Rhubarb & Orange Crumble

Who doesn't love a crumble? Is it one of the most comforting and versatile of all puddings. But whatever about the fruit, it is getting a good crumble topping that can make it or break it. No one, and I mean no one, wants a soggy crumble. Likewise, if it's likely to knock out half your teeth, that's no good either! A crunchy butter granolary (not even a word) texture is what I would consider a total winner.

There are few things that set my heart racing as much as custard. Yes, I am sure that the heightened velocity of my heart rate isn’t a sign of increasing levels of cholesterol, thank you very much. No, rather there is no other edible item I choose to indulge in that gives rise to feelings of comfort, nostalgia and luxury in equal measure and concurrence as the viscous mixture of eggs, cream and sugar. I don’t think that this magic concoction is given half as much praise as it should.

Here's a thing you should know about me. I LOVE custard, in any shape or form it may come in.  Crème Anglaise; proper custard; custard slices, Portuguese custard tarts; banana's and custard (favourite comfort food ever) or just simply a beautiful egg custard tart.  Anyway it comes to me, I will happily devour. 

It's time for another Tumbler Desert everyone! Yes, you thought I'd forgotten about them, but deserts are thin on the ground whilst I'm working through my 6 week 5:2 reboot programme!

Rhubarb & Orange Crumble

Who doesn’t love a crumble? Is it one of the most comforting and versatile of all puddings. But whatever about the fruit, it is getting a good crumble topping that can make it or break it. No one, and I mean no one, wants a soggy crumble. Likewise, if it’s likely to knock out half your teeth, that’s no good either! A crunchy butter granolary (not even a word) texture is what I would consider a total winner.

First the fruit then the crumble.

I find that cooking up the fruit first, then topping with your freshly baked crumble is the perfect way to get the balance of soft fruit and buttery crunch that is the epitomy of perfect crumble-faction (again, not even a word, but I don’t even care anymore!)

Finally, let us talk custard. My love of custard knows no bounds (as my love letter to it recently revealed – click here to read that one). And as much as I love a bit of whipped or clotted cream as the next person, if anyone deigns put anything other than custard with this crumble recipe, in the immortal words of Liam Neeson, I will hunt you down and kill you.

Aside from these few unbreakable and non-negotiable rules (ha!), let crumble (with custard..) be thy saviour. You totally deserve it!

Ingredients:

For the Fruit:

Frankly, I would say that the quantity of ingredients for the fruit base is entirely up to you. Because once you’ve had your fill of fruit and crumble, this will go just as nice over ice cream or with yogurt, over pancakes and all sorts of things. As a basic ratio though, I would say 1 bunch of rhubarb to 2 orange. Ideally blood orange, but if you are making this once that season is over then go for the sweetest orange you can get.

For the Crumble Topping:

You’re gonna love me, because this makes absolutely bucketloads of crumble topping. This is good news because it means you can totally indulge as a pud, plus it actually is delicious for breakfast (weekend breakfast, because it is a tad indulgent!), over yogurt or sprinkled over sliced banana (with custard – OMG!). Just keep it stored in an air tight container after it has completely cooled and it will stay perfectly crunchy!

  • 150g plain flour
  • 100g butter – super chilled
  • 85g dark soft sugar
  • handful of nuts: pecans and sliced almonds work a treat here
  • sprinkle of cinnamon

Method:

  • Heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
  • Use a processor blitz together the flour, butter and sugar to a fine breadcrumb consistency.
  • Tip out onto a lined baking tray and crumble in your pecans and almonds (or whatever nuts you have to hand).
  • Then take some of the crumble topping mixture and press clumps of it together. The butter will bind it together. Work through until it looks like the kind of texture you think would be fairly feckin’ awesome.
  • Place the crumble mixture in the fridge. This is for the butter to firm back up again so when you bake it, the nuggets don’t lose their shape.
  • Meanwhile, chop the rhubarb into 5cm portions and place in a pan with the zest of 1 orange, juice of two, a 1 tbsp. sugar and a little drop of vanilla paste (if you have it).
  • Cover with a lid and cook down slowly until completely stewed down.
  • Uncover and continue to cook until some of the excess moisture has evaporated off.
  • Take out your crumble mixture from the fridge and pop it in the oven. Cook for about 20 mins watching closely so it doesn’t burn.
  • Take out of the oven and turn the mixture careful not to break it down. Place back in the oven for a further 10 mins, but again keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
  • In a bowl, ladle out some of the fruit mixture and top with your crumble mixture. Dollop some custard over it, settle down and enjoy every last mouthful!

Of course it goes without saying that this crumble topping works well with any stewed fruit so its great for the changing fruit seasons. Likewise, experiment with flavours that go with rhubarb – a little bit of stem ginger for example would add a nice bit of sweet heat to everything!

ENJOY!

For the Love of Custard

There are few things that set my heart racing as much as custard. Yes, I am sure that the heightened velocity of my heart rate isn’t a sign of increasing levels of cholesterol, thank you very much. No, rather there is no other edible item I choose to indulge in that gives rise to feelings of comfort, nostalgia and luxury in equal measure and concurrence as the viscous mixture of eggs, cream and sugar. I don’t think that this magic concoction is given half as much praise as it should.

Granted, my first encounters with custard were less than inspiring. I all too clearly remember the brown, yellow and pink varieties served up with dessert at school meals vaguely tasting of chocolate, banana and “mysterious pink” respectively, covered with a thick skin and served at temperatures only previously experienced inside an erupting volcano. At home, I long believed that custard was made from powder added to hot milk, fluorescent yellow in colour. If you fancied yourself going up in the world, you had it ready made. If you were properly posh, you forked out for Ambrosia.

That was the extent of my childhood experiences with custard, until one glorious day when I tasted my first ever Custard Slice. Thick set crème patisserie between two slices of flaky puffed pastry and topped with soft royal icing that glued your fingers as it was held and devoured. Such bliss.

I remember the first time I ever ate a mini egg custard tart, complete with nutmeg grated on top. In my teenage years, I used to work a Saturday job at the restaurant inside Littlewoods Department Store in Bristol. One of my duties, which I cherished, was plating the desserts. Any cakes that were not bought by the end of service would be given to the staff to eat else they were binned. Secretly, I used to always plate up a few extra custard tart slices so I’d stand a pretty good chance of bagging myself a slice at the end of my shift. I literally would not be able to stop thinking about it all day long.

Fast forward to 2014 when I first tasted something that looked suspiciously like a custard tart encased in buttery puff pastry but called “Pastéis de Nata” in Lettercollum Kitchen Project, Clonakilty. They were warm, having only just come out of the oven. That first bite was the equivalent of all my Christmasses, Birthday’s, Summer Holidays and a huge lottery jackpot all arriving at the same time. Where did these come from? What spells were cast to make such delicious morsels? Turns out, Pastéis de Nata are the national dish of Portugal (OK, slight exaggeration, but if I were Queen of Portugal I would totally make that happen). Still, ever since I have been trying to engineer a situation where I would happily find myself in Portugal, but it didn’t happen until 2016….

In February last year, I took a quick five-day break in Portugal. I had (at least) four mini Pastéis de Nata for my breakfast, every single day! Sometimes, gluttony is such a good thing. That said, I might wait a bit before I get the old cholesterol tested – know what I mean?

I am more than happy to admit my obsession with this dreamy sweet yellow liquid. If were so allowed to choose my last meal, it would be a 15 course extravaganza of custard in different forms. So allow me to enlighten you with a summary of what I have learned about one true love (don’t tell Mr Flavour will you?) in my “Miscellany of Custard”

The One, True Custard:
Colour depends on the eggs used, but should be bright yellow, thick yet pourable. Probably the best thing ever invented by the English. Probably.

