This week we have just started to harvest some rhubarb, which is a bit odd as you mainly relate to rhubarb being used in heavier winter desserts and dishes. However, rhubarb is in fact a spring vegetable or fruit.
Rhubarb is in fact a fruit, not a vegetable. In 1947, a New York court ruled that it was to be counted as a fruit for the reason it has no seed and grows in the dirt. However, Rhubarb does have seeds and new plants can be propagated from seed but it is not recommended. So it can be classified as a vegetable but for culinary purposes is a fruit.
Confused.
Let’s eat creme brulee, Vanilla creme brulee is such a good thing to match with Rhubarb as the slight tartness of the fruit cuts through the vanilla brulee.
- 750ml cream
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla paste
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 6 tbsp caster sugar (for the caramel top)
- 4 sticks of rhubarb, peeled and cut into pieces
- 4 star anise
- 4 cinnamon bark
- 2 tbsp muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp water
Preheat oven to 140*C (NOT fan-forced). Place cream, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly bring the heat until hot (do not allow it to boil).
Whisk egg yolks, and whole egg in a heatproof bowl until well combined. Slowly add in the cream mixture until well combined. Allow settling for a couple of minutes before skimming all bubbles off the surface of the cream.
For the muscovado rhubarb, place the rhubarb into a pot along with the star anise, cinnamon and sugar. Bring to a boil and turn down until tender, remove from the heat.
Place a tsp of rhubarb into the bottom of each mould and then slowly pour over the Brulee mix
Place the moulds in a deep roasting dish, then pour boiling water into the bottom of the dish until it reaches halfway up the bowls. Very carefully place the roasting dish in the oven and cook for 45 minutes.
Remove the crème Brulee from the oven and allow it to cool before placing it into your fridge to chill.
Once the creme brulee are cool, place a tbsp of caster sugar over each Brulee and using a gas torch, caramelize the sugar until its super dark