Rhubarb is not very common in Italy and I only discovered it when I moved north of the Alps. I love rhubarb cakes but I also like using it as a side dish to meat. This cake recipe comes from my friend Lia and belongs to her childhood memories, it is truly delicious!
Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
for the pastry
170 g plain flour
80 g butter
70 g sugar
1 egg
the zest of an orange
1 pinch of salt
for the topping
1 kg rhubarb
4 tbsp of almonds and/or pistacchios and/or haselnuts, ground in a mixer 2 TS of strawberry jam
the zest of an orange and of a lemon
1/2 glass of milk
3 tbsp sugar
1 egg
3/4 tbsp Maizena
- For the shortcrust pastry mix the butter (at room temperature) with the flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and work very quickly. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
- Clean the rhubarb, cut it in chunks about 1 cm thick, mix it with a couple of table spoons of sugar and the zest of an orange and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough, and place it on a buttered mold.
- Put a thin layer of jam then a layer of ground nuts (it can be just almonds or a mix of almonds and other nuts).
- Drain the rhubarb and lay it on the layer of nuts. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°.
- Prepare a cream by mixing the milk, the egg, one spoon of sugar, the maizena and the lemon zest.
- After about 10 minutes take the tart out of the oven and pour the cream on it. Bake again for 10 more minutes.