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Rhubarb & ginger creme brûlée tarts

Inspired by the ginger creme brulee tarts of Bourke Street Bakery.

They do take a couple of days to complete: infuse the custard 2 days before serving, and make the custard and the pastry the day before. Do the final steps of filling the pastry cases in the few hours prior to serving, and the brulee just prior to serving.

Author: Claudia Brick
Ingredients
Sweet short pastry
  • 220 g plain flour
  • 70 g icing sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 145 g butter, refrigerator cold chopped into cubes
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1-2 tablespoons ice water if needed
Ginger cardamom custard
  • 360 ml pouring cream (also called double cream in the UK. NOT ‘thickened cream’ - in Australia this has extra additives.)
  • 140 ml whole milk
  • 4 cm piece ginger finely sliced
  • 1 cardamom pod crushed
  • 1/2 cinnamon stick
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or 1 vanilla bean halved lengthways
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 60 g caster sugar
  • 40 g plain flour
Rhubarb and to assemble
  • 500 g rhubarb
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • extra caster sugar for brûlée
  • chopped pistachios to decorate
Instructions
Ginger cardamom custard
  1. Combine the cream, milk, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and vanilla in a heavy based saucepan, and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Transfer into a bowl or container and refrigerate overnight to infuse.
  2. The next day, place back in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer again.
  3. Strain the cream mix through a fine sieve to remove all the spices.
  4. While the cream mixture comes to a simmer, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a medium sized bowl until pale. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and combined.
  5. Slowly pour the strained cream over the egg mixture, whisking constantly as you go (to avoid cooking the eggs) until completely combined.

  6. Return the custard mix to the saucepan over a low heat and whisk continuously to avoid burning or curdling. Use a spatula around the corners of the pan every 20-30 seconds to avoid it catching in the corners. It will take about 5-10 minutes to thicken and just start to bubble on the surface. You want it thick enough to hold a figure eight if you draw it with the whisk on the surface - like a thick pouring custard. As soon as this happens, pour directly into a clean bowl and whisk for 2 minutes to cool quickly. Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the surface to avoid a skin forming, then refrigerate the custard to cool it completel - overnight is ideal. It will keep for 3 days in the fridge.

Short Sweet Pastry

  1. You can make this pastry by hand but I find it is very easy to do in food processor if you have one and prevents the butter getting too soft.

  2. Combine the flour, icing sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse on low speed to combine.

  3. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the largest pieces of butter are just bigger than pea-size. Add the vanilla essence, white vinegar, egg yolk and a tablespoon of ice water. Pulse on medium speed just until the dough starts barely clumping together, 6-10 times. It will still be a bit crumbly but will stay together when you press it together with your fingers- do not over mix. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and bring together with your hands into a disc. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

  4. Grease 8 mini tart tins (mine were 10cm diameter). Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured bench to about 3mm thick and line the tart tins, pressing firmly into the sides of the tin. If too hard to roll, leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften a little. If it rips at all or you find that one edge is too thin, it is easy to use the leftover pastry scraps to patch it back together.

  5. Trim the pastry to form a neat edge - I usually roll my rolling pin over the edge to cut through the pastry.

  6. Rest the lined tart tins in the freezer for at least 15 minutes or the fridge for 30min-1hr until firm.

  7. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the pastry cases with foil, then fill with dry rice or pie weights and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and foil, then return to the oven for a further 5 minutes, or until golden. Set aside to cool.

Roast rhubarb
  1. To roast the rhubarb: preheat the oven to 180°C. Wash the rhubarb and cut into 5cm lengths. Toss with the caster sugar and vanilla to coat. Line a baking tray with baking paper and lay out the rhubarb in a single layer. Roast for 10-15minutes until fork tender, then set aside to cool completely.
To assemble (best assembled in the few hours before serving)

  1. Distribute the cooled rhubarb between the bases of the cooked tart shells, avoiding taking the juices in the pan as they may make the pastry soggy after a while.

  2. Top with the custard to fill the tart cases, using a small palette knife to spread flush with the edges of the tart tins. Refrigerate until ready to brûlée. This step is best done in the few hours prior to serving.

  3. In the hour prior to serving, sprinkle the top of each tart with about 1/2 tbsp caster sugar in an even layer. Burn with a blowtorch to caramelise the top. Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top to serve.