“Rhubarb is one of the few sweet ingredients available in spring,” says Rodney Dunn. “Its natural sourness adds an acid balance to the sugar and cuts through the sweetness , creating the perfect foil for the custard. We grow chamomile and dry the flowers, but you can buy whole dried chamomile flowers; even chamomile teabags will give the desired result.”
Ingredients
Sweet pastry
Roasted rhubarb
Method
Main
1.For pastry, place flour, butter, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub butter into dry ingredients with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and 1 tbsp cold water, and gently knead until mixture comes together. Form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (about 1 hour).
2.For roasted rhubarb, preheat oven to 150°C. Place rhubarb in a roasting pan, scatter with sugar and orange rind and drizzle with orange juice. Roast until tender (12-15 minutes).
3.On a lightly floured work surface roll out pastry to 5mm thick and line a 28cm-diameter fluted tart tin, pressing pastry into the corners, then trim edges. Refrigerate tart case for 30 minutes to rest.
4.Bring cream to the boil in a saucepan, then remove from heat, add chamomile flowers and leave to infuse for 10-15 minutes. Whisk butter, sugar, flour and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl to combine. Mix in eggs one at a time, then egg yolk. Strain cream through a fine sieve, add buttermilk and vinegar, then stir into egg mixture.
5.Increase oven to 180°C. Blind-bake tart shell until pastry sets and edges are golden brown (12-15 minutes). Remove paper and weights, return tart shell to oven and bake until base is golden brown (8-10 minutes). Carefully pour in custard, reduce heat to 160°C and bake until set with a slight wobble in the centre (8-10 minutes). Cool. To serve, arrange rhubarb on tart and drizzle with rhubarb poaching syrup.
