Rhubarb and berry custard bars
When I first planted my rhubarb, I placed a few pebbles under its roots in order to give it a well drained soil, I chose a shadowed spot, as to avoid too much Tuscan sun. At the beginning I used to water it every day, even twice a day, then Mum and Grandma adopted it, and now they take care of it every time they water the other pots and their beloved roses.
I love my rhubarb, it is not just a real and living plant, it is also a symbol, the tangible representation of my projects… and now it is finally the right moment to celebrate a few of them. I am twice as happy, because I could use my rhubarb in my birthday cake!
The first thing, the most striking one, it’s the new look of my blog: I’ve been thinking about it for months, it needed a fresh look, just as when in January I cut my hair to define a mile stone in my new life. To be true, I didn’t expect such an amazing result! Debora and Francesco from Studio KM Zero worked very hard on it, with patience and enthusiasm – this is what made me incredibly confident – and now I have not only a new look, but also new aprons for my cooking classes, new business cards, stickers to stick everywhere – as you can see from my gift-wrapped cake – and soon even a stamp for sealing wax, you never know…
My birthday cake. I searched for it on my cookbooks and on my favourite blogs, leafing and browsing through images to find something that could inspire me and could say loudly: take me, I am the cake for your birthday! I’ve always considered my birthday my special day, and so the cake has to be unique, too. Every year I tend to choose a cake that represents who I am, what I feel, so when I see the pictures again I can recall not only the flavour but also which were my thoughts, my feelings, my hopes and my fears in that special moment.
I’ve seen many a delightful and indulgent cake, but I always came back to this, Bakers Royale‘s summer berry custard bars, cheerful, fruity and gooey. That was my cake! I needed also something practical because this year I decided to take it slow, no party or all day spent in the kitchen, I wanted something different, just a gathering with friends on the Arno river. I went there, with a small basket and the cake gift-wrapped for them: many news, but my beloved old friends!
I got the idea from Bakers Royale and from the mouth-watering photos of a new to me blog, Adventures Cooking, which I discovered by chance on Foodgawker and loved instantly. Then I changed everything, using short pastry as crumbly crust, a good spread of thick custard mixed with ricotta cheese and a generous amount of tangy rhubarb and frozen berries, as I couldn’t find good fresh ones.
You can make the short pastry and the custard in advance, then assemble and bake the cake the next day. I loved the idea of using it as a birthday cake because once cold I could cut it into bars and gift-wrap each slice into small parcels for my friends, but it could suit perfectly an afternoon tea, or even give you a kicking start in the morning.
Make it if you love contrasts: a mellow and thick ricotta cheese custard layer hides the juicy and tangy berries and rhubarb.
Rhubarb and berry custard bars
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share by EmailIngredients
Short pastry
- 125 g of raw cane sugar
- 250 g butter, at room temperature
- 30 g of egg yolks, about 2
- 300 g of flour
- 75 g of whole rice flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- Seeds form one vanilla bean
- Grated peel of 1 lemon
Custard
- 500 g of whole milk
- 150 g of caster sugar
- 60 g of egg yolks
- 45 g of corn starch
- 1 vanilla bean, you can use the one we used to scrape the seeds for the short pastry
... and then
- 250 g of ricotta cheese
- 200 g of rhubarb, sliced
- 300 g mixed berries, raspberries, blackberries, red currants, blueberries fresh or frozen
- Icing sugar to decorate
Instructions
Make the short pastry
- Rub the butter and the sugar with your fingertips just until there are no large lumps of butter remaining.
- Mix in the beaten egg yolks and then rub in the two flours, previously sifted with salt, vanilla seeds and lemon zest.
- Try to work quickly so that it does not become greasy, bind the dough together, then press it slightly, wrap in cling film and let sit in the refrigerator for several hours or even overnight.
Make the custard
- Heat the milk with the vanilla bean and bring it to a gentle boil, then remove it from the heat.
- In a saucepan whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and the cornstarch, then pour in some milk in a thin stream and stir immediately, as to avoid to get scrambled eggs!
- Pour in all the milk and put the saucepan on low fire.
- Stir constantly with a whisk until you see the first bubbles on the surface and the custard thickens.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat immediately, scrape the custard into a bowl, cover it with cling film and set aside.
Now prepare the tart
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Remove the short pastry from the fridge, knead it to soften it and roll it on a floured surface with a rolling pin in a 5 mm thick sheet.
- Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper (approx. 20 cm x 30 cm), then line it with the short pastry.
- Sprinkle the pastry with rhubarb and berries, arranging them in an even layer.
- Sift the ricotta and mix it into the custard, then spread it onto the fruit, leaving a few berries popping out here and there.
- Bake the tart for about 1 hour, until the edges are golden and the centre slightly jiggles when pan is tapped.
- Let it cool down, cut it into bars and dust it lightly with icing sugar.
And now, the last thing I want to celebrate. I left it to the very end of the post, because I wasn’t sure of my words. Just exclamations came to my mind, or capital letters, and I know it’s not proper for a well mannered lady to scream in public.
If you follow me on Instagram you should have noticed that lately I was apparently craving for not at all summery food: tortelli del Mugello al ragù during the afternoon or bean and sausage when I am officially on a diet, or even a whole morning completely dedicated to bruschette (see my #bruschettaday).
Yes, there’s a reason, and no, I’m not waiting for a small baby me, I am working on my second cookbook, completely dedicated to the Tuscan food traditions, with something more that I will tell you soon. The book is due for the late autumn, I’m still working on it so I’ll be able to share with you the work in progress, follies included (I promise I will publish the picture of polenta and wild boar when I’ll cook it in August!). It will be published with Food Editore, I am so grateful they believed in me and gave me the chance to work on a dream.
