Rhubarb Custard Tarte, Pistachio Crumb
Forced rhubarb is the star of this custard tarte, with its irresistible bright pink. A pleasure to make, take your time to enjoy the process, and the reward will be in the eating.
Ingredients
For the Rhubarb Topping:
400g forced rhubarb
40g caster sugar
200g water
For the Tarte Pastry:
165 plain flour
140g unsalted butter
15g ground almonds
65g icing sugar
1/4 tsp salt
40g eggs
For the custard filling:
135g egg yolks
450g double cream
70g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
For the Rhubarb Topping:
To maximise the pink colour of the forced rhubarb, make the rhubarb the day before you are set to make the tarte.
Chop rhubarb into long batons or small 2cm pieces.
At the bottom of a large pan, place rhubarb in a single layer. Pour water over it, then sprinkle the sugar.
Simmer very gently in low heat for 6-8 minutes, always keeping an eye and making sure that it does not bubble too much. Simmer until pink colour begins to seep into water and edges are slightly softened. Turn heat off, cover with lid, and allow to steam between 2 to 10 minutes. Check continuously until you see that a couple of the pieces are soft, but most still retain some bounce.
Carefully decant into a small container, and cover fully with the poached liquid, ensuring all pieces are immersed. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate over night. In 24 hours the colour will intensify.
For the Tarte:
Sieve almond flour, icing sugar and flour into a bowl. Cut cold butter into small pieces, then sprinkle on to flour mixture, working through it with your hands, pressing the mixture together, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy. Add the butter / flour mixture and beat until just combined. Make sure not to over work. The dough will feel a bit wet. Bring the dough together with your hands into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until firm. Can be done the day before.
When dough is rested and firm, lightly sprinkle a work surface with flour, and roll out the pastry into a circle. Carefully lay the pastry into a loose bottomed tarte tin. Gently press the pastry into the wall of the tin, leaving the excess pastry overhanging. Chill pastry as is for a further 1 hour.
Pre-heat oven to 150ºc (no fan)
Once chilled, remove from fridge, and with scissors, trim the excess pastry, but ensure to leave about 1cm still overhanging over the edge. Set trimmed pastry aside wrapped in clingfilm.
Set aluminium foil into tarte casing and fill with baking beans to weight it down. Ensure edges are also covered by foil. Bake the tarte shell for 1 hour in the centre rack of the oven.
Whilst tarte is cooking, with a handheld blender, blend 40g of the reserved pastry with 1 whole egg to form a thick liquid pastry.
Remove tarte shell from the oven and set on counter. With a microplane blade, shave the edges of the tarte until it is even with the tarte wall all around.
Brush the whole tarte with the liquid pastry mixture, an return to oven uncovered for a further 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Turn oven down to 130 (no fan)
To make the custard, in a medium heavy bottomed pan, bring together the cream, the sugar and vanilla extract until steaming and just below boiling point (you will see small bubbles beginning to come up around the edges of the pan).
Beat egg yolks in a medium bowl until even, light in colour and slightly thicker. Slowly drizzle hot cream mixture whisking continuously as you pour, until fully combined.
Place the custard into the tarte case, and make uncovered in the middle rack of the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until you can see the centre of the custard has a jello wobble but the rest is set. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Remove the rhubarb from the poaching liquid, slice it into thin even slices and place as desired over the custard.
Roughly crush non-salted raw pistachios, and sprinkle around edges of tarte.
Serve immediately. Best eaten on same day.