Languorous Custards with rosewater flavoured strawberries and rhubarb

Making food look pretty is not my forte. So when I was called upon to host a bridal shower recently, I decided to rise to the culinary challenge and asked my friend Sharon for help.  She bought these beautiful paper baking cups.  No need for fancy piping or a deft hand in sugar art, with these polka dot wonders.  And of course I needed something with which to fill them.  Again, referring to my cook book du jour, Janelle Bloom’s fast, fresh and fabulous I drew inspiration from her recipe for roasted fruit custards.

 

This silky custard dessert with rosewater flavoured roasted rhubarb and strawberry, evokes a sensation akin to observing a belly dancer languorously emerging from a mound of velvet cushions to the plaintive sound of the nay.  Makes about 20 small paper cups

1 bunch rhubarb, trimmed cut into 1 cm lengths

400g strawberries, hulled and halved

4 tbs caster sugar

2 tbs rosewater

Stirred vanilla custard

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthways

300ml pouring cream

250ml milk

4 egg yolks

½ cup caster sugar

2 tbs cornflour

Preheat oven to 220⁰.  Lightly grease a baking tray.  Combine rhubarb and strawberries with the rosewater and sugar and place in a single layer on the baking tray. Roast for 10 mins till fruit is just tender. Remove from the oven and stand for 5 mins to produce syrup.

For the stirred vanilla custard, scrape black seeds from the centre of the vanilla bean halves.  Place cream, milk, vanilla bean halves and seeds into a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat.  Cook stirring often for 10 mins or until mixture just comes to the boil.  Remove vanilla bean, wash and set aside to dry.  (Place in a jar of caster sugar to make vanilla sugar).

Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks, sugar and cornflour until pale.  Add the warm cream mixture and beat on low speed to combine.   Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, over a low heat for 12 mins or until custard thickens and coats the wooden spoon. 

In the meantime, place a tablespoonful of roasted  fruit into each cup until all is used.  Pour custard over.  Maybe you can make it a little prettier with a diminutive sprig of mint on top.