Rhubarb & ginger creme brûlée tarts

Rhubarb & ginger creme brûlée tarts: buttery pastry, creamy spiced custard, sharp rhubarb and a glassy caramelised surface. Jump to Recipe

Hello from week 1000 of stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne! While we watch the rest of Australia (and what seems like the world) enjoy the simple pleasures – albeit those that I will never take for granted again – of dinner parties with friends, flat whites out of an actual coffee cup, a restaurant meal not spooned from a takeaway container, walking through a lit up evening city – we remain at home. The news of our lockdown extension for essentially a further 6 weeks recently was devastating, even if not particularly surprising. And I get it! While surrounded by states and countries (hello new zealand) that have driven case numbers down to near zero, it will be impossible for borders with Victoria to open until we’ve also obliterated community transmission. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. And I realise I’m one of the very lucky ones still able to go to work – small businesses and hospitality are being crushed, with hardly any hope of reopening restaurants until at least December.

In the meantime, I’m also on 2 weeks of forced annual leave – hopes of an overseas adventure were initially reduced to thoughts of heading home to Auckland, or a possible beach trip to Byron Bay or Queensland (I think I was in denial for a while, ok), and has morphed into a strict 5km radius from home and an 8pm curfew. Copious amounts of sugar have been involved in maintaining sanity thus far – Ottolenghi’s dark chocolate & hazelnut babka and mini coffee & walnut friands, a dark chocolate coffee caramel slice that needs serious work, Tivoli Road Bakery’s vanilla custard morning buns, and the clear winner: these rhubarb and ginger creme brûlée tarts.

They’re inspired by a couple of different recipes – mostly clearly the infamous Bourke Street Bakery ginger brûlée tarts. I remember thinking it was possibly the best tart I’d ever eaten when I demolished one last year, sitting in 40 degree heat outside their Surrey Hills cafe before a day of walking Sydney and eventually collapsing on Manly beach with a book (adventures like these seem like a lifetime ago, don’t they?). I’ve also been enamoured by the rhubarb & lemon curd brûlée tart by another Sydney bakery, The Cook and the Baker, for a while – and couldn’t help but think they deserved a mash-up.

Don’t be put off by the number of steps – spread out over a couple of days, it’s very doable (and a great lockdown project, speaking from experience). I’ve used my most fool-proof, buttery and crisp sweet short pastry recipe – easiest made in a food processor but you can also make it by hand. The custard is a slightly lighter version from the original, using both cream and milk, and is infused overnight with fresh ginger, cardamom pods and a cinnamon quill. The trickiest step of the entire process is thickening the custard – you need to ensure it thickens enough to set before you make the tarts, without overheating it and causing it to split or curdle. Cooking it slowly and gently over low heat and stirring CONSTANTLY is your friend here. The rhubarb gets a quick turn in the oven with vanilla paste and sugar while the tart tins are blind baked. You assemble with cooled rhubarb, a dollop of custard, and break out your blow torch to brûlée the surface (very satisfying I promise). Buttery pastry, creamy spiced custard, sharp rhubarb and a glassy caramelised surface – it’s worth the effort.