Its rhubarb and raspberry season and I was fortunate enough to be given freshly picked rhubarb stalks and raspberries from my friends Eva from Evas Mat and Frank Hoover from Honninghagen. Both are organic growers and as a special treat to another friends birthday party, I decided to use these wonderful produce to make a Rhubarb and Raspberry tart for dessert.
You will need patience with this recipe, follow each step and let things cool down that is meant too cool down before you follow onto the next step. The end result is a stunning looking and delicious treat fit for any dessert table!
My husband does not like over-sweet desserts and the tartness that the rhubarb and raspberries bring to this tart is right up his alley. However, if you prefer things to be just a little bit sweeter, then I suggest you add more sugar to the rhubarb and raspberry bake. During the baking process you need to turn the rhubarb pieces, have a taste of the syrup that has developed during the baking process. If it is not sweet enough, just add a little more sugar and continue the baking process.
Bon appetite!
You’ll need
- • For the crust
- 180g x soft butter
- 40g x icing sugar, sieved
- 2 x egg yolks
- 250g x plain flour
- • For the frangipane
- 75g x soft butter
- 80g x caster sugar
- 70g x almond flour
- 1 Tbsp x brandy
- 2 x eggs
- 50g x almonds, blanched. (Skin removed and finely chopped)
- • For the rhubarb and raspberries filling
- 8 x rhubarb stalks, trimmed and sliced into 4cm pieces
- 250g x raspberries, fresh
- 200g x caster sugar
- 1 x lemon, grated rind and juice
- • For the Italian meringue
- 175g x caster sugar
- 2 x egg whites
- Pinch of cream of tartar
Method
- Attached the balloon whisk to your electrical mixer and beat the butter until pale and fluffy.
- Add the icing sugar, egg yolks and 1 tbsp chilled water and mix.
- Change your whisk to the flat pastry blender on your machine and sieve the flour over and mix until you have a soft pastry that comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (1 hour).
- For the frangipane, beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale, add almond meal, brandy and eggs and stir to combine, then stir through chopped almonds. Refrigerate until chilled (1 hour).
- Roll pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 30cm round. Line a buttered and floured 22cm-diameter, 5cm-deep cake tin with a removeable base. Trim edges, prick base with a fork and refrigerate to rest (1 hour).
- For baked rhubarb and raspberries, preheat oven to 175ºC. Place rhubarb in a baking dish large enough to fit snugly, scatter over raspberries, sugar, lemon rind and juice. Cover with foil and bake, turning rhubarb once, until tender (20-30 minutes). Set aside to cool.
- Drain the syrup from the rhubarb/raspberries and reduce in a small saucepan over high heat to 125ml (10-15 minutes). Set aside to cool. Split the syrup in two, 50ml to be used in the tart and the rest you keep for serving.
- Remove the tart casing from the fridge, line with a sheet of parchment paper and fill with your choice of baking weights.
- Bake until light golden (15-20 minutes). Remove paper and weights and bake until golden (5-10 minutes).
- Spoon frangipane into tart case and bake until frangipane is golden and set (10-15 minutes). Set aside to cool until just firm, then remove tart from tin and cool completely on a wire rack (30 minutes).
- For Italian meringue, combine sugar and 60ml water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir until sugar dissolves and brush down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to remove any sugar particles. Increase heat to high and cook until syrup reaches 121ºC on a sugar thermometer (6-9 minutes). When the syrup reaches 110ºC, start whisking egg whites and cream of tartar in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually pour hot syrup over egg whites in a thin stream, whisking continuously until cooled, thick and glossy (10-12 minutes).
- Spoon the rhubarb and raspberry mixture over tart.
- Transfer meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe swirls on top. Brown with a blowtorch (optional) and serve.