rhubarb & strawberry vanilla frangipane tart with spring sheep milk gelato

As you know I have been doing a few collaborations lately – but I am such a nerdy-britches that I have some self-imposed criteria that I always stick to when doing any sponsored posts. So anyway, I was recently approached by the Spring Sheep Milk Company and asked if I was keen to work together. I asked if they could first send me the product so I could try it, then decide, (see nerdy McNerdy face that I am…) and I truly love it. They sent me both vanilla bean and dark chocolate gelatos to try, and the vanilla was my favourite – it has such a silky, clean, fresh mouth feel that I immediately wanted to pair it with rich roasted spring/summer fruit. As far as I understand it is also gentle on the stomach which is an added bonus for people who are sensitive to cow’s milk, so definitely worth a try.Anyhooooo, on to the tart – look at this glorious thing!!! I have an issue with fridge-cold, not quite ripe enough strawberries, so in this recipe I have first roasted the tart/sweet rhubarb then added the strawberries at the end to finish off in all the luscious juices, taking them from early season averageness to gorgeous, intense full-on fabulous.  (So many adjectives today…) The base is a crisp short pastry, filled with vanilla frangipane, then topped with the fruity business, and served with the clean vanilla bean gelato. I will definitely be making this again, quite possibly for the Christmas table as it has that kind of festive vibe. If you wanted you could always dust it with a wee bit of icing sugar, but personally I love it just the way it is.

Fruit:

450grams rhubarb, washed and chopped into 4cm lengths

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons caster sugar

350grams strawberries, halved

Pastry:

1 cup plain flour

1/3 cup ground almonds

1/2 cup icing sugar

85grams chilled butter, chopped

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frangipane:

90grams butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 3/4 cups ground almonds

2 tablespoons plain flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Put the rhubarb in a single layer in a roasting dish and add vanilla and caster sugar. Toss to combine and roast for 15 minutes. Add the strawberries and toss very gently, then cook another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the juices.

Put pastry flour, almonds, icing sugar and butter in a food processor and whiz to form breadcrumbs. Add vanilla and egg yolk and pulse until the pastry starts coming together. Tip it out onto a floured bench and pat together into a pastry disc. Cover in plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for 10 minutes. Flour the bench again then roll the pastry out to fit a 25cm removable base tart tin – about2 cm diameter wider all around than the tin. Use a fish slice (I actually use a metal pizza slice) to scoop it off the bench and into the tin. Press into the sides and base, trim neatly, patching any holes, and prick the base lightly with a fork. pop back in the fridge to chill while you make the frangipane and pre heat the oven back to 180˚C (350˚F).