Rhubarb and Apple Crumble with Home-Made Custard
I experimented with baking today. Yes, that's right, the guy without a proper oven who doesn't do measurements. However, I reckoned I could try a crumble as it's just the same amount of flour, sugar and butter and as there's no egg, you can make as much or little as you like.
For the filling I stewed together two sticks of rhubarb and an apple, a bit of sugar, some lemon juice, some water, some grated ginger (about a teaspoon, could have done with a little more) and an inch or so of cinnamon until the fruit was soft. I set the saucepan to the side to cool down and infuse a bit more.
For the topping I mixed cold butter, flour and sugar (about 2 tbsp each), rubbing the mix between my fingers until incorporated.
Then I spooned the drained filling (it was rather liquid) into the bottom of an aluminium takeaway tray (of which I bought a couple as I didn't even have an appropriate oven dish), spread the topping in bits loosely on top and baked it in a preheated oven at 180 until the topping was golden brown and crispy (about 15 minutes).
Meanwhile I made the custard by heating together milk and double cream with the husk and seeds of half a vanilla pod until steaming. This I poured in a steady but slow stream onto two egg yolks beaten with sugar while whisking vigorously (and not cooking the egg!), transferred it back into the milk pan heating it again slowly until it coated the back of a wooden spoon.
The next bit was the hardest: Waiting until the crumble had cooled enough to eat. It smelled so good but I stayed strong until it was time to serve. I filled some custard into the bottom of a bowl and spooned chunks of the crumble on top.
For the filling I stewed together two sticks of rhubarb and an apple, a bit of sugar, some lemon juice, some water, some grated ginger (about a teaspoon, could have done with a little more) and an inch or so of cinnamon until the fruit was soft. I set the saucepan to the side to cool down and infuse a bit more.
For the topping I mixed cold butter, flour and sugar (about 2 tbsp each), rubbing the mix between my fingers until incorporated.
Then I spooned the drained filling (it was rather liquid) into the bottom of an aluminium takeaway tray (of which I bought a couple as I didn't even have an appropriate oven dish), spread the topping in bits loosely on top and baked it in a preheated oven at 180 until the topping was golden brown and crispy (about 15 minutes).
Meanwhile I made the custard by heating together milk and double cream with the husk and seeds of half a vanilla pod until steaming. This I poured in a steady but slow stream onto two egg yolks beaten with sugar while whisking vigorously (and not cooking the egg!), transferred it back into the milk pan heating it again slowly until it coated the back of a wooden spoon.
The next bit was the hardest: Waiting until the crumble had cooled enough to eat. It smelled so good but I stayed strong until it was time to serve. I filled some custard into the bottom of a bowl and spooned chunks of the crumble on top.