In her fine hook, Sweet Indulgence, Mandy Wagstaff points out that the idea of combining rhubarb within a creme brulee is simply "like an up-market rhubarb and custard". Indeed it is, and the rhubarb certainly suits this elevation, as witnessed by a fine rhubarb creme brulee I enjoyed recently in Eden, the new Temple Bar restaurant.
Here is Ms Wagstaffs delicious recipe. If you are a thoroughly with-it cook, or perhaps an apprentice pyromaniac, you will find it easier to caramelise the tops of the brulees with a blow torch, rather than using a grill.
Rhubarb Creme Brulee
225g (8oz) rhubarb
50g (2oz) brown sugar
2 egg yolks
30g (1oz) caster sugar
300ml (11 fl oz) double cream
1 vanilla pod, split
4 tablespoons demerara sugar
Wash and trim the rhubarb and cut into one-inch lengths. Place in a small pan with the brown sugar. Cover and cook over a low heat for five minutes or until the rhubarb is tender. Drain and discard any excess juice. Spoon the fruit into four ramekin dishes.
Whisk the egg yolks and the caster sugar until thick and pale. Pour the cream into a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into the cream. Add the split pod and bring to the boil. Pour a little of the boiling cream onto the yolks, stir to blend, then return to the pan. Cook over a medium heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not allow it to boil or it will curdle.
Remove the vanilla pod and pour the custard over the rhubarb to fill each ramekin. Place the ramekins on a tray and refrigerate overnight until firm.
Sprinkle one tablespoon of demerara sugar evenly over the top of each ramekin and cook under the grill preheated to its maximum setting. Watch carefully; you want the sugar to melt and caramelise but no more.
Chill again for at least an hour, preferably longer, then serve. Serves 4.