Denise says:

  • Sharp rhubarb is a perfect contrast to the sweet frangipane, and brings a welcome candy-pink sight to your table during the winter and spring months. The cardamom complements the rhubarb well, in this almond short crust pastry pie.
  • Cardamom is a spice made from the seed pods of various plants in the ginger family. It is also known as the queen of spices.  There are many varieties which are classified on the basis on their capsule size and colour.  You can buy the pods whole, take out the seeds and ground them with a pestle and mortar or buy ready-ground cardamom if you want to save time. It’s delicious in both sweet and savoury dishes, and commonly found in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine.
  • Preparation Time: 30 minutes
  • Cooking Time:1 hour 35 minutes plus chilling
  • Serves:  8 people

Ingredients:

  • Pastry
  • 200g plain flour
  • 40g icing sugar
  • 100g cold unsalted butter/ non dairy margarine
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • Filling
  • 160g soft unsalted butter
  • 180g golden caster sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 300g ground almonds
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (from about 20 pods)
  • 250g rhubarb, sliced into chunks on the diagonal
  • ~
  • Glaze
  • 40g caster sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
 

Method

  1. First, make the pastry. Combine all the ingredients into the food processor. Add approximately a tablespoon of water to bind the mixture together into a ball. Remove and wrap in cling film. Chill the dough for 20 minutes in the fridge.
  2. Once the dough has rested, roll it out until it is the thickness of a pound coin. Using a 22cm loose base tart tin, carefully transfer the pastry to the tin, pushing it into the corners, and patching up any cracks or tears. Trim any overhang. Leave the pastry to chill for 20 minutes in the fridge.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F/ Gas mark 6.
  4. Cover the pastry with foil and insert baking beans making sure that you press them into the corners.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the baking beans and foil and cook for another 5 minutes until golden.
  6. While the tart shell is baking, you can make the frangipane. Whisk the butter and golden caster sugar together until light and creamy, then beat in the egg. Fold through the ground almonds and the cardamom. Once the tart shell is golden, spoon in the frangipane, and press the rhubarb into the frangipane, then bake for another 35-40 minutes, or until the frangipane is set.
  7. Remove the tart from the oven, and let it cool in the tin for 5 minutes. As it cools, dissolve the 40g sugar in 2 tablespoons of water in a small pan and simmer until slightly syrupy.
  8. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Brush the glaze over the top of the warm tart and allow to cool.
Tagged in: cardamom, dessert, Eggs, Ground Almonds, Icing Sugar, parev dessert, rhubarb, Valentines, Vanilla Extract