Our house is a real treasure cove, with useful old things and precious collectables.
Whenever the time allows it, (which doesn’t happen often) I like to search through forgotten attic boxes and cellar cupboards.
I had picked up that habit as kid one fine afternoon when I was alone at home.
Precisely I had actually started to rummage in the house when I understood the good old Papa Noel “truth” (Santa Clause).
So just before Christmas I d take my time looking through, just to make sure I knew what was awaiting me in my Christmas boots.
Soon I started to come across long forgotten things and you know in a cold climate country such as Austria, things don’t get spoiled as such compared to a tropical climate.
Books from an other time, newspapers from the last war, pretty looking plate and tea sets and of course paper money which was as big as a A5 page.
Well.. I came across several exciting artifacts, but one thing was lying all these years around without that I knew about it’s existence.
To my surprise, my mother took it out some time back and showed it to me.
It is an oldern time pocket watch!
Apparently it was part of the items my grandfather had left us.
Honestly, that was my first glimpse at such a watch.
Of course we all have seen those in movies etc., but I for once had never seen one in “real”!
Oh, how much I wished the watch could tell me it’s story.
Who made it, where did it come from and why has the horse an insignia which looks like to be a F and a R?
The chain is heavy with the horse at the end, the watch solid, created in care.
It is older then any of us, that much is sure… I am blasting of curiosity and I have decided to take it pretty soon to a jewelery here around.
Maybe they ll be able to lift the mystery behind the pocket watch!
In the meanwhile, let’s enjoy a creamy, homemade, flavorful Rhubarb Tarte!
I made it with our garden own Rhubarb crop, a creamy orangy almond paste and our family shortcrust pastry recipe.
Don’t despair here if you don’t own a rhubarb plant, because at least nowadays rhubarb is available pretty much everywhere and especially at this time of the year.
So maybe you can grab some from your local market and follow this recipe in all ease, so that you can enjoy a real slice of sweet pastry heaven, while enjoying a warm Tea or coffee at the side.
- 200 g white Flour
- 100 g Butter
- pinch Salt
- 100 ml lukewarm water
- 3 Eggs
- 15 Almond flour
- 150 g Sugar
- 150 g Butter
- 15 g Orange Zest
- 2,5 cl Grand Marnier
- 300 g Rhubarb
- ~30 g Butter for greasing the form
- 2 Tbs Sugar to garnish
- Mix all the ingredients to make the short crust pastry. Work the dough well out and smooth and let it stand for at least 1 hour in a cold room.
- Take a Tarte form and place it on a baking paper. Draw around the form on the paper with a pencil and cut it out. We will need it later!
- Butter the Tart form well. That will prevent the dough to stick on the form while baking.
- Take out your dough and roll it out to approximately ½ cm thickness. Turn the baking form and place it on the dough. Calculate 2 cm more from the form and cut out all around. 2 cm more are required or your dough will be too short to fit into the baking form.
- Place the cut out dough into the buttered form and poke with a fork a few fine wholes into it. Add the previously cut out baking paper on top with some weight such as a handful of beans or lentils. That will prevent the dough to blow up in the center and to stay even. Bake the dough by itself for 15 mins at 180 C.
- In the meanwhile prepare the cream. In a bowl mix Butter, sugar smooth. Add the Almond flour, Eggs, Orange Zest and Grand Marnier. Mix it all well so that no lumps are left.
- Rinse, peel and cut the Rhubarb into 1½ cm thick pieces.
- Once the dough is finished baked, take it out and remove the baking paper with the beans/lentils. Fill into the short crust pastry the almond cream mix and arrange the cut rhubarb pieces on top. Bake the Tart for 1 hour at 180 C.
- Once finished baked, take out the Tart and sprinkle Sugar on top to garnish.
Liz says
Oh yum – that sounds just so good. I am going to mum & dad’s this weekend and their rhubarb plant can usually be relied on for a few stalks so I think i will definitely give this one a try – sounds delicious.
Helene says
Great! Let me know how you liked it Liz! =D
yummychunklet says
Tasty looking tart and what a cool watch!
Jessica @ Cajunlicious says
Yummy, thanks for posting this one, I love Rhubarb!
Liz says
What a family treasure…how wonderful! And as a huge rhubarb fan, your tarte has given me a HUGE craving. It looks amazing, my friend!
Picetto (Maria Grazia) says
Ciao Helene, il tuo blog è bellissimo, sei sempre più brava, complimenti, baci
M.G.
Helene says
grazie Maria, siete gentili! =)
Mike Hopkins says
Yum…………..
Best wishes and thanks for the recipe,
Mike