Puff pastry tart with vanilla custard and roasted rhubarb

A slightly less traditional take today. The stars of this dessert are crisp puff pastry, silky vanilla custard cream and roasted rhubarb — all brought together in the form of an elegant tart. You can start preparing the dessert the day before by making the vanilla cream, which is best chilled overnight in the fridge. On the day of serving, simply bake the puff pastry and the rhubarb, which becomes softer, more aromatic, sweeter and lightly caramelised as it roasts. If you enjoy custard tarts and rhubarb, this dessert will be an absolute winner :).

Ingredients for the base:

• 320–350 g all-butter puff pastry (1 sheet), frozen is fine
• 1 egg, beaten

Lightly flour the work surface. Place the puff pastry on it (if frozen, thaw beforehand). The pastry should come to room temperature, which helps prevent shrinking during baking.

Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg, then fold the edges over slightly to create a thicker border, about 1.5 cm around the tart. Brush the edges again with egg. Prick the centre of the pastry with a fork, place a small baking tin on top (for example a brownie tin) and weigh it down.

Blind bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes, then remove the tin and continue baking for a few more minutes, if necessary, until the pastry is fully baked and golden.

Ingredients for the vanilla custard cream (crème pâtissière):

• 400 ml milk
• seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod
• 4 egg yolks, from large eggs
• 70 g sugar
• 25 g plain flour
• 25 g potato starch

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla seeds to the boil. Once boiling, immediately remove from the heat.

Place the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until pale and thick (you can use standard whisk attachments). Add the plain flour and potato starch and continue mixing until a smooth paste forms. Gradually add 100 ml of the hot milk to the egg mixture and mix until combined.

Pour the tempered egg mixture into the remaining hot milk and whisk thoroughly until smooth. Return the pan to medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring frequently. Once boiling, cook for about 1 minute, stirring continuously, until the custard thickens. Remove from the heat. Cover the surface of the custard directly with cling film to prevent a skin from forming and leave to cool completely without stirring.

Ingredients for the roasted rhubarb:

• 250 g rhubarb, cut into 6–8 cm lengths (do not peel the rhubarb)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Place the rhubarb in a small baking tin or ovenproof dish. Drizzle with the honey, lemon juice and vanilla. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 12–15 minutes, or until the stalks are tender. The rhubarb should keep its shape while becoming very soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

To assemble:

Spread the vanilla custard cream over the baked puff pastry base (blend or whisk the custard beforehand until smooth if needed) and level the surface. Arrange the drained roasted rhubarb on top. Chill in the fridge for about 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!