Crème Anglaise:
Pale yellow, thinner and runnier than the English version. French origin, sweeter and often flavoured with vanilla.

Baked Custard:
A traditional thick custard, baked in the oven to set. Includes: traditional Egg Custard Tarts (UK); Pastéis de Nata (Portugal, Spain and Greece all have variations); Crème Bruleé and Crème Caramel (France) also Flan (Spain, Portugal, Mexico).

Crème Patisserie:
A thickened, fresh custard that isn’t baked but can hold its shape because of the introduction of flour or other starch and is used most frequently with cakes and other patisserie. Used in custard slices, doughnuts, choux buns, éclairs etc.

There are many other variations across the world, from steamed custard in Asia to Zabaione in Italy and of course not forgetting savoury custards used in quiches, although I prefer to stick to the sweet versions, please and thank you!

So there you have it. As the saying goes, when life gives you eggs – make custard.
OK I may have made that up, but with Easter just around the corner it is a perfect time to indulge in a spot of custard making with beautiful local, free range eggs. Experiment with flavouring your custard with citrus fruits; seasonal rhubarb; spices and flavoured sugar syrups. It’s a lot more interesting than eating chocolate eggs or hunting for brightly painted empty ones in the garden that’s for sure!

Egg Custard Tart, Blood Orange Poached Rhubarb and Syrup

Here’s a thing you should know about me. I LOVE custard, in any shape or form it may come in.  Crème Anglaise; proper custard; custard slices, Portuguese custard tarts; banana’s and custard (favourite comfort food ever) or just simply a beautiful egg custard tart.  Anyway it comes to me, I will happily devour. 

A good egg custard tart can easily be ruined by using rubbish eggs, or the wrong custard-to-pastry ratio (the pastry being incidental really, just a vehicle for holding the custard in place), and although simple it is a dessert best not rushed less you end up with lumpy custard or an overcooked tart.  Not good.

Continue reading “Egg Custard Tart, Blood Orange Poached Rhubarb and Syrup”

Tumbler Desert #2 – Plum Peach & Orange with Custard and Whipped Cream

It’s time for another Tumbler Desert everyone! Yes, you thought I’d forgotten about them, but deserts are thin on the ground whilst I’m working through my 6 week 5:2 reboot programme!

 

Ingredients (serves 2):
Two small handful of amaretti biscuits.
Small slug of Cointreau liquer.
A single square of Green & Blacks Maya Gold (spiced orange and dark chocolate).
4 peaches (round or donut) destoned and quartered.
4 ripe plums, destoned and quartered.
Zest of 1 orange.
1 tsp of Vanilla Bean paste.
2 tblsp of brown demerara sugar.
Fresh cream vanilla custard (good quality shop bought one like Avonmore is a great cheat ingredient!)
Whipped cream.
Method:
Put the oven on 180 degs celsius.
Place the quartered fruit on a baking tray along with the orange zest (I use a veg peeler for this recipe so you can take out the orange zest after the fruit has cooked – that way you get the lovely orange taste without it going bitter after it cools).
Sprinkle over the sugar and pour over the vanilla bean paste.
Place in the oven and cook until the fruit is lovely and soft and the juices have been released.
Once cooked, take out of the oven and remove the strips of orange zest.
Put the amaretti biscuits in the bottom of each tumbler (a small handful per glass) and using the bottom of a rolling pin, crush them to a fine crumb (very satisfying!)
Put a small slug of Cointreau onto of the biscuits – be careful, not too much; just enough so that when you stir the biscuit and liquer together with a spoon it gently comes together but does not melt away.
Spoon in a good measure each of the fruit mixture and include some of the liquid too.
Spoon over the top a couple of dollops of vanilla custard, and a generous plop of whipped cream over that.
Grate the Maya Gold over the whole lot – as much as you like really!
Serve immediately, and Enjoy!

There should be plenty of fruit mix left over. If you chill this, it will make a lovely alternative breakfast mixed in with some low fat natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of flaked almonds.

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