Vanilla Cream & Poached Rhubarb Tart
Vanilla Cream and Poached Rhubarb Tart
With the help of a few simple tools, the classic combo of vanilla custard and rhubarb gets a fresh look in this pretty Spring tart.
Equipment
- 9" tart pan with removable bottom
- 2 multi-cavity silicon baking molds, 15 2-oz cavities in each mold
Ingredients
Vanilla Cream
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 8 egg yolks
Poached Rhubarb
- 1 lb fresh rhubarb, rinsed and trimmed (purchase 1.25 lbs so you have at least 1 full lb after trimming)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)
Tart Shell
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick/4 oz)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt (table salt is fine)
- 1 cup all purpose flour (4.5 oz)
- 1 egg white, lighten beaten
Instructions
Vanilla Cream
- Preheat oven to 325°F. In a saucepan, combine cream, split vanilla bean, and salt, and heat over low heat until hot but not boiling. Turn off heat, cover, and allow the vanilla bean to steep in the cream for 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and use the blunt end of a knife to scrape any remaining bits of vanilla out of the pod and add back to the cream. You can either discard the pod or let it dry out and use it to make vanilla sugar! If you're not using a vanilla bean, no worries, just add the vanilla extract after the cream has been heated.
- In a medium bowl, whip the egg yolks with the sugar until the yolks turn pale in color. Slowly add 1/4 of the warm milk mixture to the egg mixture, whipping constantly as you do so. Then add all of egg/milk mixture back to the warm milk in the saucepan and mix well to combine.
- Set your silicon molds on a half sheet (13"x18") pan with a lip. Transfer the cream mixture to a large pyrex with a spout and carefully fill all the molds right to the top. Do not under fill the molds.
- Carefully set the pan in the oven and pour boiling water directly into the pan, around the molds, as much as you can without overflowing it. The water creates humidity that allows the cream to bake up gently without cracking or becoming rubbery. Gently push the oven rack back into the oven to avoid sloshing water.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. The cream will be set around the edges and slightly jiggly in the middle. Allow to completely cool on counter, then wrap with plastic wrap and put in freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight. The frozen cream will keep, well wrapped, for at least a week in the freezer.
Poached Rhubarb
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Make a syrup: Heat one cup of water with the sugar until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Chop the rinsed and trimmed rhubarb into even, bite-size pieces. You'll want to keep them close to the same size to ensure even cooking.
- Distribute the rhubarb in a single even layer in a 9"x13" glass baking dish. Pour the sugar syrup over the rhubarb and add the split vanilla bean, if you're using one. Cover the dish with foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then check the texture with a fork. If still too firm, continue in 3 minutes increments until desired texture is achieved. (I like mine al dente.) Remove foil and allow rhubarb to cool to room temperature. Store in syrup in fridge or freezer. Rhubarb can keep in fridge for a week, in freezer for a month.
Tart Shell
- Move a rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F
- In a medium bowl, mix the melted butter with the sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Add the flour to the melted butter mixture and stir carefully until well combined. The resulting dough may be soft but it will quickly firm up as it sits.
- Press the dough into the tart pan, pushing up the sides of the pan. Take time with this, working to get thin, even dough coverage over the entire pan. This will ensure that the tart shell bakes up evenly and crisply. Dock the dough thoroughly with a fork--this allows steam to escape during the baking process.
- Place tart shell on a sheet pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. If the crust has puffed up, you can prick it and gently push it back down with a fork right after you take it out of the oven.
- When the crust has finished baking, turn the oven down to 300°F. Brush the baked tart shell with the beaten egg white and return to the oven for 1-2 minutes, just to cook and set the egg white. This creates a barrier that will prevent the tart shell from becoming soggy once the filling is added.
Assemble the Tart
- Make sure the tart shell is completely cool before beginning assembly. You can make the tart shell a couple of days ahead, if you prefer.
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment. Pull one of the silicon molds from the freezer and immediately start turning the frozen creams onto the baking sheet. Do this quickly. Pull out the second mold and do the same. Immediately return the baking sheet, uncovered, back to the freezer so that the creams stay very firm and easy to handle.
- Plan out how you would like to arrange your creams on the tart shell. You don't have to do the concentric circles like I did but I would recommend a design that shows off the molds and leaves plenty of space for the rhubarb. For my design I needed 25 creams and I had 30. It's nice to have a few extra in case there are any accidents.
- Drain your rhubarb over a bowl to save the syrup for another use. (Rhubarb syrup is fabulous in cocktails!) Cut any pieces that are odd sized.
- Pull the creams from the freezer and quickly arrange them in the tart shell. Carefully distribute the rhubarb in the spaces between the creams. The creams will soften quickly but retain their shape. Garnish with mint or tarragon and serve immediately! The tart is best the day it is made but will keep well in the fridge for a couple of days.
