Rhubarb & Custard
Rhubarb & Custard is a classic British dessert that I’ve always wanted to try, but never sampled until the moment after I shot these photographs.
I’ve loved rhubarb for as long as I can remember, but it probably started shortly after we moved to our family home in Marshfield, Massachusetts. Our house had the most wonderful perennial garden that was left by the previous owners. We had tulips, bleeding hearts, a huge patch of Lily-of-the-Valley, a pussy willow tree for climbing, and one little patch of rhubarb.
On Sundays, my dad and I liked to bake together. We always got snacky after church, and since I was raised Mormon, we didn’t shop on Sundays. That meant that whatever we snacked on, had to already be in the house. So he and I often had to get creative. One thing he used to make were these impossibly thin cinnamon cookies that he rolled out and cut with a pizza cutter—They were amazing, but the recipe is lost now.
My specialty was to go out and grab whatever rhubarb was growing and make a rhubarb crisp. I don’t remember it being anything too spectacular, but it did the trick of giving us something sweet and interesting to eat when going to the store to buy more ingredients was out of the question. Is it any wonder that as an adult I always keep my fridge, freezer, and pantry extremely well-stocked for whenever there is a last minute craving for something sweet and delicious.
Rhubarb & Custard
4 large stalks of rhubarb, leaves removed and discarded (they’re poisonous)
⅓ cup sugar
pinch of salt
juice of ½ a lemon
Custard for serving (recipe follows)
Cut rhubarb into 1-inch pieces. Toss with sugar and salt. Bake in a glass baking dish at 350°F for 20-30 minutes.
While the rhubarb bakes, make the custard. See below.
When the rhubarb dissolves the sugar and the liquid starts to turn syrupy, remove from the oven and stir in lemon juice.
Spoon into serving dishes and pour the custard beside the rhubarb.
Custard
1 cup milk
¼ cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean (or a teaspoon of vanilla paste)
2 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
pinch of salt
In a medium size heavy bottomed saucepan, combine milk, cream, and vanilla bean. Set over medium-high heat and cook until starting to steam.
In a medium size glass bowl, whisk together sugar and egg yolks until thick and glossy. While whisking, temper the egg yolks by pouring a ¼ cup of the hot milk and cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Repeat until most of the hot milk has been stirred into the egg yolk mixture. Pour all of the hot egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
Stir with a wooden spoon in a figure 8 pattern until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon.
Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the mixture into a heatproof bowl or serving pitcher.
