RHUBARB AND CUSTARD

RHUBARB AND CUSTARD - what a classic. How about trying it this way? Is it a rhubarb crumble or is it rhubarb and custard... or is it rhubarb jelly? The combination of textures and flavours create a good talking point.
Most people eat this type of dessert hot - but once you've tried it this way (cold) you'll experience a new dimension. Something new, something exciting yet traditional.
You won't believe the number of calories considering the luxurious taste.
Home made custard is a treat, but you could always top the rhubarb with a shop bought variety. The last time I made custard I ended up with scrambled egg. It's not that easy (in my opinion). But, after trawling a few recipes I came across this ALL IN ONE CUSTARD recipe, which was so easy and very, very creamy. However, the custard didn't 'set' to the level we expected - but this didn't detract from the final creation - which was unexpectedly refreshing.
I used HALF the ingredients stated in the custard recipe which divided nicely into four servings (thus reducing the calories a little).
We roasted the rhubarb, after a friend suggested the idea. The fruit kept its shape and helped us to create the dessert. A great dinner party idea - can be made well ahead of time and will surely wow your guests!

RHUBARB & CUSTARD

Ingredients (serves four)

400g rhubarb

30g castor sugar 

Gelatine

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1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon cornflour

10g castor sugar

half vanilla pod

125 ml whole milk

125 ml double cream

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30g butter

30g plain flour

one heaped teaspoon of ground almonds (optional)

10g sugar

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RHUBARB

Cut the rhubarb to size - we chose 3cm pieces - and arrange in an oven proof dish.

Sprinkle with castor sugar.

Cover with foil and bake in a hot oven (180ºC) for 15-20 minutes if the rhubarb is quite thin in diameter. You may need to cook larger pieces for longer.

Remove foil and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Set aside to cool enough to handle and place in the dessert dish you are using.

Add a setting agent (we used gelatine) to the rhubarb juice and pour onto the dessert.

Cool - ours took around one hour to set.

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CUSTARD

Place the egg yolk, cornflour, sugar and vanilla pod into a saucepan and mix with a metal whisk.

Add the milk/cream mixture and whisk together.

Place saucepan on a low heat and stir continuously for 6-8 minutes.

Cool slightly - then add to the (set) rhubarb mixture.

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CRUMBLE TOPPING

Place the butter, plain flour, ground almonds and sugar into a small hand blender and process until roughly crumbled. Or, you could use your hands.

Add a teaspoon of water and slightly squeeze this into the mixture.

Tip the mixture onto a baking sheet (no need to grease) and spread out.

Bake in a hot oven 170ºC until browned - 10 to 15 minutes should be enough.

Cool and set aside until ready to assemble dessert. (You could always reheat if you like the idea of a warm crumble topping).

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Now for the calories!! The rhubarb and custard (without the crumble) is around 275 calories per portion. The crumble topping mixture is high in calories - but it's your decision how much you use. If you use one quarter of the recipe, then this will add 85 calories to your dessert. Our photograph shows around 60 calories of crumble topping.

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REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

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