When these special cakes with pink center and crispy crumb appeared on the table, they looked unobtrusive – perhaps ordinary. But then came the first bite. The sweet and sour filling, butter dough and the delicate scent of vanilla joined the spring explosion of taste. I couldn’t do it, and I immediately asked my grandmother what was in them. The answer surprised me – rhubarb.
At first glance, they looked like ordinary homemade cakes. Fragrant, slightly crunchy, golden, with crumb on top and hint of pink filling peeking between the folds of the dough. When we ate them at my grandmother’s coffee, no one said a word – they just dusty of them. Only later, when I asked what was so exceptional in them, my grandmother smiled and said, “That’s rhubarb. Spring treasure.” At that moment I understood that I wanted the recipe. And preferably right away.
The video from baking is a pleasure! With a recipe for tartlets with rhubarb look at youtube:
Source: YouTube
Underestimated fruit full of vitamins
Rhubarb is still a little underestimated in the kitchen. Maybe because her raw taste is sharp, slightly bitter and few can cope with her. But as soon as it gets into the hands of someone experienced – like our grandmother – it creates an incredibly refreshing and fine filling, which gives the cakes a completely different dimension. In addition, it can work with many ways: to choke it with sugar and vanilla, combined with apples and strawberries, or bake it under the crumb with a little lemon bark. The result is different, but always exceptional.
“Rhubarb is very healthy – it contains a large amount of vitamin C, but also folic acid,” confirms the popular chef Jan Punčochář.
Grandmother’s cakes were unusual in one more respect – they were really tiny, just in hand. No large sheets, no cut pieces. Everyone had their small tartlet shape, a brittle butter dough and a handful of crispy crumb on top. Whether they were served to tea, breakfast or just to taste, they disappeared from the plate faster than we managed to commend them.
Recipe for rhubarb cakes
If you want to bake this great dessert, continue according to the following procedure. First, prepare a fragile dough of 250 g of plain flour, 150 g cold butter, 50 g of icing sugar and one egg. We quickly process all raw materials, wrap in foil and leave to rest for at least half an hour in the fridge. In the meantime, prepare the filling, cut the cleaned rhubarb into small pieces, sprinkle with three tablespoons of sugar, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and let the juice let go for a while. Then roll out the dough, cut the wheels from it and press them into tartlets or small muffin molds. Put a teaspoon of rhubarb fillings in each cake and sprinkle with a crumb of butter, sugar and flour (in a 1: 1: 2 ratio). Bake in a preheated oven at 180 ° C for about 20 minutes until golden. They can still be served lukewarm, ideally with a little sour cream or vanilla whipped cream.
Who has ignored the rhubarb so far should give her a chance this year. Just a few stems, a little patience and the smell of grandma’s kitchen will return to a modern home. You may also find that this “spring bomb” has its firm place among the best home recipes – and that unusual grandmother cakes can surprise more than any cake from the confectioner.
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