Meringue Rhubarb Bars
Making a brouhaha over a rhubarb bar
This is not the best timed recipe. While fresh rhubarb is still just about available in UK supermarkets, it’s no longer readily available (or free) from my kind friends with rhubarb plants who have reached their limit on consuming the stuff. I personally don’t recommend using tinned if you can’t find fresh, to my mouth it tastes as grim as its grey pallor suggests, instead I’d probably diarise a reminder to dig out this recipe when forced rhubarb comes into season next year. There’s nothing like a bit of delayed gratification! However, if you’re one of those clever people who keep a stash of ready-chopped stalks in the freezer this is would be a great way to use some of it up.
Makes 12 squares
INGREDIENTS:
Rhubarb Filling:
400g rhubarb chopped into 1cm slices
180g boiling water
125g white sugar (add more later if the rhubarb is too tart)
2 egg yolks
40g cornflour / cornstarch
20g Cold water
Pink food colouring if using
Shortbread base:
160g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
40g custard powder (use cornflour / corn starch if you can’t get custard powder)
large pinch salt
120g salted butter - melted
70g white sugar
1tsp vanilla
Meringue topping:
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
110g white caster or granulated sugar
SCROLL DOWN FOR PLANT BASED VERSION
HOW TO:
• Start with the rhubarb, chop the stalks into 1cm slices, put in a pan with the sugar and boiling water.
• Put the pan on a high heat (with the lid on) and bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer gently for 1 minute then turn off the heat and leave the rhubarb to sit in the pan.
• Make the shortbread by adding all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mixing until evenly combined.
• Pour over the melted butter and vanilla extract and mix to make a dough.
• Press the dough into a lined tin 18 x 25cm and bake in the middle of the oven at 165ºc fan for 40 minutes.
• Start the rhubarb filling about 5 minutes before the shortbread comes out of the oven. The filling needs to be poured over the base as soon as you’ve made it otherwise it will start to set in the pan.
• In a small bowl mix the cornflour, egg yolks and 20g of water to make a smooth ‘slurry’ and stir that into the warm rhubarb that’s been waiting in the pan. The rhubarb should be quite soft already from it’s first cook.
• Put the pan back on a medium heat and keep stirring with a spatula until it thickens, add the pink food colouring at this point if you are using it.
• Bring the filling just up to the boil, remove from the heat after you see the first big bubble in the mixture.
• Pour straight over the baked shortbread base and level out, the shortbread doesn’t have to be cool, it can be covered straight from the oven.
• Now make the meringue. Add the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar to a mixing bowl and beat until the whites hold stiff peaks.
• Start to add the sugar tbsp at a time, leaving 10 seconds in-between each addition so the meringue doesn’t collapse.
• When all the sugar has been beaten in, and you have a lovely pert meringue, spread it over the top of the rhubarb filling. Pull peaks of meringue up with a spatula so you have more surface area to crisp up in the oven.
• Put it back in the middle of the oven at 150ºc fan for 30 minutes, the meringue should turn to a very slightly golden crust.
• Leave to cool and then cut into squares.
• This is best eaten within 48 hours, but I doubt that will be a struggle.
Tat x
PLANT BASED / EGG FREE VERSION:
Shortbread:
Follow the above recipe but use plant based butter.
Filling:
Follow the above recipe but stew the rhubarb in 160g of boiling water.
Omit the egg yolks and mix the cornflour with 40g of cold water.
Add 20g of plant based butter or coconut oil to the rhubarb at the same time as the cornflour slurry. It will melt in as you heat the filling.
Meringue:
80g chickpea aquafaba
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g white caster or granulated sugar
For the plant based version it’s better that the filling has cooled for about 15 minutes before it’s topped with the meringue.
Whip the aquafaba until it holds stiff peaks (I’ve found chickpea is the most stable aquafaba for this sort of meringue topping). Add the salt and cream of tartar, whip them in then add the sugar tbsp at a time, leaving 10 seconds in-between each addition so the meringue doesn’t collapse.
When all the sugar has been added, add the vanilla and beat briefly to mix in.
Spread it over the top of the slightly cooled rhubarb filling and pull peaks of meringue up with the spatula. Bake for a 30 minutes in the middle of the oven at 150ºc fan for 30 minutes. Like its eggy counterpart, this is best eaten within 48 hours.