Eating for summer ! roasted rhubarb and vanilla custard tart 

I have really missed a good pastry, a lovely syrupy Danish or a cream slice, (Gail’s you continue to disappoint me), so I thought I would amalgamate two wonderful recipes (that of The Quaint Kitchen’s vegan crème pâtissière and From the Comfort of my Bowl’s vegan puff pastry) to create a beautiful summer tart. I have slightly adapted the recipes and incorporated the rhubarb into the mix. I will give you a fair warning that this took me an entire day, but after hours of roasting, rolling, and folding, a real sense of satisfaction was achieved. 

Rhubarb season is coming to a close, and this recipe is a real celebration of it. It is so important to try and eat with the seasons. It is cheaper and far friendlier to our environment. Plus, going to a proper greengrocer to pick up something seasonal really takes your hot girl walk to new heights.

The trick with the rhubarb is coating it in loads of sugar before baking, which means you’ll be left with as much of the beautiful red hue as possible. Also, if you can, investing in good vanilla is key to creating a really flavoursome creme-pat, complete with those little black flecks.

I also want to make note of the portability of this tart. I carried it in a turkey roasting tin nearly 200 miles to Margate. It survived the London Underground and still looked appetising by the time it was served. It works for breakfast, pudding or a snack – it’s versatile and delicious.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 5 oz (150 g) salted vegan butter (block form, not spreadable) (frozen)
• 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3½ tbsp (50 g) vegan butter, softened
• ½ cup (130 ml) water, plus more if needed, lukewarm

For the rhubarb:

• 5 stalks of rhubarb (approx 600g)
• 150g caster sugar 

For the crème pâtissière:

• 250 g soy milk, sweetened
• 1/2 scraped vanilla bean, or 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 30 g white granulated sugar
• 25 g cornstarch
• pinch of turmeric
• pinch of salt
• 60 g vegan butter, cubed

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
2. Get all your ingredients prepared and ready!
3. Shred the frozen vegan butter with a grater and place it in the freezer.
4. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the softened vegan butter and mix with a fork until it resembles breadcrumbs.
5. Gradually stir in the water and continue mixing until it comes together. Use your hands to form the dough.
6. Lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough with your hands, for about 2 to 3 minutes or until it is soft and smooth. Shape into a ball and cover with cling film. Rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
7. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch/6mm thick. Remove the vegan butter shreds from the freezer.
8. Dust your fingertips with flour and add half the shreds to the left two-thirds of the dough. Add the remaining butter shreds back into the freezer.
9. Fold over one-third of the dough (the right side without any butter shreds). Next fold the left side, forming a wallet fold. Brush away any excess flour.
10. Make a quarter turn with the dough and roll lengthwise into the shape of a rectangle about a ¼ inch/6mm thick. Add the remaining vegan butter shreds to two-thirds of the dough and repeat the wallet folding step.
11. Seal the openings to keep the butter shreds from falling out of the dough then cover with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
12. Now, make the rhubarb. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and toss the rhubarb in the sugar before spacing it out on the tray for roasting. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender but still pink.
13. Next, make the creme pat. 
14. Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, turmeric and salt.
15. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla over medium heat until just simmering.
16. Add about 1/4 of the milk to the dry ingredients while whisking. Then pour that mixture back into the saucepan while also whisking.
17. Return to the heat and whisk constantly. When it starts to thicken, whisk vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, making sure to get the corners. When you stop for a few seconds, you should see a few big bubbles popping at the surface.
18. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter until completely melted and smooth then pour the cream onto a baking tray with edges – spread thinly.
19. Cover with cling wrap directly on the surface and store in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.
20. Once the dough has rested, repeat the rolling and folding steps twice to create more layers in the dough. Then wrap the dough with cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Now it is ready for use.
21. Reduce the oven heat to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Roll the dough into your desired tart shape (I did a rectangle approx 6 by 12 inches). Use a knife to gently score a border, and prick the centre with a fork so that it puffs up slightly less.
22. Bake the dough for bout 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool completely.
23. Transfer the cooled creme pat to a bowl and whisk it with a stiff spatula until smooth and creamy.
24. Assemble the tart by spreading or piping on the crème pâtissière and then adding on the sticks of rhubarb. I made a simple sugar syrup by heating half a cup of sugar with the juice of a lemon in a pan until the sugar completely dissolves. Once cooled, you can brush it over the tart to really make it shine.