Spiced rhubarb custard tart

Spiced rhubarb custard tart

Ingredients

100 g castor sugar

500 ml cranberry juice
200 g rhubarb
230 g flour

35 g icing sugar
zest of ½ lemon
30 ml cold water
145 g cold butter, cut into cubes (for pastry)
3 tbsp butter (for custard)
1 ½ cups milk
¾ cup white sugar
1 vanilla pod
6 egg yolks
7 tbsp cornflour
½ cinnamon stick
1 star anise

Method

For the stewed rhubarb

1. place the castor sugar and juice in a large bottomed, flat saucepan and allow to heat up until the sugar dissolves.
2. Meanwhile, clean the rhubarb and cut into lengths that will fit perfectly into your preferred bread tin. Once the sugar in step 1 is dissolved, place the rhubarb into the saucepan and allow to simmer gently for about 5 minutes
3. Remove the rhubarb from the heat and let it stand in the syrup for at least 1 hour.

For the pastry

1. While the rhubarb is stewing, make the pastry by combining the flour, icing sugar, lemon zest and cold butter in a food processor.
2. Blitz until crumb-consistency then add the cold water and blitz again. Remove from the food processor and work together into a stiff pastry.
3. Roll the pastry out on a flowered surface until 5mm thick and place in a  greased and lined bread tin.
4. Place some baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking beads or raw beans to weigh the pastry down. Bake blind at 180 degrees for between 12-15 minutes. Remove the baking beads and baking paper and return to the oven for a final 4-6 minutes until golden brown and baked through. Allow to cool while you make your spiced custard.

For the custard

1. To make the spiced custard, heat up the milk and spices in a saucepan until just below boiling point.
2. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks, white sugar, vanilla pod seeds and cornflour in a separate bowl until light and fluffy.
3. When the milk is hot remove the star anise and cinnamon stick from it and slowly add it to the egg mixture while beating. When all the milk is added, return it to the heat and slowly whisk over a medium heat until the mixture is thick and creamy. This will take approximately 5 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and beat with an electric beater while adding the 3 tablespoons of butter one block at a time.

To assemble

1. Once the spiced custard is slightly cooled from beating, pour the custard into the baked pastry shell.
2. Remove the stewed rhubarb from its liquid and arrange on top of your tart.
3. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.