Rhubarb Tian – in the shadows of the Daring Bakers….again

I will not be left out, it is rhubarb season after all and this time I am determined to cook it rosy pink.

Last year when I rustled up a compote of rhubarb and ginger, I was happy with the taste but secretly abhorred the brown, ugly compote. Thankfully, this year, none of that happened. The disaster forestalled by gently roasting the rhubarb till soft.

I was/am very pleased with the results. Now on to the inspiration? The Daring Bakers again. Just like the ‘Misús.

I wanted to attempt this dessert for many reasons

1. It is French, and I have a thing I call French Conquests
2. It came from a Master – Alain Ducasse
3. It was layered and involved making stabilised cream – something I’d never done
4. It also involved making a Pate Sablee, which I’d also not made before.
5. And Spring is here – consider this my celebration (even if we’ve had almost non-stop rain and cold winds since Sunday!)

Once I was done, and had the dessert, I concluded that it was nice, almost comfort food, not terribly gourmet even if it looked the part.

The cookie base was nice and crisp, and the cream was lovely…..tasted like ice-cream. The flavours and colours of the rhubarb were clean and pure, with the characteristic tartness of the veggie. My husband liked it but found the topping a bit too tart. Sprinklings of icing sugar later, he pronounced it passable.

I like it too…..but in the end, I think its ‘just’ a pretty dessert!

Still, I wear my conqueror’s hat with pride. Another one bites the dust……….and many more French recipes to go!

Without further ado, here is my recipe……..adapted from that posted in The Daring Kitchen.

Notes from recipetips.com:

Rhubarb leaves are poisonous – they contain oxalic acid, which is toxic!

When cooking rhubarb do not use aluminum, iron or copper pans. Rhubarb has high acidity and will react with these types of metals. The reaction will cause the rhubarb to turn a brownish color and can cause the pan to discolor. It is best to use anodized aluminum, non-stick coated aluminum, or enameled cast iron pans. If the rhubarb is being baked, glass bakeware can be used also.

Roasted Rhubarb Tian

Ingredients

450g roasted rhubarb (recipe below)
1 portion stabilised cream (recipe below)
1 portion roasted rhubarb & ginger jam (recipe below)
4 Pate Sablee cookies (recipe below)
Icing sugar
Caramel sauce, to garnish

How to

Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out four 7 cm cookie cutters onto the parchment paper/silicone.

Drain your roasted rhubarb, letting the juices strain through a sieve.

Arrange the rhubarb pieces at the bottom of each cookie cutter, ensuring there are no gaps. This will be the top of the dessert so try to tart them up if you can.

Top the rhubarb bases in each cookie cutter with the stabilised cream till almost full in a smooth even layer, leaving a bit of space for the cookie

Spread the rhubarb jam on one side of each cookie and carefully place jam-side down, on to the cream. The cookie may not fit into the cookie cutter but that’s fine

Put the tray of in the freezer and let it set for 10 minutes.

When ready to serve, gently invert the cookie rings unto a plate.and remove

Sprinkle with some icing sugar and a drizzle of caramel sauce and serve immediately

Tian layers (everything but the cream can be made a day ahead):

The ingredients are listed in the order they should be made, for ease of assembly

• For the roasted rhubarb – 450g rhubarb (in 2cm pieces); 100g caster sugar
• For the rhubarb jam – 1/3 of the roasted rhubarb,3 tablespoons juice of roasted rhubarb, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• For the Pate sablee- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup caster sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 stick frozen butter (cut into small chunks), 2 large egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For the stabilised cream – 200g whipping cream, 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons cooled gelatine mixture (made using leaf or powder gelatine, according to manufacturer’s instructions), 1 tablespoon rhubarb jam

To roast the rhubarb

Toss chunks with sugar and place in an oven tray. Roast at 200 deg C for 12 – 15 minutes till your rhubarb is soft. Let cool down and place in a bowl, with its juices.

Refrigerate till ready to use.

For the rhubarb jam

Take 1/3 of the roasted rhubarb and 3 tablespoons of juice. Combine in a small pan with sugar and freshly grated ginger.

Let cook for about 10 minutes and remove off the heat.

Refrigerate till ready to use

For the Pate Sablee

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Then add the frozen pieces of butter and process till the butter is incorporated in the dough. Break up the egg yolks and add to the mixture with the vanilla extract. Process again, till the mixture just comes together. Process again till the mixture begins to look homogeneous.Turn the mixture unto a lightly floured surface and form into a disc.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C and roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, to ¼ inch thickness. Using your cookie cutters, cut out dough and place on a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes (or until the circles of dough are just golden). Remove and let cool down before using in the recipe. {I only wanted to make 4 desserts, so I mixed the rest of the dough with cocoa powder and made some cookies}

To make the stabilised cream, put your whipping bowl and beater(s) into the deep freezer for 20 minutes before you whip the cream. Start whipping the cream on low speed, for a minute or two, then add the sugar and take speed up to medium. Whip till the beaters leave a trail in the mix and slowly add the cooled gelatine mixture. Whip until light and fluffy, then fold in 1 tablespoon of the rhubarb jam.

I have another version to share with you, made with loquats.

But, I think this is more than enough for one day. I’m also sending this on to Weekend Herb Blogging #232, started by Kalyn , and now run by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, and hosted this week by Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu.

Have you had or made Tians before? Do you like them? Share ALL! *Mwah*

[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Rhubarb Tian – in the shadows of the Daring Bakers….again – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]