Rhubarb

I adore rhubarb, and the amount of rhubarb I use is pretty good evidence of this. It's in season all summer long and pairs well with strawberries raspberries, lemon or simply sugar. So a couple of the tarts I've made lately have rhubarb in them. The bottom one is simply rhubarb + strawberry + kirsch and some whipped cream.

The top one is a vanilla tart with rhubarb infused with lemon zest and a few left over raspberries. A really tart tart.

Easy as pie (tart) really!

Rhubarb and Spiced Meringue Tart

Ok this one is kinda bizaare. And it's weirdly more savory then sweet. It is a simple base called a 'flaky pastry' which requires very little sugar and butter (I know rather disappointing). It was a really awkward base to roll as it required massive amounts of force to get it into a semblance of the shape/thickness needed. The taste was nothing either - very bland, and the texture when baked was tough, not one to repeat again despite it being so cheap (little butter + little sugar + AP flour instead of pastry flour + no eggs = very cheap indeed).

The middle part was chopped rhubarb with a flan cream/custard on top. Once again a really savory sort of middle bit - with no sugar added to the rhubarb - only in the flan cream - which really didn't have a lot considering the majority is rhubarb.

On top however was a lot of sugar in the form of a meringue. A simple meringue made with egg whites, a ton of sugar and the addition of nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper. Out of the whole tart this was my favorite part. I made mini macaroons out of the left overs. Very tasty.

Overall, if I were to make this tart again I would not use the same base instead I would sweeten it up with a sucree. I also on the final product got carried away with a blow torch which I wouldn't do again (the photo's of the tart before it went in the oven and subsequently got torched by me later on). I really liked the top part (meringue) so I would make that again, maybe try it with another filling as well....

Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

I've been having problems setting pastry cream of late. I swear I cook it until it is thick and boiling, then leave it on the heat for a couple of minutes more. Yet time and time again my cream is not setting up very well. It turns into this gooey mass... a tasty gooey mass, yet not a very elegant mass when it is cut into slices. I don't want to use corn products in my baking unless it is fresh corn (although I do make some exceptions especially when I use chocolate or am making a candy) so I've been using potato starch instead of corn starch in the pastry cream. I'm wondering if this may be my downfall?

Anyway, back to the tart. A strawberry and rhubarb puree was made and then placed on a tart base (this wasn't a pate sucree...as I ran out of pastry flour. So I made an old tart base that I hadn't made in ages). I then put on the pastry cream and on top of that some strawberries. A very simple tart but devastatingly good.

Faux Canneles

We went to Portland recently and visited the bakery 'St. Honore'. They had some good looking stuff in their pastry case including a cannele, which I have to admit I had never had before. So I got one. They are really good. A mix of burnt sugar and rum and balled up in this dense yet moist cakey type thing. I wanted to try and make one. The only thing is they have this swanky mold they use, which I don't have. Nevertheless, as I'm not French and don't really have any attachment to having my cannele in the proper mold (so I used cupcake tins). I used the great recipe for 'Canneles Pretenders' of Tartelettes blog http://tartelette.blogspot.com/2007/06/canneles-pretenders.html.

They turned out really well. Also, strawberries are seriously good right now, and so is rhubarb...so I thought I would combine the beautifully tasty (remember burnt sugar and rum) with the sweet tart of strawberries and rhubarb. They paired surprisingly well!

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam: Welcome Strawberries

Happy Strawberry season everyone! Make sure you hit the farmers markets and ask to sample the strawberries. I've found that last week many had no flavor but looked delicious, I found the strawberries I used in the jam after around 5 tasters at other stalls. I think we're getting more into the thick of strawberry season this week at least, so there shouldn't be such an issue with flavor.

have to say I'm new to the strawberry and rhubarb sensation - but I'm no less enthusiastic about it then a veteran. The combo is amazing. So in this is one of my attempts to create a bit of summer for enjoyment in winter.

Stewed Rhubarb

Ok, not technically baking - but as the last post was me bagging a rhubarb dish I didn't want people thinking that I didn't like rhubarb. So, I thought I'd post on a good rhubarb dish - simple stewed rhubarb.

Ingredients

1 lb fresh rhubarb cut into pieces

1/2 cup sugar (probably will require more - just add more to taste)

3 pieces of thick lemon skin

2-3 pears (or apples) peeled and chopped into pieces (around the same size as the rhubarb pieces)

Method

1. Place all ingredients into a saucepan, and cover with water (the water should cover the ingredients by around 1cm).

2. Bring to a boil, and then let simmer until the rhubarb and pears have boiled down into each other.

4. Taste and see if it requires more sugar - if so then add some.

3. Wonderful served with vanilla ice cream or custard.

Rhubarb Flan

So, there were some good things but also some not so good things with this flan. Firstly, I do love rhubarb I grew up on the stuff. I love the way it eats the enamel off your teeth, and the way it pairs with apples and vanilla ice cream. However, I did have some issues with this recipe - namely it felt disjointed. The base, the rhubarb and the meringue layer on top didn't feel united. There are things I will use again - specifically the base (I loved LOVED the combo of almonds and amaretto cookies as they soaked up the juices and gave a fabulous texture to the whole thing), but I won't be making this flan again, as the flavors just didn't feel 'right'.

Ingredients: Base
150g all-purpose flour

1 pinch baking powder

50g sugar

100g soft butter

Ingredients: Topping

1 cup ground almonds

2/3 cup amaretto cookie crumbs

3 pounds fresh rhubarb washed and cut into 2-inch pieces

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Ingredients: Meringue

4 egg whites

1 cup sugar

Method: Shortcrust base

1. line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat the oven to 400F.

2. In a bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.

3. Add the other ingredients.

4. Using a hand mixer, mix until the dough is formed.

5. Roll the dough out to fit your baking sheet.

6. Prick with a fork, and bake in the preheated oven for 10 min.

7. Let cool.

Method: Topping

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine the ground almonds and amaretto cookie crumbs together and sprinkle on top of the shortcrust base.

3. Arrange the rhubarb on top of the crumbs.

4. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and then sprinkle over the top of the rhubarb.

5. Place in the preheated oven, bake for 25-35 min (you want the rhubarb to feel soft to the touch and the sugar to have mostly disintegrated).

6. Let cool.

Method: Meringue
1. Beat the egg whites with the sugar until stiff.

2. Spoon into a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe meringue in a lattice pattern over the rhubarb.

3. Bake for 10 min in the 350F oven.

Taken from a couple of books: Dr.Oektker (shortcrust pastry) "German Baking Today" p. 68. The flan itself came from another book - I have to find the name of it as I borrowed it from my boss at work...