Sunday 17 March 2013

White chocolate tart with rhubarb and mini eggs


 


I saw a recipe for white chocolate pots with rhubarb in the Sainsbury’s magazine (in my opinion, the best of the supermarket magazines) and used it as the basis for this tart.  I added a biscuit case and simplified the rhubarb element and came up with a rather smart dessert.  The ring of rhubarb makes it look like the tart is wearing a flamboyant feather boa!




I think the flavours would work well for an Easter dessert so decided to decorate it with an Easter theme using my Lakeland egg moulds for which I have provided a link but am sad to see they are a discontinued item.  What a shame.  Oh well.







The filling for the tart is sweet so I decided to leave the rhubarb on the tart side for contrast.  The filling and rhubarb are both soft so the biscuit base and the chocolate eggs add some welcome texture.




This is a pleasing tart which would work well as dessert for an Easter dinner.  I chose to serve it with a cup of tea as a mid-afternoon treat but that’s always my preference for cakes and bakes!  I think next time I might add another leaf of gelatine to get a cleaner slice.  It would be lovely without any fruit topping...




...but I can’t resist rhubarb:




I could probably have made it look neater by cooking the rhubarb less – when you’re baking things and blogging you often have a trade off between making it look nice for the photo/presentation and making it how you like it.  Here, I went for how I like it and it does look a bit untidy.  Never mind, thankfully I don’t come from a family who look at food for too long!





Ingredients

For the base:
300g hobnob biscuits – use digestives if you prefer
60g unsalted butter

For the filling:
150ml milk
600ml double cream
75g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
3 leaves of gelatine – I used 3 but would advise using 4
100g white chocolate

For the rhubarb:
500g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into short pieces (about 2cm)
30g caster sugar, add more to taste
2 tablespoons water
Optional: 1 teaspoon grenadine

For the eggs:
100g white chocolate, plus a little extra to stick together

Method

Start by making the base: blitz the hobnobs and butter together in a food processor.  If you don’t have a processor, put the biscuits in a bag and beat with a rolling pin then stir into melted butter.  Either way, you’re aiming for a grainy wet sand feel.

Press the crumbs into a 25cm pie plate or flan tin.  I used a disposable foil pie plate that was 3cm deep.  Take care to bring the biscuit mix up the sides of the tin or plate as you need it to be bowl shaped to hold the filling – this filling will be runnier than cheesecake and you need a good structure to retain it!

Refrigerate.

Now make the filling: place the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla seeds along with the vanilla pod into a saucepan and bring to almost boiling point.

While you are waiting for the milk to heat, place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water to soften.

When the milk is almost at boiling point remove from the heat and add the white chocolate.  Use a whisk to ensure it melts.

Squeeze all the water from the softened gelatine leaves and whisk into the milk mixture. 

When you are happy that both chocolate and gelatine have completely melted, leave the pan to cool for 20 minutes.

Stir the mixture before pouring into the chilled biscuit case.  Don’t worry if you can’t fit all the filling in – simply pour any extra into glass dishes for a bonus dessert!

Once you have filled the case return to the refrigerator rapidly – the biscuit crust is not completely watertight and you want the filling to start setting as soon as possible.  Setting will require a minimum of 4 hours but ideally overnight.

Prepping the rhubarb can be done at the same time, but I don’t advise putting it on the tart until you’re ready to serve as the juices might seep and look messy.

Place the chopped rhubarb into a saucepan along with the sugar and water.  Heat gently until the rhubarb starts to break down and soften.  Take care to watch this process as you don’t want the rhubarb to become mushy.  I like the rhubarb to become a little pulpy but with some pieces kept whole – but do it how you like it.

When the rhubarb is ready, drain it before returning to the pan and stirring through the grenadine (if using).  If you have grenadine I advise using it as it adds a sherbet flavour.

Taste the rhubarb at this point and add more sugar if needed.

Keep the rhubarb in the fridge until ready to finish the tart.

To make the easter eggs simply melt the chocolate and spoon into the egg moulds.

