Passion Fruit, Rhubarb & Coconut Custards for Valentine's Day

Not only is it the Chinese New Year this Sunday but it is also Valentine's Day, so instead of eating out in an over crowded restaurant why not treat your loved one to a home cooked meal instead.  This light fruity dessert is an ideal way to finish the meal.  Coconut milk gives the dairy free, passion fruit flavoured custard extra creaminess and the lovely pale orange colour, resulting from the egg yolks and passion fruit puree, is studded with pieces of vibrant pink rhubarb.  The passion fruit flesh and seeds dotted over the top provide extra flavour and texture to the dessert.

Forced rhubarb has an intense bright pink colour and very tender stems compared to the outdoor grown plants which are in season later in the year.  Rather fittingly for Valentine's Day this Champagne rhubarb, as it is also known, is romantically harvested by candlelight.  As rhubarb is technically out of season at this time of year, Champagne rhubarb is grown in a small area of West Yorkshire, known as the 'Rhubarb Triangle' where it is replanted in dark forcing sheds during November and December.  The lack of light prevents the plants from photosynthesising so all the energy goes into producing the shoots instead of the leaves.  It is essential that the forcing sheds are kept as dark as possible which is why the rhubarb is harvested by hand with the sheds lit only by the glow of candlelight.

Passion Fruit, Rhubarb & Coconut Custards

Serves 2

Ingredients

40g Forced Rhubarb

1½-2 Passion Fruits

½ Tsp Cornflour

1 Large Egg Yolk

1 Large Egg

20g Mild Sweet Freedom or Light Agave Nectar

125g Coconut Milk

¼ Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Choose thin sticks of rhubarb with a dark pink colour and cut them into small pieces, about ½cm long. 

Set a sieve over a small bowl, half one of the passion fruits and scoop the seeds and pulp into the sieve. Using a spoon push the juice through the sieve.  You need 20ml of juice for this recipe, you may need to use another passion fruit half if they don?t contain much juice.  Discard the seeds but reserve the remaining passion fruit for spooning over the cooked custards. 

Whisk together the cornflour and egg yolk, then add the whole egg and Sweet Freedom or agave syrup and whisk to combine.  Next add the coconut milk, passion fruit juice and vanilla bean paste and whisk again.  Strain through a sieve into a jug and then divide the custard between two shallow ovenproof dishes each with a capacity of between 125-150ml.  Individual gratin style dishes are ideal.  Divide the rhubarb between the two dishes, scattering it evenly over the top of the custard. 

The custards need to be cooked in a Bain Marie to prevent the mixture from overheating and splitting, so place them in a roasting tin or dish and fill it with enough cold water to reach about ¾ of the way up the dishes.  Cook for 35-45 minutes, or until they are set but still have a slight wobble in the centre.  The deeper the dish you use, the longer they will take to cook.  Leave to cool before placing in the fridge to chill. 

To serve, scoop out the seeds and juice of the remaining passion fruit and spoon over the custards, ideally in the spaces between the pieces of rhubarb.

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