roastingtray,thenbakefor15–20

minutesuntiljusttenderbutstill

holdingitsshapecompletely.Leave

tocool(seeMakeAhead).

6 Forthecustard,heatthemilkand

creamina panovera mediumheat

withtheremainingscrapedvanilla

seedsandthepodhalvesuntilthe

mixtureisveryhotbutnotboiling.

7 Meanwhile,usinga balloonwhisk,

whisktheeggs,yolks,sugarand

cornflourina largebowl.Pourthe

hotcreamintotheeggmixture,

whiskingwell,thenpourthe

custardmixtureintoa clean

heavy-basedpanandputit over

a lowtolow-mediumheat.Cook,

stirringregularly,untilthick.Don’t

letit gettoohot.Passthecustard

througha finesieveintoa bowl(to

removethevanillapodandany

lumps;discardthecontentsofthe

sieve)andsetaside– seeMake

Ahead.Turntheovento

180°C/160°Cfan/gas4.

8 Usea forktolifthalftherhubarb

fromtheroastingdishandarrange

itonthebottomofthecooked

pastrycase.It’simportanttoleave

anyjuicebehindorit willthinthe

custard– butsavethejuiceto

serve.Pourthethickenedcustard

overtherhubarbandarrangethe

remainingpiecesofrhubarbontop.

Letthemsinkintothecustarda bit.

9 Putthetartintheovenandbakefor

35 minutesoruntilthecustardis

setwitha wobble.Setasidetocool,

thenservewithanycookingjuices.

PERSERVING(FOR12)473kcals,

28.9gfat(17gsaturated),6.9g

protein,45.5gcarbs(21.6g sugars),

0.1g salt, 1.8g fibre →

34 deliciousmagazine.co.uk