A delicious frangipane that balances sweet and sharp flavours, this rhubarb and rosewater tart is the triumphant finale to our supper club menu on page 24 of April’s The Simple Things.
Rhubarb and rosewater tart with cardamom and honey cream
Serves 10
For the pastry
225g plain flour
100g chilled, salted butter, cubed
50g caster sugar
1 large egg
1⁄4 tsp rosewater
2 tbsp chilled water
For the filling
175g butter
175g caster sugar
4 large eggs
175g ground almonds
1 tsp almond extract
1⁄4 tsp rosewater
110g rhubarb cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tbsp slivered almonds
1 To make the pastry, put the flour and butter into a food processor and pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and whizz again, then add the egg, rosewater and water and pulse until the mixture starts to come together a little. Tip it into a large bowl and bring together with your hands, kneading briefly until it is a soft ball. Slightly flatten it with one hand, wrap in cling film, and chill for 30 minutes.
2 Roll the pastry out on a floured surface and use it to carefully line a 28cm loose-bottomed flan tin, pushing it gently into all of the corners but leaving the extra hanging over the edge. Prick the base all over using a fork and then chill again for ten minutes.
3 Preheat oven to 190C/Fan 170/375F and place a flat baking tray on the oven’s middle shelf. Take a large piece of kitchen foil, scrunch it up to soften it, then spread it out and use it to cover the pastry. Tip in baking beads to cover the surface well (use rice if you don’t have beads), then place this carefully onto the heated tray and cook for 15 minutes. Remove foil and beads and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully trim off the excess pastry, using a serrated knife drawn in small movements horizontally across the edges.
4 Make the filling by blending the butter and sugar in a food processor or with a handheld electric whisk (or even a wooden spoon and elbow grease) until fluffy. Add the eggs, ground almonds, almond extract and rosewater and blend again. Tip into the pastry base and scatter over the rhubarb pieces and the almonds. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
This fragrant rhubarb and rosewater tart combines with a punchy cream and sweet syrup to make a memorable finale
Rhubarb syrup
250g rhubarb
300ml water
sugar
1 Chop the rhubarb into 2-inch pieces and put it into a small saucepan with the water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until the colour has leached out of the rhubarb, staining the water pink.
2 Strain the liquid into a measuring jug and discard the fruit pieces. Note the level of the liquid and then pour it back into the (washed) saucepan, and wash and dry the measuring jug before measuring out double the volume of sugar.
3 Tip this into the rhubarb liquid and heat slowly, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Then simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the syrup starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Honey and cardamom cream
6 cardamom pods
300ml crème fraîche
1 tbsp runny honey
With a pestle and mortar, lightly bash at the cardamom pods to release the seeds, fish out the seed cases, and grind the seeds to a fine powder. Put the crème fraîche, honey and cardamom into a bowl and mix well.
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Read more:
From the April issue
Rhubarb recipes
Gathering menus
