1
Oaty Shortbread
These lovely biscuits are surprisingly delicate even though they contain hearty oats. They make a perfect
afternoon treat.
makes about 40 biscuits
vegetarian
275g (10oz) oats
100g (4oz) plain flour
150g (5oz) caster sugar
Rhubarb and Custard Tart
Rhubarb and custard make such a great old-fashioned combination, and I love making them into a tart. As
a child, we always made this with our own rhubarb, fresh from the garden. We always knew summer was
approaching when the first rhubarb appeared.
serves 4–6
vegetarian
for the pastry
150g (5oz) plain flour
25g (1oz) icing sugar
100g (4oz) butter
1 egg, whisked
for the filling
4 egg yolks
4 generous tbsp honey (about 100g/4oz)
300ml (
1
/
2
pint) double cream
225g (8oz) rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into 2cm (
3
/
4
in)
lengths (if the stalks are very wide, cut them in half
lengthways first)
1 First, make the pastry. Place the flour and icing sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Rub in the butter,
then add most of the egg (you probably won’t need it all) to make the dough come together. Add a
tablespoon of water to the remaining egg to make egg wash, and reserve. Slightly flatten the pastry,
cover and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes (or 10 minutes in the freezer), until chilled.
2 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Grease a 23cm (9in) shallow tart tin with a removable
base with a little butter.
3 When you are ready to roll out the pastry, remove it from the fridge and place between two sheets of
cling film that are larger than your tart tin. Using a rolling pin, roll out the pastry until it’s about 5mm
(1/4in) thick and large enough to line the base and sides of the prepared tin. Remove the top layer of
cling film and place the pastry upside down (cling film side facing up) in the tart tin. Press into the edges,
cling film still attached, and, using your thumb, ‘cut’ the pastry on the edge of the tin to give a neat finish.
Remove the cling film and pop the pastry in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
4 Next, ‘blind bake’ the pastry case to partially cook it before adding its filling. Line the pastry with
greaseproof paper (leaving plenty to come up the sides), fill with baking beans or dried pulses (you can
use these over and over), and bake for about 10 minutes in the oven, until the pastry feels dry. Remove
the paper and beans, brush with a little egg white and return to the oven for 4–5 minutes. Take out of
the oven and put to one side while you prepare the filling.
5 In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the yolks with the honey, add the cream and mix. Pour the custard into
the case almost to the top, then arrange the rhubarb on top. It can be easier to do all this while the case
is sitting on a rack in the oven to avoid spilling the mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until just set. Let
cool to room temperature.
1
/
2
tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 level tsp salt
225g (8oz) butter, softened
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4.
2 Whiz the oats in a food processor until they are quite fine. Then add the remaining ingredients and whiz
again until the dough comes together.
3 Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to a thickness of about 5mm (
1
/
4
in). Cut into squares,
circles or shapes with biscuit cutters and place on baking trays (no need to grease or line).
4 Bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes or until pale golden and slightly firm. Remove from the oven and
carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool. These will keep for five or six days in an airtight container, and
they freeze well too.
