Rhubarb Curd Pudding Cups

I owe my love of lemon curd to Aimée White - Food Je t'Aimée. It was during a tea party at her house that I had my first encounter with this gorgeous tart and creamy spread.

It's been an ongoing love affair and since that afternoon, I've played with recipes for lemon, lime and Clementine curds. Walking through the farmer's market the other day, I noticed that Noggins had lush bunches of fresh pink and green spring rhubarb. After the obligatory rhubarb crisp for Sean, my thoughts turned toward curd and I thought, why not?

Totally winging it, as I normally do, I used my favourite lemon curd recipe and just substituted a pound of washed, chopped rhubarb for the lemon juice and zest. I thought about straining out the chunks of rhubarb but in the end said screw it and decided to leave them in for flavour and texture.

Oh my.

You want to make this. Trust me.

I made this Vanilla Pudding Recipe from CHOW.com and layered it in cups with the rhubarb curd and a sweet little Amaretti cookie on top.

Rhubarb Curd

1 pound (454g) fresh rhubarb, washed, chopped (use as many bright pink pieces as possible including the parts around the bottom of the stalks)

1 Tbsp water

1 C sugar

4 egg yolks

1/8 tsp kosher salt

1/2 C butter

- combine rhubarb, water and 1/2 C sugar in a pot - cook on medium-low heat until rhubarb is very soft, about 14 minutes - smoosh all pieces with the back of a rubber spatula or mash with a potato masher

- whisk egg yolks, kosher salt and remaining 1/2 C sugar - scoop out about 1/2 to 1 Cup hot rhubarb and whisk it into the egg yolk mixture a little bit at a time to temper the yolks and then add everything back to the pot with the remaining hot rhubarb - whisk together

- add butter and cook over med-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick and creamy

- dish into clean Mason jars or other airtight storage containers

*I usually halve this recipe and it makes two 250mL Mason jars full of curd

Rhubarb Tart

One of the best things about spring and early summer in Nova Scotia.

Fresh local Rhubarb.

Washed and chopped just waiting for the pastry to be made.

I am quickly becoming a huge fan of Cheryl and Griffith Day, authors of 'The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook'. This is the second time I've made their Short Crust and I have to tell you - it is EASY - and it is PHENOMENAL.

The best thing I've found to do when forming the crust is to start with building the sides by pressing dough into the ridges with your fingers and then, using your hands, spread the remaining dough over the main flat surface of the tart tin. The first time I made The Back in the Day Bakery's crust, I started in the middle of the tin and worked my way out to and up the 'walls' of the tin - the crust along the 'wall' was much thinner that time. By building the wall of crust first, you can then smooth extra dough down and into the middle.

Rhubarb Filling

5 Cups of washed, chopped Rhubarb

1+1/3 C Sugar

6 Tbsp Flour

1/2 C Apple Juice

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes with crust covered. Reduce heat to 350, uncover crust and bake 45 minutes more.