OH! I was forgetting! the book will be translated into English as well!
Instead of using thousands and thousands of words, there’s nothing better than a video to tell you something more about the book. So many many thanks to Marco and Daniele, two friends that deserve more than a slice of cake!
It would need a whole post to describe how fun it was, filming under the sun in the first hot days of summer, walking in a wheat field just like Russel Crowe in the Gladiator movie… it was hot, believe me, but undoubtedly fun!
Juls’ Kitchen Promo from Daniele Sacchi on Vimeo.
This Post Has 40 Comments
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Juls, this post and video made me cry. I’m so happy for you and that you are living your dream!! I’m sending you a huge hug, xoxo!!
diana
Diana, I thank you so much for your friendship and support, it means a lot to me! huge hugs to you! x
Congratulations! Great news.
I love the new look of your blog and those bars look amazing (gorgeous filling)!
cheers,
Rosa
thank you Rosa, they were really amazingly good!
This looks wonderful! I hope you had a great birthday. I hope one day I can come visit and take a class or two! Good luck with your book too!
My birthday was really a very good day! First I celebrated my little niece’s birthday with my relatives, then I met my friends to celebrate mine.. well, it was such a very good day!
I hope you’ll visit soon, Tuscany is waiting for you!
Juls, congrats on the new cook book! This video is amazing! I also love the makeover you did for the blog 🙂
Thank you Tamara, I love the video, too! and obviously my new blog as well!
The new look, cake and video are all absolutely wonderful! And I can’t wait to get an English copy of your book 🙂
…and I can’t wait to get a copy of your book! x
mmm yummy
Happy birthday again my darling friend, congrats on the brand new design.It looks fabulous!!!
Thank you again sweetie pie, I am happy you like it, it means a lot, being you a professional graphic! x
Tanti auguri!!! 😀
I feel inspired with your blog since I found you,I always liked to cook,but after I was living with an italian guy from Verona,I realized how beautiful is the “love of cooking” , he teached me to put more love and patient while cooking. Then one year in Germany,learning how to bake……and your video today,make me feel so good! I see that I’m not wrong losing hours thinking about the FOOD WORLD!! Thanks for sharing!!
I love your work! 😛
Bárbara (Tenerife, Spain)
You absolutely are not wrong, the FOOD WORLD is simply amazing, incredible, generous, and every day different! You have such an interesting career and experience under your belt, congratulations!
I can tell how happy you are, and you are an inspiration to me. I love the new look of your blog, your photography and videos. I drink it all in like a fancy imported wine and I can’t wait for another sip. Thanks Juls!
🙂 a fancy imported wine, that’s the cutest thing! hehe!
thank you Karen, thank you so much, it’s so nice to have your feedback! x
Adore the new look, your pictures are gorgeous, a recipe with custard in it…how can I resist?! and bravo (or is it brava?) on the next cookbook. Wonderful. See you in September at FBC – will you have copies of your book then?
Can’t wait to see you again! this year we’ll make sure to talk a little bit before the very end on the game! Unfortunately he book won’t be ready, it is due for November, but I’ll make sure to tell you everything about it when we will meet for FBC!
custard in a recipe… how not to love it!? 😉
These bars look just amazing! Mm..they make me hungry 🙂
they were really delicious, yes!
So excited to hear all of your wonderful news Juls! Congrats. Love the new look and the video is just so YOU! Love it!
thank you Meeta!! I am so happy you like the video, we really enjoyed while filmin it, I would start again right now!
I have to say that like the first comment, I also teared up a bit at this post. I absolutely love your philosphy on birthday cake and I’m going to keep it in mind for my next birthday (which is also in July). Your philosphy on food is beautiful and reminds me why I too love cuisine and cooking.
Love the look of the blog. And congratulations on your cookbook, I’ll totally be buying the English version – you won’t have a Kindle option will you?
Holly!! oh you make me happy, I mean, I am sorry you teared up, but it makes me cry for happiness! and yes, definitely, keep in mind and choose the right cake, it will represent all your year in one slice, you’ll love the feeling when you’ll look back!
At the moment they’re still thinking about the Kindle version, I hope they’ll decide to make it, it would be so easy for people around the world to download it!
I’m so so proud of you my dear friend! The video is just perfect! Watching it puts a smile on my face and makes me very happy for you. Keep dreaming! xx
I’ll keep dreaming, we have so many dreams to turn into reality! x
Looks wonderful! Congratulations and good luck with continued success, I’m sure. Well deserved. I just love the new look.
Thank you Kate, happy you like my new house!
First of all, happy belated birthday! And what a perfect bar to celebrate! And second of all – I LOVE LOVE LOVE the video promo and am so excited for the upcoming cookbook!
Peggy, you should have tasted them, I think it will become a new favourite, so easy to fest on a bar! Happy you love the video, too!
Juls, congratulations on your second book! I am very happy for you! And happy birthday! I wander if we have birthday on the same day… 🙂 Your video is so warming and wonderful… I didn’t know tortellnis are not summer food, I make some every week… 🙂
when is your birthday? mine is on the 27th of July!
Amazing !!!!
A prestissimo Giuseppina!
Hello from Canada, Guilia. I was so touched by your video, as I am by all of your entries. Your passion is an inspiration to everyone who has dreams they are trying to make a reality! I can’t wait to buy the book – the Italian version for when I am in Florence; the English version for when I am in Canada. Thank you for sharing your wonderful spirit, photos, stories and delicious recipes with all of us out there on the Internet! I am honestly blown away by the high quality of your work.
hello Stephanie! I am really touched by your words, I am amazed by the power of Internet: it’s incredible to feel so close to people on the other side of the world, to share dreams, hopes and passions! thank you for your support! if you’ll be in Florence in November you might be here just for the book launch! x