Recipe by Brenda Fawdon and photography by Christine Sharp from Eat Local Volume 1.
Rhubarb thrives in the cooler climate of Tamborine Mountain and is available most of the year. Firm bunches of ruby stalks are fastened with thick rubber bands and sold at roadside stalls across the mountain and at The Green Shed growers’ market on Sunday mornings.
INGREDIENTS
75 g unsalted butter
100 g rapadura or golden castor sugar
70 g almond meal
40 g organic wholegrain spelt or wholegrain
plain flour
5 ml rosewater
2 free-range eggs
5 rhubarb stalks
1 tablespoon rapadura or golden castor sugar
SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY
160 g organic wholegrain spelt or wholegrain
plain flour
80 g rapadura or brown sugar
. teaspoon vanilla bean paste
pinch of sea salt
80 g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1 free-range egg
METHOD
To make the pastry, place the flour, sugar and salt in a
food processor, and blitz to combine. Add the butter
and pulse several times until the butter flecks resemble
almond flakes. Lightly beat the egg, then drizzle into
the processor and pulse until the dough starts to come
together. Add a little iced water if you need to, just
enough to bring the dough together. Remove the pastry
from the processor and gently knead into a ball. Press
into a disc shape, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for
1 hour.
To make the frangipane, place the butter and sugar in the
bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
Whisk on a medium speed for 6 minutes, or until pale
and fluffy. Add the almond meal, flour and rosewater, and
mix on a low speed until just incorporated. Add the eggs,
one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Spoon the
mixture into a piping bag and refrigerate until required.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 36 x 12 cm loosebased
rectangular tart tin.
To bake the tart, remove the pastry from the fridge and
roll out on a lightly floured bench to a thickness of
3 mm. Line the tin with pastry and prick the base with
a fork. Place the lined tin back into the fridge to harden
for 20 minutes. Remove and place a rectangle of baking
paper on the base, and weigh it down with pastry weights
or beans. Blind bake for 10 minutes and then remove the
paper and weights, and bake for a further 3 minutes to
brown the base. Remove from the oven and cool.
Turn down the oven to 160°C. Pipe the frangipane into
the pastry case, and don’t worry if it’s not perfect as the
frangipane will spread as it cooks. Top the frangipane
with the rhubarb stalks cut to lengths to fit the tin
lengthwise, side by side. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for
30 minutes or until golden. Remove and cool, and then
remove the tart from its tin. Serve with whipped cream.
