Last weekend we had a guest from Japan - Shizuka, a friend of Shoo's who was over here on a buying trip for her little boutique in Kagoshima city. Her strict daily regime of jewellery, scarf and handbag buying yielded lots of bargains (from the point of view of the current strong yen), and I enjoyed the vicarious shopping. I admired her for being so focused and not succumbing to personal splurges - as I'm sure I would have.
Shizuka was an really great guest from a food point of view - eager to try anything new, and with a strange penchant for washing up (she actually brought her own apron - crazy lady). Well, if there's one favour I'll never turn down from anyone it's washing-up. Along with mopping, my other most-loathed household task.
Taking advantage of Shizuka's open mind and palate, I decided to surprise her and Shoo after their Saturday expedition to Portobello with this very British sweet: a buttery pastry case filled with luscious custard and topped with lusty pink rhubarb - I found some perfect neon stems on Berwick Street Market. This tart is to a meal what shocking pink lip-gloss is to a party outfit - it's not for every occasion but it makes a statement. There is nothing demure about this dessert.
The verdict - from Shizuka, Shoo and the flatmates as well - was positive. I admit it's a little time-consuming, especially if you're making your own pastry, but totally worth it.
Rhubarb & Custard Tart
Makes one 23cm tart
Pâte sucrée
200g flour
100g unsalted butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk
few tbsp cold water
Crême patissière
4 egg yolks
125g sugar
25g flour
25g cornflour
1 vanilla pod
450ml milk
50ml single cream
Topping
450g rhubarb
150ml water
100g sugar
Start with the pâte sucrée. Sift the flour onto a work surface or into a bowl, rub the butter - straight from the fridge and cubed - into the flour with fingertips until it reaches the 'fine breadcrumbs' stage. Stir in the sugar. Make a well and tip in the egg yolk and a little water, and gradually work in the flour from the edges, until it comes together as a dough. Knead briefly and lightly until the dough is smooth, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, whilst you work on the other components.
For the crême patissière, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale, thick and creamy. Whisk in the flours. Bring the milk and cream to boiling point with the vanilla pod. Remove the vanilla pod (wash and leave out to dry, then place in a jar of caster sugar for a stock of vanilla sugar). Slowly pour the milk onto the egg mixture, whisking all the time.
Transfer to a saucepan and heat very gently, stirring constantly, until you have a thick custard that will hold a soft peak for just a moment.
Leave the custard to cool and prepare the rhubarb. Wash and chop into sections varying between 2 and 5 centimetres (so that they can easily be arranged in concentric circles). Place the sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, and bring to a very gentle simmer. Immerse the rhubarb in the syrup and simmer for three minutes, before lifting each piece out and laying on a plate to cool and absorb some of the syrup that coats it. You may need to do the rhubarb in two batches. Allow to cool completely.
Remove the pâte sucrée from the fridge, and roll out to just under half a centimetre in thickness. Press into a 23cm fluted tart case, ready greased and papered on the bottom. Place a sheet of baking paper inside, covering the edges too, and pour in baking beans. Bake at 160°C for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and bake for another 5 minutes at 180°C.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool, then fill with the crême patissière, and top with the rhubarb, layed in concentric circles as mentioned earlier. Bake for 15 minutes at 180°C - this is mainly to give the rhubarb a little extra cooking time.
Pull tart out of the oven, and if its colour alone isn't frivolous enough for you, you can add to its trashiness by reducing the left over rhubarb syrup a little, and brushing over the stems to make them glisten. Cool completely before serving.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
A Very British Tart
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Sweet Root
An old favourite jazzed up for a sunny, sunny Sunday. A zesty, zingy carrot cake with lime frosting. Because the cake uses oil as the fat component, it's faster to prepare than other butter-based cakes, and stays nice and moist. The recipe was adapted from a Nigel Slater one from the Observer, which I bookmarked some time ago. I disagree with his stinginess on the carrot front though. I upped the dose, and after the taste test found that I could have been even more generous.
The carrot cake fiesta over the weekend (it really was - there was tons of the stuff, and I still have a cupful of lime frosting in the fridge that I must find a use for) got me thinking about other sweet things with vegetable components. In Japan I used to regularly find pumpkin-flavoured desserts in the supermarket or convenience stores, like purin (custard pudding) - which I'd love to have a go at - cakes and muffins. Over here it's a bit harder to find the small, squat, super-sweet pumpkins with the knobbly green skin they use, but I think butternut squash would be an equally good substitute.
The Japanese also make innovative use of sweet potatoes, which come in a variety of colours ranging from white to purple. Traditional sweet potato treats can be a bit cloying and floury, but I discovered a more modern and infinitely posher dessert, of the kind sold in high-end food halls and the gift arcades of airports, whose lip-licking memory still haunts my dreams... it's called 'Lovely' and made by a Kagoshima-based company called Festivalo. Horrid names (note to self, the bizarre vocabulary of Japanese food marketers deserves a whole post in the near future) but the product is truly delicious! It's basically sweet potato blended with cream and sugar and gently baked, giving it a soft, dense, almost cheesecakey texture.
In case you were wondering, here's what they look like:
Little parcels of...er... Loveliness! I can't wait to eat some of these babies when I go back to Japan in a month...
Well, I can't give you Lovelies, I'm afraid, but I can divulge the carrot-lime cake recipe in their stead - I think it's an adequate replacement.
Carrot Cake with Lime Frosting after Nigel Slater
makes one round 20cm cake and one small loaf cake, or equivalent(?!)
250g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
200g flavourless oil such as sunflower or rapeseed
230g caster or soft brown sugar
200g carrots (peeled weight)
juice of 1 lime
Frosting
200g full fat cream cheese
200g unsalted butter at room temperature
100g icing sugar
zest and juice of 1 lime
Sift all the dry cake ingredients into a large bowl.
Grate the carrots and stir into the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl whisk the sugar and oil together, then add the eggs one by one, until well combined. (I did this the wrong way round - eggs in first and oil after - and the mixture went a bit lumpy, but the cake was still fine.)
Pour the oil and sugar mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well; don't be alarmed if it looks very thick and unmanageable, just pour in the lime juice and you'll see it loosens considerably.
Pour into your cake tins of choice, greased and with the bottom lined, and bake at 180 C for 30 -40 minutes. (Less for a small round cake and more for a loaf).
Whilst it's baking, prepare the frosting by first whisking the butter and sugar with an electric beater until fluffy, then adding the cream cheese a little at a time. Finally, add the lime zest, and the lime juice very gradually.
Ice the cakes once they've cooled completely.