Refrigerate until set then turn out of the mould and use a little extra melted chocolate to stick the halves together.

To build the finished tart spoon the rhubarb chunks over the top and dot the eggs all over.  If the rhubarb has oozed a lot of liquid it is advisable to strain it again before putting it on top of the tart.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.

21 comments:

Kate@whatkatebaked said...

Happy pre-Easter baking! I love that the tart has a feather boa and is likely off out for a fun night on the tiles, perhaps hoping to meet someone special- a chocolate gateaux perhaps?! (

Debs Dust Bunny said...

For the longest time I was not a fan of rhubarb but my friends in the allotments keep me supplied with fresh stalks. Through experimentation I have found that rhubarb can be lovely. Who can resist that beautiful pink colour! This looks like a wonderful way to use some of my next supply when it gets passed over the fence. Thanks!

Lucy said...

The feather boa description made me smile - so cheery! I love your twist on the original recipe, especially the home made mini eggs.

Caroline said...

I do wish I were a rhubarb lover because the pink stuff is just so pretty! Your tart looks lovely, and how inventive of you to have adapted the recipe - I would never have thought of that! Your little eggs are very cute too.

Unknown said...

Oh the idea of the rhubarb and the white chocolate filling sounds like a match made in heaven. Glad to meet someone else who doesn't look at their food for long...

Cakelaw said...

This tart looks delicious to me! And you are right - perfect for Easter.

Baking Addict said...

Love the ring of rhubarb and homemade easter eggs! Shame its discontinued. I just ordered a few chocolate moulds from Lakeland, can't wait to try them out.

Susie @ Fold in the Flour said...

I must admit, I've only ever had rhubarb in a crumble - which was lovely - and have never cooked with it. Ths looks so good though, it'd certainly tempt me to look out for some and get in the kitchen! :)

Two Wednesdays said...

Looks lovely - I love rhubarb too and am distraught that none of my three children will touch it (My Dh and I probably could manage the whole of the tart on our own but that would not be good). You can get mini chocolate egg moulds from cake craft world if anyone is looking.

Victory Rolls & Mixing Bowls said...

I love the feather boa!! It looks lovely as always :)

Kit @ i-lostinausten said...

This tart looks divine with rhubarb that I love since we've planted one in our veg patch last year. Just love the lovely pinkish color that complement the white chocolate tart very well. Excellent idea making those homemade mini eggs. YUM! ;)

United Cakedom said...

Looks amazing! Perfect for this time of year!!

Xinmei @ Pudding Pie Lane said...

I think it looks great! I do agree though, there's a trade off in food photography. I love the white chocolate eggs too, it gives it that Easter touch :)

Jo said...

There's nothing wrong with your rhubarb feather boa, I love the look of it! Its tartness with the sweet white chocolate sounds amazing.

P.S. Thanks for sharing a baking fail on my last post. Scraping partly cooked cake mix off the bottom of your oven must have been a very sad day.

Katie said...

Looks delicious and I love the ring of rhubarb. must get my hands on some.
Impressed with your homemade chocolate eggs.

Ulla said...

You too, my virtual friend! Teen Baker posted rhubarb recipe not long ago. I need to wait until May to get rhubarb from our garden. There's still about 50 cm of snow on top of it...
This tart goes onto to-do list of mine when time comes. Thank you for your sharing.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

I love the thought of fresh rhubarb with white chocolate.

Have you tried using the mould for the big egg yet?

The Caked Crusader said...

Hi Jacqueline

Not yet - I'm not very experienced with chocolate moulds and the large one scares me a bit at the moment!

Happy baking!

Maggie said...

How lovely making your own white chocolate eggs. Great idea and you get to choose which chocolate to use too.

Sumaiyyah said...

Dear CC, I'm glad you've been a good and busy baking superhero. My tummy rumbles at the sight of such yumminess and I long to try baking with rhubarb more than ever!

Gloria Baker said...

this look adorable, I love the little white chocolates, all days I say I have to make something to Easter! but I had some problems last weeek, hope to make something soon!!