Following on from my last post about cheat ingredients where I shared my loved for ready made puff pastry, I’ve decided to carry on the theme for a little bit longer (if you let me indulge)!  I’ve long been a fan of mid-week puddings, but even with the best will in the world having the time to knock something up can be difficult!  

Ready made pastry cases are a boon, and the recipe below for a simple, tasty filling will make you look like a mid-week-dessert-creating-rockstar!   And you’re welcome!

Ingredients (makes 6):

• Packet of six ready made sweet shortcrust pastry cases
• 150g of rhubarb chopped into 5cm pieces (fresh or frozen, it doesn’t matter)
• 3 tbsp of sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste
• 2 tbsp of water
• 250ml ready whipped cream
• Small handful of freeze dried strawberry slices
• Fresh mint leaves to garnish

Method:

• Place the rhubarb, sugar, vanilla bean paste and water in a saucepan, cover with a lid and heat over a medium heat until the rhubarb has softened and cooked through to be able to mash.
• When cooked, check for sweetness and tartness balance and add additional sugar if needed, but don’t overdo it on the sugar as you need to have the tartness of the rhubarb coming through.
• When cooked through, spoon out into a bowl and allow to cool, and mash with a fork.
• In a pestle and mortar, grind down the freeze dried strawberries until they are a powder (this is a really satisfying thing to do!)
• When the rhubarb mixture has cooled slightly, scoop out the ready whipped cream and gentle fold together.  Don’t over stir otherwise the cream will collapse!
• Spoon out generously into the pastry cases.
• Garnish with a line of freeze dried strawberry powder and a sprig of fresh mint.

And…enjoy!