Tarty rhubarb slice

I won’t lie: this is not the prettiest slice, despite the likeable light pink of the rhubarb pictured above. You’d be lucky to find such complimentary light at this time of year, so in reality they are a bit pinky-brown. However, if you are a rhubarb fan, these are pretty damn droolworthy – quite literally. You know how your mouth waters when you see lemon tart? This does that. Except it also has that nice subtle berry-like taste that the reddest part of rhubarb stalks provides. As soon as I spotted the recipe on  The Quinces and the Pea, it was only a matter of time before I tried these. The only adjustment I made was to use a different base, which has quickly become a favourite since I made that maple, apple and nut slice. It’s a bit crunchy, and has a gorgeous caramelly flavour thanks to the light brown sugar. It’s also super easy to but together. It works really well with this slice, and would do even better with a pinch of powdered ginger in the base. If you’d rather head on a rhubarb/vanilla route however, the original base sounds more appropriate.

This was a somewhat thin sort of slice, so if you want it thicker just use a slightly smaller pan. I know the recipe looks scary and a bit daunting, but it’s honestly no more effort than making a cake. EDIT: I also found a brown butter rhubarb ginger slice…another excellent idea!

Rhubarb slice

makes one 8×8″ pan

Base

• 115g butter, softened
• 1/3c light brown sugar, tightly packed
• 1c flour (fluff it up first)
• optional: 1/4 tsp powdered ginger

Rhubarb puree

You can make a little extra for drizzling over your oatmeal or ice cream in the morning if you like!

• 2.5-3c chopped rhubarb stalks (the red part only)
• 1/2c sugar

Rhubarb topping

• 1c rhubarb puree
• 35g lemon juice (2 Tbs + 1 tsp)
• 65g sugar (1/3c)
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/4 Tbs cornflour

Start with the base:

Smoosh the butter and sugar together until no streaks of butter remain (with a wooden spoon or fork). Mix the flour in until the mixture is uniform. In a cold kitchen the mixture will look a bit dry, in a warm kitchen the mxiture will be like a very thick paste, almost a dough. Pour the crumbles into a paper lined pan (or spread if in a warm kitchen), and pat down until it’s a uniform thickness. Put in the freezer while your oven preheats to 180C (350F) – arrange your rack in the centre.

Meanwhile, make the puree:

Place rhubarb and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves. It will look dry at first but the rhubarb will emit a LOT of water, so don’t be tempted to add water. Let boil and toil away until the rhubarb is pulpy soft, and falls apart when prodded with a fork (about 10 mins). Remove from heat, puree, and set aside.

By now your oven will have preheated – pop your base in for about twenty minutes, until golden at the edges and a few bits in the middle are starting to brown up a bit.

Meanwhile, make the filling:

Whisk eggs and sugar together. Add lemon juice to the puree and whisk in. Once the puree mixture has cooled to a lukewarm temperature, whisk it into the eggs along with the cornflour, sifted, until uniform. Pour this over the base as soon as it’s out of the oven, then reduce oven heat to 160C (320F).

Return slice to the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the topping is set and slightly puffed all over. Cool completely, then run a knife around the two edges that are not paper lined and lift out. Dust with icing sugar just before serving (it dissolves fairly quickly).

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