Rhubarb custard & reimagined
Whether they remind you of two-tone sweets, school puds or a 1970s cartoon about a cat and a dog, one thing’s for sure – rhubarb and custard belong together. Time to experiment with the relationship...
Rhubarb and custard brioche loaf
Serves 8-10 Hands-on time 1 hour 40 min, plus overnight proving and chilling Oven time 1 hour 5 min Specialist kit 900g/2lb loaf tin
MAKE AHEAD
You need to start the day before, making the recipe at least to the end of step 4 (so the dough can rise overnight) or the end of step 8. The finished loaf can be wrapped and frozen (whole or sliced) for up to 3 months.
BE A BETTER COOK
The butter in brioche dough blocks gluten from forming, giving a softer crumb but also slowing down the rise. To speed things up, half-fill a roasting tin with boiling water, sit it in the bottom of a cold oven and put the bowl of dough on the shelf above. Close the oven door to create a dough-friendly space.
• 330g strong white bread flour, plus extra to dust
• 7g sachet easy bake (fast-action) yeast
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 30g light brown soft sugar
• 30ml whole milk
• 3 medium free-range eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 160g unsalted butter, softened and diced
• Vegetable oil to grease
For the filling
• 200g rhubarb
• 110g golden granulated sugar, plus 1 tsp to dust
• 150ml whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 2 medium free-range egg yolks
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• ½ tsp fine salt
1 Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl, then make a well in the centre. Heat the milk until lukewarm. Pour into the well, followed by the eggs and vanilla, then mix into a smooth, stiff dough. Tip onto a work surface lightly dusted with flour or into a stand mixer with a dough hook attached. Knead for 5 minutes.
2 Continue to knead the dough, adding the butter a few cubes at a time and incorporating it before adding more – the dough will be sticky, but will get easier to work with as you go. This will take about 30 minutes by hand, or 6-8 minutes in a stand mixer on medium speed.
3 Put the dough in a clean bowl, cover with a clean damp tea towel and put somewhere warm for 1-2 hours until doubled in size (see Be A Better Cook).
4 Once risen, knock back the dough (give it a light knead). Cover the bowl again and put in the fridge overnight to rest.
5 Meanwhile, heat the oven to 100°C fan/gas ½. Cut half the rhubarb into 1cm slices and the other half into 1cm cubes. Put half the slices in a small saucepan with 10g of the sugar, 1 tsp water and a pinch of salt over a low-medium heat. Simmer gently for about 8 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender. Tip into a blender, whizz to a purée, then set aside to cool. Reserve
